The Government’s new Town Centre First policy, which includes Roscrea in its first phase, has been launched today.
Before Christmas, €100,000 was allocated to Tipperary County Council which has designated Roscrea as its chosen location for the first phase.
Announcing further details on the programme today, the Government says the policy includes 33 unique actions to “tackle vacancy, combat dereliction and breathe new life into our town centres.”
Among 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.
