Senator Aisling Dolan - Strong Voice, New Vision.
€7.8 million for major regeneration in Strokestown.
This massive boost of €7.9 million in funding is a major win for Strokestown, an historic and heritage town. My colleague Minister Heather Humphreys has announced funding of €5,867,496 under Rural Regeneration combined with match funding of €2 million from Roscommon County Council. This programme is a major part of the ‘Our Rural Future’ policy and targeted to towns under 10,000 people. This is an unprecedented level of government and local authority funding and is owed to the commitment of local community and groups to develop the town.
Today we see the impact for Strokestown following on from the Town Centre First funding and the development of a plan with Roscommon County Council. I want to acknowledge the input of local community and Strokestown Town Team together with groups across the town with a vision for the region and who have participated in this project. To also welcome the work by local Councillors and Roscommon County Council who are contributing matching funds to the project on top of the government investment from Department of Rural and Community Development of €5.8 million.
The Town Centre First report was a significant amount of preparation and work and I very much welcome the input by many groups on building an accessible and inclusive town for people of all abilities. Stakeholder workshops and interviews, online surveys as well as stands at the Agricultural Show were all part of the consultation with residents, businesses and community groups. People want to see development, more cafés and social spaces as well as creating local jobs.”
It was great to see the launch about a month ago of the Town Centre First Plan in Scoil Mhuire Secondary School and to hear about the statistics that 27% of Strokestown’s population is under 25 and that there is significant growth projected. Also that Strokestown is one of 27 Historic Towns in Ireland and a planned town under the Hidden Heartlands initiative”
We want to see young families choosing to live and work in the West”
This project ‘Rejuvenating Strokestown’s Potential’ is about rejuvenating the town as a unique cultural, tourism and heritage destination and this is about investing in the town in the public realm, investing in new streets, footpaths and walkways and developing a new community Hub spaces. It will open up spaces in the town and be an incentive to build on opportunities to develop vacant buildings. It will ensure that the town and Strokestown Park House are more connected and that the flow of tourism benefits all in the community”
I have seen the huge impact of this scale of investment in other locations and it is an incredible boost for local communities, businesses and brings jobs to the town centre as well as more choice of activities.
The investment to date through Fáilte Ireland in the National Famine Museum makes Strokestown Park House and Gardens a top destination for tourism. This fund now builds on developing the town-centre”
I’ve also worked closely with Councillor Liam Callaghan on ensuring government commitment in excess of €400 million to deliver the N5 Ballaghaderreen to Scramogue road which will safe lives on dangerous roads and remove heavy vehicles from Strokestown.
This successful funding announcement today will be a major turning point for Strokestown and shows the plans to develop the town for the future for people of all ages.
Minister Humphreys said:
“Today I am announcing an unprecedented €164 million in funding for 30 landmark projects in rural Ireland. This announcement has been made possible by the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, which is providing strategic capital funding for significant projects around the country. “The funding announced today will revitalise towns and villages in line with the Town Centre First Policy, addressing vacancy and dereliction, stimulating rural economies and responding to community needs”.
“Today, I have announced the largest allocation of funding since the RRDF was established. The RRDF alone has now invested over €577 million in funding for projects in rural Ireland.
This is a truly transformative level of funding that will make a real and lasting difference in rural communities throughout Ireland.”
