LOCAL councillors have welcomed Fingal County Council’s commitment to submit a multi-million euro application for public domain improvements in Balbriggan.
The application will look to attract Government funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund for significant improvements to the beach, harbour, Quay Street and Mill Pond areas of the town.
A socio economic strategy is currently being developed under four pillars:
•Economy and Job Creation. Economy and job creation will frame new ways to attract investment to Balbriggan, building on the planned servicing of new land in Stephenstown.
•Community Affairs and Integration. Community affairs and integration will consider a range of issues in relation to active citizenship, diversity and integration, anti-social behaviour, policing and drug and alcohol-related issues.
•Public Realm and Place Making. Public realm and place making will build out on the original ‘Heart of Balbriggan’ public realm document.
•Education and Training. The education and training element will be informed by the council’s skills strategy which will be complete by December. It will also assess potential for the location of a Further Education College in Balbriggan. Issues around schooling and school completion rates will be considered.
Cllr Tony Murphy (Ind), Cllr Grainne Maguire (Ind) and Cllr Malachy Quinn (SF), all based in Balbriggan, together with the pillar chairs form the Balbriggan Leadership Group which is chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of DCU.
The process is now moving towards the public engagement phase. This will open up the process to invite comment/suggestion from the public to inform the strategy.
This is a very exciting time for Balbriggan. Already the evidence of commitment to deliver can be seen in the work currently underway at Clonard Hill, Stephenstown, where a €4 million new road will be completed in late 2018 servicing 53 acres of industrial lands in the Stephenstown Industrial Area.
Fingal County Council, in collaboration with Balbriggan Chamber of Commerce, are already in negotiation with prospective companies to locate in the Stephenstown area.
Cllr Murphy, Cllr Maguire and Cllr Quinn have highlighted the importance of engaging in the public engagement stage of this process.
Advance notice will be given and a reasonable timeframe for delivery is anticipated.