Kildare Town and Calverstown Village amongst successful applicants.
Kildare South Fine Gael TD and Minister Martin Heydon has welcomed the announcement by Minister Heather Humphreys that Kildare Town and Calverstown Village have been successful under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme. Speaking following the announcement today (Monday), Minister Heydon said, “The allocation of €198,000 towards the purchase of a site in Calverstown for the development of a community space and €150,000 for the enhancement of the local market in Kildare town is wonderful news”.
“Calverstown has seen a population boom during the Celtic Tiger years which has continued since then and this has resulted in the need for additional facilities in the area. With an increasing young population, the community are keen to have their own space. Councillor Ivan Keatley and I have worked closely with Calverstown Action Network to consider options for additional local facilities and this funding will go towards realising that dream through the purchase of a serviced site in the village. This purchase will allow the network to plan for future with more certainty and complements the brilliant work done by the group to date.
“Kildare town has a long history of being a strong market town and this funding for an activation programme towards an enhanced weekly local market will only prove to further attract people into the town centre, bringing with it all the benefits of increased footfall. Councillor Paddy Curran has worked extremely hard since being co-opted to Kildare County Council to improve services, and amenities in Kildare town and this funding will be a further benefit to the town and its facilities.”
The investment is being provided under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme with a particular emphasis on the revitalisation of rural town/village centres, a key objective of the Government’s ‘Our Rural Future’ and ‘Town Centre First’ policies.
Concluding, Minister Heydon stated “the Town & Village Renewal Scheme has been good to South Kildare, with Ballymore Eustace, Narraghmore, Athy, and Monasterevin all previously successful under the scheme. I know the benefits this funding has had, and will have, in strengthening our rural communities. This is government investment in action, delivering at a local level and making a real difference in our communities. As TD for Kildare South, and being Kildare’s representative at Government, I have consistently worked to ensure that our rural towns and villages are great places to live, work and raise a family. With more people living and working in rural Ireland than ever before, it is only right that there is more investment in rural Ireland, and I look forward to seeing work begin on these projects”.