Draft Ballybofey-Stranorlar Regeneration Strategy

CONSULTATION PERIOD EXTENDED TO THURSDAY 29TH JULY 2021

Donegal County Council in collaboration with BASICC is pleased to open a public consultation to hear the views of the community on the Draft Ballybofey-Stranorlar Regeneration Strategy. The Draft Regeneration Strategy is an exciting and ambitious vision to identify key priorities and actions for the regeneration of Ballybofey-Stranorlar town centres up to 2040 and beyond. It is a project to imagine the future of the town centres and the public are invited to have their say.

Welcoming the publication of the Draft Regeneration Strategy, the Cathaoirleach of Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District, Cllr Gerry Crawford said “I am delighted to see this strong regeneration focus on the twin towns and to bring a draft strategy back to the public to get more feedback on the projects and ideas that have been included.  This Strategy builds upon the recent announcement of funding of €9.7m from the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund to deliver The SEED Project in the commercial core of the towns. The Draft Regeneration Strategy is our opportunity to think beyond the SEED Project and imagine what other regeneration opportunities there are for the towns.” 

He added ‘I would encourage the whole community to engage with the consultation process over the next 4 weeks because it is essential that the Regeneration Strategy is informed by the contribution and aspirations of our community and key stakeholders in maximizing the untapped potential of Ballybofey-Stranorlar as a vibrant place to live, work, visit and invest.’

The Draft Regeneration Strategy has been prepared by Pasparakis Friel Architects and is built upon what people said during consultation in September 2020 and in an earlier consultation event in Kee’s Hotel in November 2019. It translates the challenges, opportunities and ideas from the public into ambitious, exciting and visionary projects.

Kieran Doherty, Chairman of BASICC explained ‘This strategy is very important because it will be a roadmap that will help guide our collective priorities and actions for the town centres and it will support future applications for funding. We feel that the Draft Strategy contains lots of exciting opportunities to enhance Ballybofey and Stranorlar’s unique sense of place and it includes exciting actions that will be positive for the economy and community in the twin towns.’

Liam Ward, Director of Community Development and Planning Services added, ‘The publication of the Draft Ballybofey-Stranorlar Regeneration Strategy is a key milestone to bring together all of the regeneration priorities and actions for the twin towns into one clear, visionary and exciting masterplan. Alongside the secured Government investment in The SEED Project and the Finn Harps redevelopment, there is a clear momentum and many ambitious opportunities for the future’.   

The Draft Regeneration Strategy is now available for public consultation so that the community can feed in more to the project. Ronan Friel of Pasparakis Friel Architects said, ‘The community in Ballybofey-Stranorlar has already played a key role in how the Draft Strategy has been developed. We would like to thank all those who have taken part so far. The plan will be greatly strengthened through further strong public input. Community participation is critical to understanding how Ballybofey and Stranorlar work and in aiding the design of an exciting vision for the town centres. We encourage as many people as possible to give their feedback on the Draft Strategy so that we can continue to tailor the vision towards the needs and aspirations of the local community, businesses and residents’.

Get involved

There are lots of ways to get involved during Tuesday 15^th June 2021 to Thursday 29^th July 2021 by:

• Clicking the images below to view summaries of the key parts of the Draft Regeneration Strategy

• Viewing the Draft Ballybofey-Stranorlar Regeneration Strategy in full by clicking here.

• Emailing your comments or questions to ballybofeystranorlarregen@gmail.com by 13^th July 2021.

• Keeping update on Donegal County Councils Facebook and Twitter

• Follow the project on Facebook @Ballybofey Stranorlar Regen

Check out the summaries below of the key parts of the Draft Regeneration Strategy

Summary overview of Draft Strategy

Summary of District 1 Stranorlar Pasparakis Friel

Summary of District 2 Mixed use in Stranorlar

Summary of District 3 Marys Place Stranorlar

Summary of District 4 Strategic Opp Stranorlar

Summary of District 5 Pentland Park Ballybofey

Summary of District 6 Ballybofey Village

Summary of District 7 Drumboe and Linkages

Due to the continued public health circumstances and increasing instance of Covid-19, it is not possible to hold a bookable event. As an alternative, the consultation period has been extended to 29^th July 2021.