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The Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys has today (Monday, 29 April 2024) announced funding of over €20 million to benefit rural towns and villages the length and breadth of the country.
Funding is being allocated to deliver 82 projects right across Ireland. The successful projects include the regeneration of derelict buildings, the provision of public plazas and farmers’ markets in town centres and the development of Town Parks.
The investment is being provided under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme with a particular emphasis on the revitalisation of rural town centres, which is a key objective of the Our Rural Future and Town Centre First Policies.
Announcing the funding in Mayo, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to approve funding of over €20 million under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The benefit of this funding will be felt the length and breadth of the country. These projects have come from local communities themselves and I am delighted to see such a diverse range of projects ranging from new Town Parks and Playgrounds to the development of Farmers Markets and Outdoor Dining Spaces.
“I am also pleased to see a number of successful projects which will see vacant and derelict buildings brought back into use and repurposed with Community Halls and Youth Centres being provided. This is Our Rural Future in action, delivering at local level and making a real difference in our rural towns and villages.”
Examples of some of the successful projects being funded today include:
Cape Clear, Co. Cork (€228,355): Development of Cape Clear’s first children’s playground in the North Harbour.
Ballyroan, Co Laois (€500,000): Redevelopment of the Old Boys School to include a children’s playground, MUGA, car park facility, public lighting and landscaping.
Carrick-On-Shannon, Co Leitrim (€495,602): Bringing a vacant/derelict building back into use as a community/youth arts facility serving communities of all ages.
Enfield, Co Meath (€500,000): The redevelopment and refurbishment of a vacant building to bring it back into use as a much needed community facility.
Ballaghaderreen, Co Roscommon (€500,000): Creation of an inclusive and accessible town park, offering outdoor recreation in the centre of Ballaghaderreen.
Culfadda, Co. Sligo (€250,000): Refurbishment of a vacant, village centre pub into a community social enterprise.
Lacken, Co. Wicklow (€250,000): Renovation of the old schoolhouse, built in 1869, into a community heritage centre and cafe.
The Minister added:
“There are more people living in rural Ireland than ever before. There are more people working in rural Ireland than ever before and there is more investment going into rural Ireland than ever before. These projects are all about making our rural towns and villages great places to live, work and raise a family. I want to thank the local communities who brought forward these proposals and I look forward to seeing work commence on many of these exciting projects in the near future.”
Since the Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016, over €177 million has been approved for almost 1,800 projects across the country.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys also visited Eachléim Co. Mayo today (Monday, 29 April) to officially open the €4 million SOLAS Visitor Experience and Tourism Hub for the North Mayo Gaeltacht.
SOLAS is a new Visitor Experience and Tourism Hub in the heart of the North Mayo Gaeltacht where visitors can explore the natural and cultural heritage of the area including a visit to the Blacksod Lighthouse.
Speaking in Eachléim the Minister said:
“This spectacular project will celebrate that history and enable visitors to learn about the wealth of cultural and natural heritage in this region and facilitate visits to the Blacksod Lighthouse. The SOLAS Visitor Centre will be a regional visitor attraction in its own right. I understand over 2,000 people have already visited this centre since the doors opened a couple of weeks ago. Visitors to SOLAS can also view local craft makers at work and buy products supporting local businesses from this region as well as Gaeltacht regions further afield. This will not only create jobs and generate opportunities, it will also help to transform this region for everyone.”
Údarás na Gaeltachta was awarded funding of €2.47 million under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. Additional investment of €1 million was provided by Údarás na Gaeltachta and €0.5 million from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltach, Sport and Media.
The Department of Rural and Community Development was established to promote rural and community development and to support vibrant, inclusive and sustainable communities throughout Ireland.
Its focus is on strengthening community resilience and social cohesion, supporting communities so that they are empowered to face current and future challenges.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is prioritising the revitalisation of rural Ireland through a renewed focus on town centre economic and social recovery and regeneration. This will be achieved through projects focusing on town centre regeneration, enhancing our streetscapes and bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use. Other projects which will be welcomed include regeneration projects that support active and vibrant town or village centres, town centre parks, green spaces and community amenities.
The scheme is administered through the local authorities, who are required to work closely with local communities and local businesses to develop and implement proposals that can make a lasting impact in revitalising rural towns and villages across the country.
Under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme applications are permitted as follows:
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland.
The policy’s objectives will be achieved through the delivery of 161 measures, to be implemented progressively over the life of the policy across a range of government departments and agencies. Annual work programmes enable new actions to be added over the policy’s lifecycle, to respond to the emerging needs of rural communities.
A joint initiative of DRCD and DHLGH, the Town Centre First policy contains 33 unique actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business. Town Regeneration Officers in all relevant Local Authority areas are being funded by DRCD to drive forward Town Centre First at a local level.
The policy also contains a range of actions designed to achieve key objectives such as social and economic revival in towns, the provision of housing, as well as addressing challenges like vacancy and derelict buildings. The actions also support the protection of our environment, as well as the heritage and culture of our towns.