A RECENTLY formed group in Clonakilty made up of a dozen different organisations has come together to propose developing a cultural centre in the heart of the town.
Clonakilty Cultural Centre Action Group (CCCAG) was formed last month on the back of a Council-backed public engagement session to develop an Integrated Urban Strategy (IUS) for Kent Street. Last year, Cork County Council was successful in securing €200,000 of THRIVE (Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme) funding for this project.
Speaking to The Southern Star, CCCAG spokesperson James Wallur, who is also on the board of Clonakilty Community Arts Centre, said it is really important for them to lobby for a cultural centre in the town to meet the needs of numerous groups and organisations.
‘Towards the end of the first public engagement session last month I announced that I was forming this group. We held several meetings and had two weeks then to get a written proposal in so it’s been an incredibly fast process,’ said James.
‘We have around 19 individuals and about half a dozen organisations including Clonakilty Tidy Towns and Clonakilty Resource Centre, to name a few who have come on board. We’ve had people stepping up who have no experience in this type of lobbying and people from all walks of life wanting a new cultural centre for Clonakilty.’
He pointed out that there are a lot of great groups and organisations in the town who don’t have adequate resources or space, and only for places like O’Donovan’s Hotel and The Green Dot they wouldn’t be able to host their meetings.
‘We are putting our proposal for a multi-use cultural arts centre into the mix and we’re taking the opportunity to highlight the outstanding needs of the heritage, arts and civic sectors of our community. There is a lot that can be done with these empty buildings and more so, there is a need within our community.’
A Council spokesperson said that Brady Shipman Martin has been appointed to deliver the IUS on behalf of Cork County Council, while Tara Kennedy (Workshop Bantry) has been engaged as a public consultation specialist to lead the public engagement of the project.
The Council also confirmed they’d received 319 responses to a survey on the project.
‘The redevelopment will be community-led, involve multiple disciplines and focus on the delivery of shared infrastructure that is sustainable, beautiful and accessible.
The information gathered from last month’s public workshop – which was attended by over 80 locals – and a public survey will now be collated and the findings will be brought to a further public session on Tuesday April 29th at 7pm in the Parish Centre.
A Co-Creation Workshop will allow the public an opportunity to discuss emerging strategies based on their input.’
