A ‘speed-dating’ meeting for Nenagh

It has been described as kind of like a “speed-dating meeting” that’s coming up in Nenagh.

The people of the town are to be given an opportunity to have an input into a new plan being prepared to maximise the potential of the town centre.

Speaking about the meeting fixed for April 3, Rosemary Joyce, the Administrator of the Nenagh Municipal District authority, said the event would be like a speed-dating meeting, because those who attend will go from table to table meeting different people to give their views and offer ideas on the new “Town Centre First” plan for Nenagh.

Revealing details of the event to be hosted in the Tourist Office, Ms Joyce said members of the Town Centre First team had been working with a consultant on a new strategy for the urban core.

She said the work of the team in drawing up a blueprint for the future of the town centre was going very well.

There was also great interest from members of the public. A total of 750 submissions had been received in relation to a draft plan.

“It’s absolutely great to see so many people getting involved in the future of their town,” said Ms Joyce.

IDEAS

She explained that people who attend next month’s meeting will have the opportunity to present their own ideas to the consultant and town team members on the future strategy for the town centre.

Those who attend would go from table to table meeting different people who were already involved in drawing up the “urban integration strategy”. The session would take place between the 6pm and 9pm and people could pop in at any time during those hours to give their ideas and hear of the work the Town Team has been doing.

Cllr Joe Hannigan said he was very interested in the concept of staging the meeting along the lines of a speed dating event. It was a brilliant idea.

He said that while Nenagh, Newport and Ballina were going to benefit from “Town Centre First” strategies, it was a pity that places like Borrisokane, Terryglass and other similar smaller settlements were losing out.

Cllr Hannigan felt it would be a good idea if smaller areas could be banded together to work towards achieving similar strategies as the larger centres.

He said there were people living in villages who had great ideas on how to benefit their areas. Having a forum for them to meet with council officials for discussions would be a great benefit.

INTERESTING

Ms Joyce felt Cllr Hannigan had come up with a very interesting idea. Officials would see if his proposal could be acted on.

“We could run a pilot scheme in Cllr Hannigan’s area for a start and then maybe look to other smaller areas. When people come together to work for the benefit of their areas it can be very positive,” said Ms Joyce.

Cathaoirleach Cllr Fiona Bonfield said villages such as Killoscully, Rearcross, Kilcommon and Silvermines could join forces to work on similar strategies for the benefit of their communities.

Meanwhile, Ms Joyce said the town team set up in Newport was meeting on April 1 to go through submissions on its “Town Centre First Strategy”.