BANTRY and Macroom are to each receive €10,000 to develop ‘town teams’ as part of plans to address vacancy and dereliction.
The two towns are part of a 68-strong list confirmed for funding by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys. The funding will support communities to establish or develop Town Teams where they are not already well established.
‘This is all about tackling vacancy, combatting dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. Through this initiative, we are recognising the importance of having vibrant towns, which are places to live in, work in, visit, and raise a family in,’ said Minister Humphreys.
The Town Team will be a group of local residents, business people, community representatives and other stakeholders who come together to make their area a better place to live, work, visit and invest. They should represent diverse sectors and backgrounds. The idea is they become ‘local experts’ in their area and to take a lead on the development of interventions that can make positive long-term changes for the town.
This funding for Bantry and Macroom follows on from the €780,000 funding which was granted to 26 towns nationwide – including Skibbereen – to support the development of a Town Centre First Plan. Following a public consultation, an ambitious regeneration plan for Skibbereen was launched by Cork County Council earlier this month.
