James Lawless
Question:8. Deputy James Lawless asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development the way the town centre first policy will support the development of more accessible and safe public spaces in our towns. [8767/22]
View answerThursday, 17 February 2022
Questions (8)
Written answers
The recently published “Town Centre First - A Policy Approach for Irish Towns” represents a major new policy that aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres. It contains 33 actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, socialise and run a business.
The Town Centre First policy recognises that the needs of each town are different and acknowledges that a “one size fits all” approach will not deliver the outcomes wanted. The policy sets out a framework to facilitate and resource each town to chart their own future through a tailored plan, developed by a collaborative Town Team, and supported by their Local Authority.
The policy is underpinned by significant levels of public investment spread across major Government schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Croí Conaithe (Towns) Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
The Policy will assist each town, through a Town Team supported by the Local Authority, to design, develop and implement a plan to make their towns more vibrant and attractive places to live and work. This could include the development of accessible and safe public spaces in the respective towns. The regeneration of our public spaces is identified as a key opportunity in the Town Centre First Policy.
A National Town Centre First Office, supported by a network of Town Regeneration Officers, will drive the delivery of many of the recommendations outlined in the policy and support the co-ordinated roll-out of the policy by Local Authorities and Town Teams.
I am confident that this new Town Centre First approach will have hugely positive impacts on towns across rural Ireland.
Questions Nos. 9 to 13, inclusive, answered orally.