Oldtown Village Health Check

Type: Public /Community Engagement

Client: Oldtown Community Council

Location: Oldtown, Co. Dublin

Stage: Completed

A group of people gathered around display boards with maps and papers in a room with large windows. Some individuals are reading and discussing, while a young woman is kneeling and attaching items to a display.
The image shows a small green building with a sign that reads 'OLDTOWN Village Hall.' The building is decorated with colorful string lights, hanging flower baskets, and blue balloons. There is a stone wall and a metal railing in the foreground, with red and white checkered bunting attached to the railing.
A map of a town showing streets, buildings, and surrounding green areas.

The Oldtown Village Health Check acts as a regional pilot study for rural town stabilisation and policy alignment. Commissioned by the Oldtown Community Council and funded under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, our practice developed a comprehensive spatial and social guidebook to direct local development over the next decade.

Our methodology used a detailed 'Sense of Place' survey alongside multi-generational workshops to map critical spatial, environmental, and heritage assets directly from the community's lived experience.

Town and Village renewal project by Islander Architects, fingal county Dublin
Flyer for a community-wide survey about Oldtown health check, featuring a map background, large bold text, a QR code for survey, and logos of Oldtown Community Council and Islander Architects.
Public engagement for a village regeneration project

As part of our strategy we devised public engagement workshops that involved all ages and aimed to:

- Connect with a diverse range of residents.
- Connect with key stakeholders such as local buisnesses, farmers, the national school and local clubs
- Listen to those living and working in the village and wider hinterland to understand their concerns and priorities.
- Identify key social, spatial, heritage, environmental & physical assets.
- Outlined key opportunities for the village
- Build interest locally in the future vision for Oldtown.

People attending a community workshop by Islander, various individuals of different ages engaging in conversations and activities.
Community led building in north dublin GAA
vernacular thatched cottage north county dublin, conservation architecture

The findings from the public engagement informed a bespoke action plan published as a durable reference book.

Crucially, this framework serves as a strategic pipeline for future capital works. By mapping specific vacant properties and underutilised public spaces, the document establishes the exact brief, feasibility, and community mandate required to advance these sites into live architectural commissions and built interventions.

Public engagement event for community project
A detailed map of a small town or neighborhood showing property boundaries, buildings, roads, and natural features like streams or rivers, with different areas outlined in various colors.
community survey results exhibited as part of a workshop
A map showing a small town's layout, including roads, buildings, and pathways, with blue dashed lines and red highlighted areas indicating specific routes or zones.
community engagement for rural renewal project
Children gathered around display tables examining maps and colorful paper notes, with bunting decorations hanging overhead in a bright room.

Drawings: Islander Architects

Photography: Brian Cregan

Funded by: Town & Village Renewal Scheme