Moville in Town Centre First programme

The Inishowen seaside town of Moville has been chosen for inclusion in the Town Centres First initiative.

Cllr Martin Farren (Labour) welcomed the announcement by Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys. Moville, Burtonport and Carrigart were the three Donegal towns chosen.

Councillor Farren said: “I particularly welcome the appointment of a dedicated Town Regeneration Officer as this will provide the people of Moville with a forum to develop all aspects of town regeneration and a link to all sources of funding to develop community and private projects in a cohesive manner.

“I had raised the issues around the regeneration of Moville at the last Inishowen Municipal District meeting and have arranged for the Council’s planner with responsibility for regeneration, Paul Kelly, to visit Moville to familiarise him with various possibilities for regeneration projects in Moville.

“The appointment of a specific town regeneration officer will make a natural second step to Paul Kelly’s inspection of the town.

“There are many funding sources becoming available for rural regeneration, well-being, culture and tourism which could benefit Moville, but they are scattered amongst several government departments which makes them difficult to find.

“Some are complementary, others are contradictory, so it makes it difficult to determine how to optimise them,” said Cllr Farren.

He added that the Town Centre First Policy would help align various new and existing funding streams to support implementation of Town Centre First Plans.

He added: “The town regeneration officer and the National Town Centre Office will help optimise accessibility to these funds.

“Some of the Funds available include the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund, the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, Housing for All’s forthcoming Croí Cónaithe (Towns) Fund, the Active Travel Fund, the Town and Village Renewal Scheme, the Climate Action and Retrofitting Initiatives, the Historic Towns Initiative and the Historic Structures Fund.

“There will also be Investment supports from the forthcoming European Regional Development Fund 2021-27.

“In addition, we will have the Leader Fund and the Fishing Local Action Group funding. Both these funds are due to resume shortly. Because Donegal suffered most from the loss of fishing resources due to Brexit so the county stands to gain most from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve fund established to compensate the seafood industry and the fishing communities for their losses

“All these present Moville with great opportunities and I welcome the appointment of a Town Regeneration Officer as the key to accessing these opportunities. I also welcome the announcement as a sign that central government is starting to use joined-up thinking to optimise future funding opportunities,” said Martin Farren.

According to Malcolm Noonan, the Town Centres First programme will see a major new strategy to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into town centres; the appointment of a network of town regeneration officers to drive future development; unprecedented investment to make our towns better places to live, work and raise a family; and a suite of supports and tools to help businesses and local communities deliver on their unique vision for their area.

It will also develop a new policy to deliver on the objectives of Housing for All and Our Rural Future.

This new policy aims to tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.

For Donegal, the first step will be the appointment of a dedicated town regeneration officer appointed to Donegal County Council.

This new regeneration officer will set up a town team of local stakeholders, individual residents, private businesses and community groups to develop a town plan for each town.

There will be a National Town Centre First Office to drive implementation of Town Centre First actions and to coordinate stakeholder engagement at a national level and across the local government sector.