Breathing fresh life into Ireland's towns

The town received €100,000 from the Cork Council to support the development of a plan that would seek to maintain and restore the area.

The new policy outlines 33 measures designed to make towns attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business.

The policy aims to aid job creation, refurbish vacant buildings to increase housing supply in towns, develop bespoke transport plans, retrofit houses to be more climate-friendly, and conserve heritage sites.

Participating towns will have town regeneration officers which will lead engagement with town stakeholders to help facilitate the Town Centre First process.

Funding for Town Centre First projects will come from existing schemes such as the rural regeneration and development fund (RRDF), urban regeneration and development fund (URDF), Housing for All’s forthcoming Croí Cónaithe Fund, and the town and village renewal scheme.

There is some mixed reaction from the policy already. Darragh O’Brien, the housing minster; Peter Burke, the planning and local government minister and Malcom Noonan, the heritage and electoral reform minister, have all come out in support of the new policy.

However, Independent TD Sean Canney stated that as the funding streams are already in existence, there’s nothing new in the policy.

The urban and rural regeneration funds supports urban regeneration in towns with a population of over 10,000.

The fund has approved €410m in funding for projects in towns. These projects will be completed over the next few years.

A funding call for new projects to local authorities will be made in the summer, which will be specifically aimed at Town Centre First Implementation as one of its key objectives.

In December, Heather Humphreys, the rural and community development minister, announced €2.6m in funding to deliver the new policy.

She said: “It’s about ensuring our towns have the tools, resources and investment they need to tackle major issues such as dereliction and vacant properties.

“We know that so many of our towns, particularly in rural Ireland, face considerable challenges.

“But they also have extraordinary potential. With investment under the likes of the rural regeneration and development fund and the urban regeneration and development fund, we will ensure our towns become even better places to live, work and raise a family.”

One of the reasons for the development of the Town Centre First plan was the impact of Covid-19.

During the pandemic, more significance has been put on local areas and remote working.

“As a result of travel restrictions and home working, many people have rediscovered the value and convenience of shopping locally, and the importance of local towns and villages for social and cultural engagement,” stated the Town Centre First Report.

The widespread adoption of remote working, which will have an enduring impact, has the potential to enable workers across a wide range of industries and sectors to avail of a greater range of locations to live and work.

“Remote working will also allow many workers to spend less time commuting and more time living in their own communities,” The report continued.

As this policy was being developed, Ennis in Co Clare was used as an example of the benefits to restoring a local area through planning and consultation.

Public consultation played a key role in the production of the Ennis 2040 Strategy enabling the plan to reflect the needs of the communities, businesses and all the stakeholders.

The plan was delivered through the Economic Development Directorate of Clare County Council which set up formal structures to include elected members, the Ennis Chamber and community and businesses.

Benefits from extensive public consultation included ensuring the development of a comprehensive spatial and economic strategy, early identification of trends and emerging challenges, facilitation of ownership of the strategy by all the stakeholder groups and the wider community, and a town vision and strategic action plan.

Clare County Council are currently undertaking a comprehensive multi-stage regeneration programme for Ennis Town Centre with the use of €7.5m in URDF funding.·