Launch of the first ever Town Centre First Policy
Waterford TD Marc Ó Cathasaigh welcomes the first ever Town Centre First policy which will breathe new life into town centres and make our towns and villages better places to live, work and raise a family. This major new strategy will tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and will unlock the potential of towns throughout the country. The Green Party has long advocated for a Town Centre First approach to rural regeneration and sustainable development and today marks the announcement of another commitment under the Programme for Government.
Welcoming the announcement, Deputy Ó Cathasaigh said:
“The Town Centres First approach has been transformative in Scotland since its introduction, and we have a real opportunity to map that success across County Waterford. Both Tramore and Dungarvan are significant population centres with a rich built heritage. Beyond that, we have a number of beautiful smaller towns and villages that stand to benefit from this approach, from Lismore and Cappoquin in the west to Dunmore and Passage in the east.”
“This approach is all about bring life back into the heart of these old towns. It answers a housing need by activating older properties that might be lying vacant, it has a transport dividend as people are less reliant on cars and in that way it’s climate efficient as well.”
“We do public realm here in Waterford better than any other county, from the city centre to the new public realm in Tramore and Grattan Square in Dungarvan. I expect us to be at the top of the table in terms of the Town Centre First approach, to recreate vibrant, liveable spaces in the hearts of our towns in a way that’s good for people, good for business and does good for the wider environment.”
The Town Centres First policy will see a suite of supports and tools to help businesses and local communities deliver on their unique vision for their area. The policy will deliver on the objectives of ‘Housing for All’ and ‘Our Rural Future’ which will convert empty and derelict buildings into housing, support local businesses, revitalise our communities and drive sustainable future development. A Town Centre First approach focuses on revitalising and regenerating town centres by bringing vacant and derelict buildings back into use and creating new opportunities for unused lands that will encourage more people to live and work within our rural towns and villages.
Town Centre First contains 33 unique actions which will give our towns the tools and resources they need to become more viable and attractive places in which to live, work, visit and run a business. Some of the specific actions contained in Town Centre First include:
• Town Centre First Plans: Support for towns in producing their own Town Centre First Plans, produced by a local Town Team drawn from local community and business representatives. These will identify challenges, actions and integrated responses across a number of themes (business/commercial; community/cultural; housing; built environment; heritage)
• Investment: Implementation of plans will be supported by a targeted investment programme across Government, including through the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and dedicated funding streams to tackle vacancy and dereliction in particular.
• A network of Town Regeneration Officers: who will bring a coordinated approach to Town Centre First delivery across the country and support local Town Teams
• A National Town Centre First Office: that will drive implementation of Town Centre First actions and coordinate stakeholder engagement at a national level and across the local government sector. This office will also be a forum for best practice
• Capacity building programmes for Town Teams
• Health Check Programme: a national, integrated and scaled-up programme for towns
• A Town Centre First toolkit (including web portal): this will provide access to all resources, funding information and best practice models for developing Town Centre First plans
• Identification of ‘pathfinder towns’: to act as demonstrators of the Town Centre First approach and lead best practice. Towns requiring more support with local stakeholder collaboration and access to investment programmes will be identified at an early stage
• A Town Centre First National Oversight and Advisory Group: the group will ensure cross-government focus and policy alignment. It will monitor and guide policy delivery and annual implementation plans.
• Impact assessment methodology: this will help assess the impact of development and investment on town centres. It will be applied to the statutory planning system.
• A research and evidence platform and agreed data measurement requirements: these will relate to key social and economic outcomes and ensure there is an evidence base for the ongoing evaluation of the Town Centre First policy.
The policy is underpinned by multi-billion euro investment spread across major Government schemes such as the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF), Crói Conaithe (Towns) Fund and the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
