15 Mar Dillon welcomes €11m Urban Regeneration funding for Castlebar

– Urban Regeneration and Development Funding confirmed for Castlebar;

– Reactivation and Rejuvenation of Castlebar’s Historic Core (€8.5m);

– Castlebar Military Barracks Reuse and Regeneration (€2.5m).

Fine Gael TD for Mayo, Alan Dillon, has welcomed confirmation that €11m in urban regeneration funding has been awarded for two Castlebar projects at “The Mall” and old Castlebar Military Barracks.  Mayo County Council submitted two applications to the Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF), and both have been approved by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Deputy Dillon said: “I recently highlighted that urban regeneration funding is no longer a luxury, but a real necessity for the beating heart of our urban centres.  I have been working with Ministers Darragh O’Brien and Peter Burke at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage to secure this funding.  These projects have the potential to develop large parts of Castlebar as a thriving hub for business, residents and the wider community.

“The Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation Initiative will fund a strategic renewal from the Military Barracks at Rock Square, through the Mall and onto Ellison Street/Mountain View.  €8.527m has been secured to provide a mechanism to stimulate and redress vacant deterioration of historic properties that frame The Mall and will specifically repurpose the former Daly’s (Imperial) Hotel as an innovation hub and rejuvenate its formal historic setting while the  former Castlebar Post Office will be repurposed as a Community Youth Resource Centre. “

“The Castlebar Military Barracks Reuse and Regeneration funding will stretch from Rock Square through the Military Barracks and out as far as the roundabout at the entrance to Castle Street car park.  €2.5m in funding will allow for detailed design works, site works, restoration of the public realm, and capital funding for repurposing works.  This additional €2.5m will compliment the previously awarded €2.5m funding acquired under round 1 off the URDF back in Nov 2018 where contracts were signed earlier this week by Mayo County Council to extend the Greenway through the town centre and start civil works at the Military Barracks.”

Deputy Dillon added; “We owe it to the Castlebar community, nearby residents and traders in that area who support each other continuously, and thankfully the area will now receive substantial Government funding. I certainly want a situation where these ‘old’ buildings instil a sense of pride versus the reality of their deteriorated condition at present. I have informed the Ministers that I am confident these projects have the potential to become flagship projects for the URDF and their Department.”

Deputy Dillon concluded: “The URDF is one of four funds set up under the National Development Plan 2018-2027.  The fund was set-up in 2018 by the last Fine Gael-led government and provides an excellent opportunity to secure the necessary funding to address the shortcomings in town centre public realms.  Thankfully, we now have both the plan and the funding to undertake these urban renewal projects in Castlebar that will serve as a real example of how to utilise urban regeneration funding and to get it right.  I am really excited about these projects as they will be a real gamechanger to Castlebar, and I am hoping they can be replicated around other Mayo towns in future rounds of funding under the URDF.”