Following on from the announcement by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, on 27th May, of the launch of the 2022 Town and Village Renewal Scheme please now find documents relating to the 2022 Town and Village Renewal Scheme administered through Community Development in Donegal County Council.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme was introduced in 2016 and is one of a number of measures designed to rejuvenate rural towns and villages throughout Ireland, investing over €113 million to more than 1,400 projects across Ireland, supporting towns and villages the length and breadth of the country.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) is funded under Project Ireland 2040 as part of Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025 - Our Rural Future. This Policy will see increased investment out to 2025 in remote working, providing opportunities for people to continue to live in rural communities while following their career ambitions. In line with the Town Centre First Policy it will also see continued investment to support town centre living, address vacancy and dereliction, and promote cross government investment supporting rural towns and villages as hubs of economic and social activity. Following the launch of Our Rural Future, and subsequently the Town Centre First (TCF) Policy, TVRS objectives have been refocused to align with commitments within these Policies.
Specifically, the 2022 Scheme will once again prioritise tackling vacancy in towns and villages, remote working and supporting town centre living. Regeneration projects that assist in revitalising our rural towns and villages, in line with the Town Centre First policy, through planned and sustainable regeneration and development which will drive greater economic activity and footfall, address vacancy and dereliction and ensure the re-use of heritage and other existing buildings; these projects should be identified in town and village masterplans (or similar) developed in collaboration with the local community, businesses and the other relevant stakeholders in the town or village will be prioritised.
Identified priorities of the 2022 Town and Village Renewal Scheme include:
Donegal County Council is now seeking Expressions of Interest from Towns and Villages who have a suitable project for consideration. Expressions of Interest in respect of Towns and Villages who have not received funding in the past or that have successfully completed projects under previous schemes are also being sought.
All Expressions of Interest will be assessed based on the priorities as contained in the Scheme Outline and must be linked to actions outlined in the County Donegal Development Plan where appropriate.
All interested town/village groups are invited to submit the Expression of Interest as enclosed and forward for the attention of Community Development, Donegal County Council to [email protected];
Further information is available by selecting links below:
Closing date for Receipt of Expression of Interest - Town and Village Renewal: Building Aquisition Measure is 2pm on Friday, 10th June 2022
Closing date for receipt of Expressions of Interest - Town and Village Renewal Scheme - 2pm on Friday, 24th June 2022
Thereafter Expressions of Interest will be assessed based on the scoring framework as contained in the Scheme Outline whereby proposals may be selected for further detailed development in co-operation with local communities which will then be submitted to the Department of Rural and Community Development for their further consideration.
