Funding of €320,000 has been allocated to Donegal to make local towns and villages more colourful, vibrant and attractive places.
The Streetscape Enhancement Initiative aims to help property owners to improve the facades of their buildings through paint, murals and shopfront upgrades.
Over 50 rural towns and villages are to gain funding under the €7million government scheme.
Donegal has been allocated one of the largest portions of the fund due to the high number of towns/villages to benefit.
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 / traditional shopfronts
- Provision of street planting, shrubbery, trees and flowers boxes
- Illumination and lighting of architectural features
- Installation of canopies and street furniture
- Decluttering of streetscapes with removal of unnecessary signs / wires
Announcing the new initiative today, Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys said: “We have all seen the huge success of towns like Kinsale, Adare and others who have put a major focus on improving their streetscapes by painting buildings in vibrant colours, upgrading and restoring their traditional shop-fronts and removing unnecessary clutter from their main streets.
“This new initiative is about Local Authorities thinking strategically and working in collaboration with local businesses and property owners to add colour and vibrancy to our rural towns and villages.
“Outdoor Dining is here to stay and I believe that will only be a positive for towns and villages across the country. Through this fund, we want to make sure that people are looking out at vibrant, colourful and welcoming streets in our rural towns.
“The Streetscape Enhancement Initiative will directly support property owners to undertake work such as shop-front improvement, the painting of buildings in vibrant colours, upgrades to signage and lighting, the development of green areas and the installation of canopies and street furniture.”
The Streetscape Enhancement Measure will be administered by Local Authorities who will be requested to nominate at least two towns per county. Participating towns and villages will be confirmed in the coming weeks.
