Donegal County Council is delighted to welcome today’s announcement by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys that €18.8m has been awarded under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF) supported by €2.5m match funding committed by Donegal County Council for regeneration projects in Carndonagh, Ballybofey-Stranorlar and Ailt an Chorráin (Burtonport).
The investment will deliver transformational regeneration projects in the heart of each of the towns. The projects include the creation of new public spaces and improved pedestrian environments, reuse of vacant buildings including heritage buildings and the development of new enterprise space for remote learning, social enterprise, tourism related enterprise and large scale economic investment.
The projects relate to the particular challenges and regeneration opportunities in each town supported including:
The Cathaoirleach of Donegal County Council, Cllr Rena Donaghey welcomed the announcement and said “This is a very important endorsement by government of the importance of investing in our rural towns to strengthen them as key service centres that can properly meet the needs of the wider rural population. This investment will re-energise Carndonagh, Ballybofey-Stranorlar and Ailt an Chorráin as very vibrant, attractive and exciting places for their existing communities and it will also provide lots of spin-off opportunities for new and existing businesses, jobs creation, and increased investment generally. I would like to commend all involved for the work in developing these exciting projects and to thank the Minister for the confidence placed in the potential of County Donegal. ”
Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, John McLaughlin said, “We have continued to work very hard with local communities to develop regeneration masterplans and projects that can make a real difference to the attractiveness and liveability of our towns throughout the County and I would like to acknowledge the community based collaborations that make this work possible. This is critical work in supporting the community and cultural development of our towns as vibrant and creative settlements that are great places to live in, to invest in and to visit. The projects supported today by Minister Humphrey’s announcement are flagship and transformational projects of Countywide and Regional importance and form a critical part of our response to Brexit, Covid and the climate crisis The Council is committed to driving these types of investments in our town centres which will enable other investments and growth to follow. The dedicated work of our Regeneration Team together with the collaboration of the local communities has led to the successful announcement today.”
Referring to the recent publication of ‘Our Rural Future’ Liam Ward, Director of Community Development & Planning Service said, “These projects are multi-faceted in nature prioritizing place-making, outdoor and civic space and pedestrian accessibility in tandem with targeting tailored job creation and investment relative to the special role and function of each of the towns supported. This approach harnesses the special economic potential of Carndonagh, Ballybofey-Stranorlar and Ailt an Chorrain and directly supports the Governments policy for rural Ireland to revitalize town centres as vibrant and lived-in rural places”.