Limerick City and County Council has been successful in receiving funding of €1,050,000 for four projects under the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme, announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Ms. Heather Humphreys TD.
The Town and Village Renewal Scheme is funded under Project Ireland 2040 and is a key initiative of Our Rural Future – Ireland’s Rural Development Policy 2021-2025. The objectives of the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme are being re-focused to align with the commitments within Our Rural Future.
The 2021 Scheme prioritises tackling vacancy and dereliction in towns and villages, creation of remote working opportunities and supporting town centre living. Other interventions referenced in Our Rural Future, such as upgrading shopfronts and street facades, green spaces and parks and promoting areas as destinations for remote workers will also be supported.
Specifically the scheme aims to target projects as follows;
- Projects that bring vacant and derelict buildings and sites back into use as multi-purpose spaces, e.g. Tourism, Cultural or Community Hubs
- Projects that bring vacant properties in Town Centres back into use as Remote Working Hubs. This also includes funding for the repurposing of existing community or publicly owned buildings in town or village centres to facilitate remote working.
- Projects to support the upgrade and enhancement of shop-fronts and street facades in towns and villages.
- Projects to develop parks, green spaces and recreational amenities in town centres to make them vibrant hubs for community enjoyment, and to increase footfall for local businesses.
- Marketing campaigns targeted at attracting remote workers and mobile talent to their county/region; and promotion of specific town/villages to attract new customers and/or business investment.
- Projects that support and enhance the night-time economy in line with emerging recommendations from the Night-Time Economy Taskforce.
- Regeneration projects that support active and vibrant town and village centres; these projects should be identified in town and village masterplans (or similar) developed in collaboration with the local community, businesses and the other relevant stakeholders in the town or village.
The details of the towns and villages, project overview and the amount of grant funding secured under the 2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme are outlined below.
2021 Town and Village Renewal Scheme
| Town/Village | Project Description | Grant Funding Approved |
| Patrickswell | Patrickswell Community Hub: The aim of the project is to bring one of the most prominent vacant sites on Main Street in Patrickswell back into use by developing a multi-purpose community centre/hub to serve the needs of the local population, local community groups and businesses. | €500,000 |
| Askeaton | Creation of a Parklet on a derelict site within the West Square, Askeaton. The project will bring a derelict and vacant site back into use and create a public space within the heart of the town for the local community and visitors to the town. | €250,000 |
| Doon | To develop dilapidated old former convent buildings into a Community Services and e-Hub facility with remote working and conference facilities. | €250,000 |
| Bruree (Project Development Measure) | Masterplan for the DeValera Museum and Bruree Heritage Centre. | €50,000 |
