Brendan Griffin
Question:726. Deputy Brendan Griffin asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage his views on a matter (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19143/21]
View answerWednesday, 21 April 2021
Questions (726, 798)
John Paul Phelan
Question:798. Deputy John Paul Phelan asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage the financial supports he plans to introduce to promote the town centre first policy which aims to see redevelopment and renewal of often vacant or underused town centre buildings for new dwellings; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20318/21]
View answerWritten answers
I propose to take Questions Nos. 726 and 798 together.
While our towns and villages have shown remarkable resilience through recent crises, they require specific policy supports to ensure that they continue to function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live and work, to raise families, to act as the service, cultural and recreational hub for the surrounding areas, and to facilitate social and community interaction.
In this context, the Programme for Government (PFG) committed in outline to the development of a Town Centre First (TCF) policy. With a view to giving effect to this commitment and the actions outlined in the PFG, a TCF Inter-Departmental Group (IDG) was established in November 2020 to consider the regeneration of our towns and villages. The IDG is jointly chaired by my Department and the Department of Rural and Community Development.
In parallel, a Town Centre First Advisory Group was also established to enable the experiences of a broader group of stakeholders to be brought to bear in informing the process of policy development, and will support the work of the IDG.
Following the initial development stages through the forum of the IDG and Advisory Group, four key pillar areas have been agreed for the development of the TCF framework, which are:
- Governance & Enabling Structures;
- Economic & Social Purpose;
- Living Towns Approach;
- Investment & Resources.
Three working groups under the first three pillar areas, were set up in 2021, with nominees from each of the IDG representative organisations. It is intended that the outcome of these three groups will feed into the fourth, cross-cutting pillar regarding investment and resources. Work has progressed well and draft working group papers by are currently being developed for discussion, initially with the IDG, in the coming weeks.
A broad range of issues and themes are emerging from the work to date, many of which are similar in nature and which, significantly, have been identified independently by each of the groups. These include the challenges our towns currently face such as those associated with the provision of adequate employment opportunities, addressing vacant and derelict properties, the impact of online shopping on town-centre retail, and the general move away from town centre living and commercial activity.
There is general consensus among all the groups that there is no one solution or issue that can or should be addressed in isolation but rather that a TCF framework should be holistic and capable of being tailored to address the individual needs, size and characteristics of a town. Until such time as this work is further progressed and measures developed and agreed, it would be premature to address the specific matters raised.
The aim is that the IDG will provide recommendations for consideration by Government in June. It is envisaged that recommendations will cover the short, medium and longer-term out to 2040, to align with PI2040.