Almost €900k in funding allocated for local projects

A whopping €894,200 in funding has been granted for a number of local regeneration projects under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme including Monksland Central Park and Streamstown's ‘Old Rail Trail’ amenity.

Moate was granted €180,000 for the further rejuvenation of the main streets to include the painting of building facades, upgrades of shopfronts, new seating, signage, floral displays and connectivity to amenities. Streamstown was allocated €214,200 on top of previous funding for the Old Rail Trail. New additions will include adult equipment at the playground and new facilities.

Minister Peter Burke welcomed the funding today, saying:

“Great news today under the Towns and Village Renewal Scheme with thanks to my colleague Minister Heather Humphreys with over €500,000 allocated to three towns in Westmeath. Streamstown, the area adjacent to Jack’s Stop Coffee Shop, will see the addition of Adult Gym equipment to enhance the amenity with a grant of €214,000.

“Moate will see €180,000 rejuvenating the streetscape with seating, enhanced shopfronts, connections to amenities and an improvement in the aesthetics of the town. He added that none of this could have been done without the trojan work of the voluntary committees.

“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”, concluded Minister Burke.

Commenting on the announcement, Cllr Tom Farrell also thanked Minister Humphreys. “I’d like to thank the two Ministers and also the voluntary committees who put so much work into putting the grant applications together. This is a great addition to the towns and further enhancement of good work already started.”

Minister Heather Humphreys said that she was delighted to approve funding of over €20m under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. “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.”

Funding of €250,000 was also allocated for the development of the second phase of Monksland Central Park to regenerate an area with commercial vacancy and create a vibrant hub for community enjoyment; including a biodiversity area and a tiered seating/amphitheatre.

Senator Aisling Dolan welcomed the funding, saying: “The Town & Village Renewal Programme is a gamechanger in terms of urban development of towns in County Roscommon. It is targeted specifically to urban areas under 10,000 in population with a focus on social and economic regeneration. The Department of Rural & Community Development work closely with Roscommon County Council on projects for each town.”

She continued: “It is fantastic to see €250,000 for Monksland to further develop Monksland Centre Park to be a hub of community activity and regeneration. This green heart for the local community is located close to the Primary Care Centre and will include an outdoor performance area, mini skate park, as well as walkways and picnic areas. Now in phase two, Monksland has won funding to develop a multi-purpose hub connected to the park and a potential place for the arts, dance studios, a library, workshops.”

“Over the past number of years we have seen huge levels of government investment through Minister Humphreys Department of Rural & Community Development coming into the Monksland area of Athlone.

Cllr John Naughten also welcomed the additional funding for Monksland as well as the news that Minister Humphreys will perform the official opening of the new science and innovation hub.

“I welcome the news that Minister Humphreys will be performing the official opening of the science and innovation hub in Monksland next month. This is a project that I am delighted to have been involved with, working in conjunction with Roscommon County Council and Monksland Town Team,” commented Cllr Naughten.

“The development of a science and innovation hub will add significantly to the economic development of the area and will offer opportunities to start-up businesses to operate in a collaborative space with the availability of hot-desking facilities and highspeed broadband.”

Cllr Naughten added: “I also welcome the additional €250,000 funding that has been allocated for the development of a community park in Monksland. This brings the total funding allocated to €500,000 for the completion of phases one and two of the park , which is much needed in the area and will provide an important community recreational space.

“I would like to acknowledge the work of Roscommon County Council, Monksland Town Team and Cathaoirleach Cllr John Keogh in progressing this project to date.”

Finally, the Fairgreen in Ferbane will also receive €250,000 in funding which was welcomed by Cllr John Clendennen.

'This is a project I have worked on in recent months and I was delighted to receive confirmation from Minister Heather Humphreys that an allocation of funding has been secured for this project in Ferbane,” stated Cllr Clendennen.

“Phase one of the project received funding of €200,000 in 2021 also under the Town & Village Renewal Scheme, and this funding allocation of €250,000 for phase 2 will ensure the delivery of a Recreation Amenity and Urban Garden in the heart of the town,” continued Cllr Clendennen.

The local councillor concluded his remarks by recognizing those that have been working on the project. “I want to acknowledge local community groups, the Regeneration Team at Offaly County Council as well as the Area Engineers that have worked tirelessly on this and many other projects across the county over the past number of years. It is great to see their hard work paying dividends and delivering for Offaly, but I equally acknowledge that not every funding application is approved on the first attempt which ultimately shows their perseverance.”

Local election candidate Hughie Egan has also welcomed the funding 'expressing the importance of such funding for the enhancement of public realm in Ferbane and outlined his commitment to ensuring more funding is secured for towns and villages in West Offaly.'

Funding is being allocated to deliver 82 projects right across Ireland. 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.