The Mayor of Clare, Cllr Mary Howard, has welcomed the recent announcement by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys TD, of the third round of funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme Accelerated Measure for 2020.
This third round of funding under the Accelerated Measure sees the commitment of €208,705 for seven projects in Clare and will bring a welcome stimulus to towns and villages in receipt of funding. The funding announced is in addition to the two previous funding announcements under the Accelerated Measure of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2020, bringing the total funding granted to date to €435,868 for projects in Clare.
Cllr Howard said: “This funding will help towns and villages in the county to adapt to social distancing requirements and to provide safe environments that encourage people into town and village centres to shop and socialise, when it is safe to do so, while adhering to public health guidelines.”
The seven projects in Clare selected by the Department of Rural and Community Development under Round 3 of the Accelerated Measure are:
Miltown Malbay – town centre enhancement works involving the painting of under/unused buildings and shop-fronts, and provision of street furniture, planters and soft landscaping (grant funding of €40,000)
Lissycasey – structural improvements to the existing Ecological Park to broaden its use for the entire community (grant funding of €20,475)
Inagh – community multigenerational recreation space and playground (grant funding of €39,600)
Lisdoonvarna – public meeting space incorporating native trees, pollinator beds, seating and a heritage focal point within an existing community park (grant funding of €25,000)
Crusheen – repair and upgrade of community centre and extension of footpaths (grant funding of €18,630)
Scariff – refurbishment and enhancement of paths and seating in Scariff Riverside Park to make it safe and accessible (grant funding of €25,000)
Ennis (Large Town Accelerated Measure) – to develop a 7km recreational trail from from Ennis Town to the surrounding area that incorporates walking and cycling infrastructure (grant funding of €40,000).
Pat Dowling, Chief Executive, Clare County Council, acknowledged the specific Covid-19 focus of the Accelerated Measure under this year’s scheme, which, he said, is “now more important than ever to assist businesses and communities to address the challenges that Covid-19 has brought to their towns and villages”.
Mr Dowling also acknowledged the “remarkable creativity, commitment and innovation of communities in putting forward projects for consideration under this funding measure to enable their communities to adapt in the face of the challenges presented by Covid-19”.
Leonard Cleary, Director of Service, Rural Development, Clare County Council, welcomed the news, saying: “This funding, along with that of the previous rounds of funding, represents a positive step in supporting communities and businesses to meet the specific challenges posed by Covid-19.”
These projects have been identified by local community groups and businesses in conjunction with Municipal Districts, Mr Cleary said.
A further announcement under the standard Town and Village Renewal Scheme 2020 is expected to be announced by Minister Humphreys in the coming weeks.