Roscrea Town Centre First
Roscrea is one of 26 towns around the country to begin the initial phase of the new Town Centre First plans.
Tipperary Co Council now has a Town Regeneration Officer in place to manage the implementation of the plan locally and to work with a Town Team made up of community representatives.
Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys, and Minister of State with responsibility for Local Government and Planning Kieran O’Donnell this week published the first ever Town Centre First plans for 26 towns across every county. The plans, which were developed in consultation with local communities, represent the vision of local people for their area and contain proposals for a diverse range of projects such as redeveloping derelict sites, creating community parks and walkways, boosting SME and tourism potential, and protecting historical landmarks.
The ministers were joined at the launch by the new Town Regeneration Officers, who have been appointed in every local authority to drive implementation of the new plans with the support of Government funding through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Vacant Property Refurbishment Grant, European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Town Centre First Heritage Revival (THRIVE) Scheme and the Historic Towns Initiative.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Humphreys said: “Communities are at the heart of rural Ireland. Town Centre First is all about empowering people to develop a vision for their town that can make it a better place to live, work, invest in and enjoy.
“These plans and the new Town Regeneration Officers are about ensuring there is a strategic and coherent approach at local level to tackling vacancy and dereliction in our towns and villages.”
Minister Humphreys also announced the next 26 towns that have been approved for Town Centre First funding of €30,000 each to help develop their town centres, the next in Tipperary being is Carrick-on-Suir.
Minister O'Donnell, said: “The Town Centre First approach empowers local communities and businesses, supported by local authorities, to guide and direct investment to maximise the particular strengths and assets of their town.
“In a joint initiative, my Department along with the Department of Rural and Community Development has established a National Town Centre First Office, within the Local Government Management Agency, to support delivery of the policy.”
TCF National Co-ordinator Mairéad Hunt said: “Our Town Teams are doing fantastic work around the country, creating and driving forward ambitious plans. We want to see many more Town Teams, so it is very welcome that the Department of Rural and Community Development is giving local authorities funding of up to €10,000 to establish new Town Teams or build up existing teams.”
Launched in 2022, Town Centre First is driving one of the biggest ever programmes of investment in rural Ireland and has a core aim of confronting dereliction and the general decline in the health of Ireland’s town centres. To find out more about the initiative and how communities can become involved, visit www.towncentrefirst.ie.