REVITALISING THE SOUTH-EAST – O’BRIEN AND NOONAN ANNOUNCE €74 MILLION FOR REGENERATION PROJECTS
REVITALISING THE SOUTH-EAST – O’BRIEN AND NOONAN ANNOUNCE €74 MILLION FOR REGENERATION PROJECTS
€28 funding for Waterford to help revitalise Cultural Quarter and Viking Triangle
Abbey Quarter Project’s second phase funded
Carlow Town project to focus on improved mobility; Trinity Wharf, Wexford to be redeveloped
The Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Darragh O’Brien TD, and the Minister of State with responsibility for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, today announced €74 million in funding for five regeneration projects in the South-East investment region of Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford. The projects are being funded under ‘Call 2’ of the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF). The URDF part-funds projects aimed at enhancing urban areas to make them more attractive places in which to live, work, visit and invest. The four local authorities, which will deliver these multi-annual projects, will receive this funding.
The projects for which URDF support have been approved are:
Public Realm and Pedestrian Linkage Project Carlow Town (Carlow County Council) – €9.79 million
Abbey Quarter Phase 2 (Advancement Project) (Kilkenny County Council) – €11.46 million
Kilkenny City Centre Enhanced Liveability Project – €6.64 million
Waterford City Centre Regeneration (Waterford City and County Council) – €27.66 million
Trinity Wharf (Wexford County Council) – €18.49 million
The Department will now contact the local authorities on the next steps regarding funding. Today’s announcement brings the total approved URDF funding for this investment region to date to €165.59 million. Details of the remaining provisional funding allocations for ‘Call 2’ URDF projects in other Project Ireland 2040 investment regions, not already announced, will be announced later this week.
All selected projects support the National Planning Framework’s ‘national strategic outcome’ of compact growth, a particular focus of the second call for URDF proposals. The URDF aims to facilitate a greater proportion of residential and commercial development, supported by infrastructure, services and amenities, within the existing built-up areas of larger urban settlements.
Announcing the provisional allocations Minister O’Brien said: “This funding will support projects in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford that will enhance quality of life for many people. The projects are all about making these areas more attractive places in which to live, work, visit and invest. The URDF funding we are announcing for Waterford today will help regenerate two areas in the city, demonstrating the Government’s ambition for Waterford to be a ‘Regional City of Scale’, as stated in the National Planning Framework. This ambition is already evidenced by the €80.6 million in funding for the North Quays project, which we announced last year.
“Wexford will also see redevelopment of an area with significant potential. The Trinity Wharf project, with its plans for retail, cultural, hotel and commercial development, can enhance Wexford as a location in which to live, work and visit. Improved quality of life and attractiveness as a place to work will help prevent future growth involving people commuting from Wexford to Dublin for work.”
Minister for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD, added: “The URDF funding for projects in Carlow and Kilkenny that we are announcing today is evidence of this Government’s commitment to improving quality of life in urban centres, making them more accessible, inclusive and liveable. Funding for the ‘Enhanced Liveability’ and Abbey Quarter public realm projects demonstrates our support for Kilkenny’s ambition to become a ’10 minute’ city and where ‘placemaking’ is creating a new vibrancy within the historic centre.
Carlow town’s project is a good example of how the URDF can support the implementation of a vision as set out in ‘Project Carlow 2040’, where good urban planning can progress heritage-led regeneration, better liveability and enhance urban biodiversity. We see the URDF as a key catalyst in our ‘Town Centres First’ policy approach, to realise a vibrant and durable future for our unique Irish towns.”
Minister O’Brien added: “Overall, I believe this funding can be a catalyst for regeneration, development and growth. It will also provide much-needed economic stimulus and job creation in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford as our economy emerges from the depths of the pandemic.”
“Compact growth was the focus of this round of URDF funding. The projects the Government is funding are geared towards sustainable growth of our urban settlements, supported by jobs, houses, services and amenities, as envisaged by the National Planning Framework. As well as compact growth, the fund supports our other national planning aims. In that sense the URDF is a unique approach to Government funding. Whilst many Government-funded programmes are for specific types of projects, the URDF funds a diverse set of integrated projects with integrated aims. I look forward to working with the local authorities in Carlow, Kilkenny, Waterford and Wexford to progress these important projects.”
“I understand there will be some disappointment in terms of projects which were unsuccessful. My Department will engage with and work with local in respect of unsuccessful proposals,” he concluded.
The projects were chosen after a rigorous assessment process, overseen by a project advisory board consisting of Government departments, State agencies and national and international experts in areas such as building, architecture and planning. In total, the department received 76 project proposals. Each local authority submitted at least one application. Today’s announcement honours the Programme for Government commitment to continue the URDF.
Minster for Housing DarraghOBrien TD
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Michael McDonnell Managing Editor of Irish Construction Industry Magazine & Plan Magazine
