Delight in Laois as €1.45 million secured for community enterprise centre

There was delight in Durrow as the community secured an allocation of €1.45 million for a Community Development Enterprise Centre.

The money will help transform the former Methodist Chapel and hall into an enterprise centre and community, arts and remote working centre.  

A description, of the project which is already well advanced by local people, says it will deliver a centre to provide a community, arts and remote working space for Durrow and the surrounding hinterland.

In total €1,456,983 has been allocated for Durrow Community Enterprise Centre under the fourth round of the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund. The total cost of the project is €1.82 million.  

Work on the project began before the pandemic when the Durrow Community Forum secured the hall and the adjacent former Civil Defence building which would be demolished.

The ambitious project will see the build a large two-storey extension built that would include:

• A multi-purpose meeting room/rehearsal room in the former chapel
• An atrium providing gallery and exhibition space
• Three large meeting/activity rooms, which can be opened into 1 large area
• 2 individual studios on the first floor with an open plan hot desk area of up to 12 spaces and 2 large
  team offices
• Reception area, toilets and storage
• External car parking, inc EV charging points and bicycle stands

Chair of Durrow Development Forum, who have been working on the project for a number years, Evelyn Clancy expressed her joy at the news. 

“It is brilliant. It is just fantastic. We are thrilled as a community that it has come our way," she said. MORE BELOW PICTURE OF THE PLANS.

Expressing his delight at the announcement, Cllr Ollie Clooney described it as ‘absolutely fabulous’ news. 

“There would have been a lot of work gone into that. There is a brilliant committee and they are very hardworking,” he said.

“It is a great boost for a small town like Durrow because all the funds are going to big places. I am over the moon. It is absolutely brilliant and it gives other small  towns encouragement as well because other than that they are going to die,” he remarked. 

Cllr Clooney believes projects like this one can keep rural towns and villages going. He cited the decline of rural pubs and business coupled with rising costs, particularly in relation to energy, as major concerns for rural Ireland.

“This is going to keep life in it for all the clubs and everything,” he said. 

The projects are being funded as part of Our Rural Future, the Government’s ambitious five Year Policy for Rural Development. MORE REACTION TO THE NEWS BELOW PICTURE.

Welcoming the announcement, Minister Sean Fleming said: “This is great news for Durrow and County Laois.”

“The need for the centre was raised as part of the consultation process for the 2019-2023 community plan, which identified community space, arts space and remote working/co-working space as a priority to serve the town and the wider community,” Minister Fleming explained. 

“I would like to congratulate all involved on this successful application. It is great to see this investment to support projects in our towns and villages, and buildings like this given new purpose in our communities,” he added. 

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The latest steel sculpted bicycle racks in Portlaoise will soon be open for use by cyclists in Laois.

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Welcoming the news, Minister Pippa Hackett said: “I’m delighted to see this level of investment in Durrow. This funding will give the former chapel and forecourt a new lease of life providing a community space and enterprise centre as well as a cultural/gallery and exhibition space for all. This will be the only remote working facility in this part of the county and will serve the town and the wider hinterland.”

“Investing in and utilising our once vacant and derelict buildings brings life and vibrancy into our town centres making them places that people want to live, work and socialise in,” she said.  MORE BELW PICTURE OF THE SITE CLEARED.

Deputy Charlie Flanagan said the project in Durrow has been one of his priorities: “I am delighted that Durrow will receive funding of €1.45 million as part of the delivery of 23 landmark rural regeneration projects across the country. These projects will see vacant, disused and derelict buildings in our rural towns given a new lease of life and purpose for the 21st century.”

“This redevelopment of the former Methodist Chapel has been one of my priorities for South Laois and the funding will help redevelop the building and give it a new purpose as a community, cultural facility, and enterprise hub”, Deputy Flanagan concluded.

The funding was announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys. One of the biggest funding amounts approved is €4.27m for a project in Athy.

It will be spent on the Old Model School & Grounds in Athy date back to the 1800s. This project will see this historic building converted into a State-of-the-Art Food, Drink and Skills Innovation Hub which will provide a dedicated space for enterprise development, job creation and training. A community Food Discovery Centre and Café will also be developed on site.  It is hoped that the project will support food entrepreneurs/starts ups and drive job creation in the agri-food sector in the region.

Announcing the successful projects under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund, Minister Humphreys said:

“I am delighted to announce a record €115 million for the delivery of 23 landmark rural regeneration projects across the country. These projects will see long vacant, disused and derelict buildings in our rural towns given a new lease of life and purpose for the 21st century.

“We are all familiar with historic old buildings in our local towns which have lay vacant for far too long.  In many cases, these are old courthouses or churches of real historical significance and heritage value. These are iconic buildings in our town centres and I don’t want to see them lying idle, falling into disrepair or becoming dilapidated eyesores.

“The funding I am announcing today will help redevelop these buildings and give them new purpose as community & cultural facilities, libraries, co-working hubs, enterprise and tourism hubs and of course like here in Cappoquin, they can even become new homes.”

“Other exciting projects being funded today will see the development of new Town Parks as well as Pedestrian Zones and Outdoor Dining Spaces. This will help to make out towns vibrant spaces for people to live and work in.

“There are also a number of important projects which will help drive job creation in areas such as food innovation and offshore renewable energy,” she said.

A statement said that the 23 projects support a range of sectors and services, including town centre regeneration and residency, remote working, enterprise development, tourism development, remote learning, community development and repurposing of heritage buildings.

Department of Rural and Community Development says applications from Durrow and elsewhere for funding were subjected to a comprehensive assessment process by the Department, with oversight provided by an independent Project Advisory Board, made up of representatives drawn from key Government Departments, along with external independent experts.

The Department says the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund was established to deliver on the National Strategic Objective in the National Development Plan of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities. The Fund is administered by the Department of Rural and Community Development.

The Fund provides investment to support suitable projects in towns and villages with a population of less than 10,000, and outlying areas, which will deliver on the National Strategic Objective of Strengthened Rural Economies and Communities and achieve sustainable economic and social development in these areas.

Calls for applications to the Fund are sought under two categories. Category 1 relates to projects with all necessary planning and other consents in place and which are ready to proceed, while Category 2 projects are those which required further development to become ready for Category 1 status.

To date, the Fund has now provided €395m for 215 projects across Ireland, worth a total of €542m.

The funding from the RRDF is provided to further the aims of Our Rural Future, which the Department says highlighted the need to build strongly on existing investment and to strive for even greater ambition to achieve significant and rapid progress on the objective of balanced regional development.