Lanesboro one of four designated towns
Property owners in Longford, Granard, Drumlish and Lanesboro are being urged to apply for funding under the Streetscape Enhancement Measure 2021 of the Town and Village Renewal Scheme.
It comes after County Longford was allocated €220,000 by the Department of Rural and Community Development to support the enhancement of streetscapes and shop fronts in four designated towns as part of €7 million being made available nationwide.
The new scheme was announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys under the Government’s ‘Our Rural Future’ five-year strategy.
Launching the scheme, Minister Humphreys stated that the Streetscape Enhancement Initiative will provide funding to property owners to improve the facades of their buildings.
She said: “It is part of the Government’s effort to assist in the regeneration, repopulation and development of our rural towns and villages.
“Improving the visual appearance of our urban streetscapes increases pride and confidence in our hometowns and villages, making them more attractive places to live, work and do business”.
The Streetscape Enhancement measure will be administered by local authorities and will involve Longford County Council working in collaboration with local businesses and property owners to add colour and freshness to our rural towns and villages. The types of projects that could be supported include:
- Strategic collaboration between property owners to paint buildings or shopfronts in vibrant colours.
- Commissioning of murals in towns and villages.
- Upgrade or restoration of historic and/or traditional shop fronts.
- Provision of street planting, shrubbery, trees and flowers boxes.
- Illumination and lighting of architectural features.
- Installation of canopies and street furniture.
- De-cluttering of streetscapes with removal of unnecessary signs and wires.
Welcoming the new initiative, Cathaoirleach of Longford County Council, Cllr. Peggy Nolan explained that she had been calling for this type of scheme for years.
“This will support hard-pressed business owners to enhance the exterior of their premises making them more appealing to locals and visitors alike.
“When I see what has been achieved in towns like Kinsale, Adare and others, I think to myself why not Longford – and now I’m delighted that we have a wonderful opportunity to do just that for four towns in our county”.
Chief Executive of Longford County Council, Paddy Mahon, said: “Enhancing our streetscapes will create a positive vibe and energy in our urban centres which in turn will attract higher footfall and help our local businesses to flourish.”
Levels of support for eligible projects will range from 70 per cent for individual premises to 80 per cent for joint applications (groups of three or more adjacent premises) to 100 percent where painting is undertaken by direct labour by the applicant. The maximum level of support to any individual building is €8,000.
For further information, or to apply for the scheme, interested parties can log on to www.longfordcoco.ie or email jmurphy@longfordcoco.ie.
The closing date for receipt of applications is 5 pm on September 7th.
