From Department of Rural and Community Development
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The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys, has today (14 December) announced over €27 million in funding that will combat dereliction and breathe new life into rural towns and villages.
The announcement represents the largest ever investment under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and will see a range of landmark projects delivered across rural Ireland.
The major package announced by Minister Humphreys today comprises 4 Strands:
Announcing the funding today, Minister Humphreys said:
“I am delighted to announce a record €27 million in funding under my department’s Town and Village Renewal Scheme. This is all about tackling the scourge of vacancy and dereliction in our rural towns and villages. It’s about taking old buildings and giving them a new lease of life. And it’s about rejuvenating the centre of our towns by developing public plazas, town parks, community gardens and sports facilities for the benefit of local families. This investment today will breathe new life into rural towns and villages across every single county. It’s the largest ever investment under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme and demonstrates my passion and ambition for our rural communities.”
Among the 75 projects that received €17 million in funding under the standard Town and Village Renewal Scheme are:
Minister Humphreys also today announced 29 projects that will benefit from funding under the Building Acquisition Measure (BAM) of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
Under the initiative, local authorities were asked by the department to engage with the local community to identify suitable vacant or derelict properties that could be taken into public ownership and converted for community use.
Among the 29 projects to be funded under the €6 million Building Acquisition Measure are:
Minister Humphreys continued:
“We are all familiar with that old building in the community that has acted as an eyesore for far too long. This particular initiative, the Building Acquisition Measure, is about providing our local authorities with the necessary resources to tackle the scourge of vacancy and dereliction. This funding will see former garda stations, convents, old cinemas and banks taken into public ownership and converted for the good of the local community. This scheme goes to the heart of our rural development policy ‘Our Rural Future’ – breathing new life into towns and villages and making them better places to live, work and raise a family.”
Minister Humphreys has also today given the green light for works to take place in 26 towns under the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative.
This scheme will see funding of up to €100,000 provided to one town per local authority.
Under the initiative, retailers and property owners will be provided with grants that they can use to improve the facades of their buildings, carry out artwork or install features such as street furniture or canopies.
The Towns being supported under the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative are as follows.
| County Council | Town |
| Carlow County Council | Bagenalstown |
| Cavan County Council | Ballyconnell |
| Clare County Council | Lisdoonvarna |
| Cork County Council | Bandon |
| Donegal County Council | Lifford |
| Fingal County Council | Rush |
| Galway County Council | Tuam |
| Kerry County Council | Tarbert |
| Kildare County Council | Athy |
| Kilkenny County Council | Callan |
| Laois County Council | Abbeyleix |
| Leitrim County Council | Carrick On Shannon |
| Limerick County Council | Foynes |
| Longford County Council | Granard |
| Louth County Council | Omeath |
| Mayo County Council | Ballyhaunis |
| Meath County Council | Trim |
| Monaghan County Council | Clones |
| Offaly County Council | Clara |
| Roscommon County Council | Ballinlough |
| Sligo County Council | Enniscrone |
| Tipperary County Council | Tipperary Town |
| Waterford County Council | Tallow |
| Westmeath County Council | Kilbeggan |
| Wexford County Council | Enniscorthy |
| Wicklow County Council | Newtownmountkennedy |
Minister Humphreys also announced a further €1.56 million to fund 33 projects that are pre-development stage. This funding will support feasibility, planning and design works.
Examples of these projects include:
The Minister concluded:
“Today I am giving the green light for works to commence in the 26 towns selected under the Streetscapes Enhancement Initiative. From Bagenalstown to Ballinlough, this initiative will provide retailers and property owners with grants that they can use to improve the facades of their buildings, carry out artwork or install features such as street furniture or canopies. This is a new initiative that I introduced as part of Our Rural Future. The response has been hugely positive to date and I look forward to seeing works commence in these 26 towns. Finally I am delighted to sanction €1.56 million for pre-development work on 33 projects to help with the costs of developing these applications so that they are shovel ready for future funding calls.”
The 2022 Town and Village Renewal Scheme (TVRS) will prioritise tackling vacancy and dereliction in towns and villages. Other projects which will be welcomed include regeneration projects that support active and vibrant town or village centres, remote working, upgrading shopfronts and street facades, and green spaces and parks.
The scheme is administered through the local authorities, who are required to work closely with local communities and local businesses to develop and implement proposals that can make a lasting impact in revitalising rural towns and villages across the country.
Under the main Town and Village Renewal Measure applications are permitted as follows:
The Project Development Measure was introduced in 2021 and now forms part of the overarching Town and Village Renewal Scheme structure. It provides for a pipeline of significant, well developed projects which might be subsequently progressed to construction stage, subject to availability of further funding. Each local authority was invited to apply for up to 2 PDM projects for up to €50,000 per project.
The new 2022 Building Acquisition Measure formed part of the overarching Town and Village Renewal Scheme structure. It provided up to €400,000 to each local authority to purchase vacant and derelict buildings for future development as community assets. Each local authority was invited to apply to purchase up to two such buildings within the €400,000 available.
Our Rural Future is the whole-of-government policy for rural Ireland for the period 2021-2025. It represents a new milestone in the approach to rural development policy for Ireland.
The policy’s objectives will be achieved through the delivery of 161 measures, to be implemented progressively over the life of the policy across a range of government departments and agencies. Annual work programmes enable new actions to be added over the policy’s lifecycle, to respond to the emerging needs of rural communities.
Delivery of actions in the 2022 Work Programme will be monitored through the publication of 6-monthly Progress Reports.