The Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation, Mary Mitchell O’Connor TD, has today launched the Framework for Town Centre Renewal.

Minister Mitchell O’Connor said: “As Chairperson of the Retail Consultation Forum, I am delighted to launch the Framework for Town Centre Renewal in Sligo today. The Framework sets out a practical step by step action plan for stakeholders to work collaboratively to enhance their local town or village. It will be a key support document for towns and villages applying for funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme launched by my colleague Minister Humphries ten days ago.”

The Framework for Town Centre Renewal will play an important part in the work to rejuvenate and revitalise towns and villages around the country. The Framework supports the Government’s commitment to ensure that the benefits of sustainable economic recovery are felt in every part of Ireland.
The Framework for Town Centre Renewal was prepared by a Working Group within the Retail Consultation Forum. A key challenge identified by the Forum was the issue of Town Centre Renewal and the need to develop a coherent and collaborative approach to implementing town centre renewal. Development of a Framework for Town Centre Renewal was a key priority for the Retail Consultation Forum under the Action Plan for Jobs 2017.

The Framework sets out the key characteristics of a successful town centre and identifies existing supports and best practice examples from around the country. Most importantly, the Framework includes an Action Plan for Town Centre Renewal which is intended to be a blueprint for towns and villages, guiding them through the three stages of town centre renewal: stakeholder engagement, carrying out a town centre health check and preparing a Town Centre Plan. The Framework includes a number of case studies which provide practical examples of best practice from a number of towns and villages around the country.

The Minister said: “Through a collaborative and structured approach to town centre renewal and the continued passion and dedication of people in towns and villages across the country we can achieve our ambition to create vibrant, thriving town centres that are attractive places not only to live in but to work in, do business in and invest in.”

“I would like to thank Seamus Neely, Chief Executive of Donegal County Council, who chaired the Working Group which prepared this Framework, and all members of the Group for their contribution to the Framework.”
Through the Framework for Town Centre Renewal Town and the recently launched Village Renewal Scheme, the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation and the Department of Arts, Heritage, Regional, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs are collectively supporting local Authorities, local businesses and local communities to adopt town centre management best practices and identify projects which will have a positive economic impact on their towns and villages.