Waterford Senator John Cummins has warmly welcomed the announcement that Stradbally, Aglish, Dungarvan, Knockanore and Clashmore will share an allocation of €353,210 under the latest round of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. The timely announcement was made by Minister of Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands Heather Humphreys TD.
Senator Cummins said “Last year I encouraged groups to apply for funding under the latest call for the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and thankfully some very innovative projects were put forward for consideration. The significant funding being announced today is testament to the great collaborative work which is ongoing between stakeholders across Waterford and I would like to put on record my gratitude to them for their tireless work.”
“I would also like to thank Councillors Liam Brazil, Seanie Power, Pat Nugent, Damien Geoghegan and Declan Doocey for making me aware of the projects that were being submitted to the Department for consideration for their respective districts. I was only too delighted to take these projects up with Minister Humphreys directly, prior to Christmas and I am delighted that she has allocated this significant funding which I know will make a huge difference across these five deserving towns and villages.
A brief description of the projects and the funding allocated to each;
Stradbally: €88,615 - Development of a Biodiversity Park, including path construction, natural paving, seating, bespoke bike stands & interpretative wildlife signage.
Aglish: €68,509 - Pedestrian safety measures, upgrade works to a community hall & installation of way finding finger posts and tourism/heritage signage.
Dungarvan: €53,784 - The development of a strategic framework & implementation plan for Dungarvan.
Knockanore: €56,856 - The installation of IT infrastructure within the community hall to create a remote hub; the installation of a bus shelter; and the installation of tourism information signage.
Clashmore: €85,446 - Upgrade of community facilities (The Heritage Centre & the Old School House) in Clashmore & the installation of tourism signage and marquee.
Senator Cummins added “Waterford has done very well in recent years from the Town and Village Renewal scheme and the work that has been carried out across our beautiful county thus far is really having a positive impact on the appearance and facilities on offer for both tourists and locals alike. Covid-19 has certainly reinforced the importance having adaptable spaces that can be utilised for a variety of things while also emphasising the necessity of having strong local communities. I believe the Town and Village renewal scheme is about acknowledging the great communities that exist across our country and investing in their futures. The return on investment is difficult to quantify but it is certainly many multiples of the initial outlay and is money well spent.”
Concluding his statement Senator Cummins said “it is never too early to start planning for the next round of the scheme and if any community groups across our towns and villages would like to discuss a potential application, I would be more than happy to engage with them because this is about creating vibrant communities that will flourish post Covid-19”.