A Scottish-style, household-led consultation gave Mulranny a clear, shared brief: footpaths, safer crossings, and a seafront civic space. With a Village Design Statement (2012) to turn that mandate into drawings, the community and council delivered continuous footpaths, traffic calming, and the Mulranny Promenade—even during austerity—shifting the N59 corridor from car-dominated to people-first and setting the stage for later climate actions.
Where?
Mayo
Who started this action?
Community Futures Steering Group · Mayo County Council · TII
Some quick facts about the project
- Timeline: 2008–2015 (consultation → Village Design Statement → construction)
- Lead & Partners: Mulranny Community Futures (steering), Mayo County Council (Community Futures & Heritage), Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII)
- Focus: Public realm, pedestrian safety, active travel, destination quality
- Investment: ~€3m (footpaths & Promenade delivered during the recession)
Outcome: Continuous footpaths, safer crossings/traffic calming, benches & picnic tables, bike parking & pumps, and a new seafront Promenade linked to the Greenway
What makes this stand out?
- Design-WITH, not for. A whole-household survey and published plan produced a durable social mandate.
- VDS as a delivery tool. The Village Design Statement (2012) translated priorities into fundable vision with buildable drawings.
- Built in hard times. Capital was secured and delivered during austerity (~€3m), proving timing isn’t destiny.
- Platform for climate action. The people-first main street became the visible stage for GreenPlan measures (low-energy lighting, racks, recycling, cycleways).
Highlights
- Community Futures consultation (2008) → published plan; steering group (2010); clear ask: footpaths & traffic calming.
- Village Design Statement (2012) visualised a pedestrian-friendly Mulranny, capturing and visualising local ideas.
- Sequenced delivery: church end → village centre → Promenade; added benches, picnic tables, bike parking & pumps.
- Outcomes: safe everyday walking/cycling (kids to school), more dwell time & local spend—from pass-through to destination.
Why this matters
Mulranny shows a replicable governance engine: design-WITH → mandate → delivery. Start with a plain-language, whole-household survey, use a VDS to draw the future, align road authorities early, and build in phases. The result is not just safer streets—it’s a visible public realm that other sustainability projects can plug into.
SDG Alignment & Keywords
SDG 11 Sustainable Cities & Communities ·
SDG 3 Good Health & Well-Being (active travel)
Keywords: participatory planning, Village Design Statement, promenade, walkability, active travel, place-making
Find Out More about the project
Listen to this podcast to learn how the people of Mulranny use the best communications practice to make sure they build alliances within their community
Community Group Best Communications Practice Builds Success
Resources from Climate Connected that you can use to do follow this example in your area
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