Almost €200k funding for Ennis under Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme

Ennis is one of twenty-six town centres in Ireland set to benefit from funding of up to €200K each under THRIVE, the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme, awarded under Ireland’s two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Regional Programmes.

THRIVE was developed by the Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly, working in close partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

It aims to allow Local Authorities and citizens to reimagine and revitalise town centres though the renovation and reuse of publicly owned vacant or derelict heritage buildings.

€194,473 in funding has been awarded to Ennis under the scheme.

“The ERDF Regional Programmes play a critical role in supporting national and regional policy objectives but also a key European policy objective to bring Europe closer to its citizens," David Kelly, Director of the Southern Regional Assembly, said.

"As part of this, THRIVE funding will help local authorities to engage with their citizens to work with them to identify vacant or derelict heritage buildings that, when renovated and repurposed, can have a transformative effect on town centres.”

Local authorities in receipt of funding will be promoting the values and working principles of the New European Bauhaus – an initiative of the European Union – in their strategies and projects to ensure their projects are sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, inclusive and accessible.

Funding has been awarded in respect of the following town centres: Newcastle West, Thurles, Nenagh, Clonmel, Longford Town, Ennis, Shandon Cork, Tralee, Killarney, Kings Island Limerick, Drogheda, Clonakilty, Kilkenny, Dun Laoghaire, Kilmainham, Lucan, Ballina, Ballinasloe, Carrick-On-Shannon, Cavan Town, Galway City, Letterkenny, Monaghan Town, Roscommon Town, Sligo and Tuam.

The Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly are currently evaluating THRIVE Strand 2 applications and expect to make awards for the first set of capital works projects under THRIVE in August 2024. Local authorities will have an opportunity to apply for another tranche of capital funding under THRIVE in a follow-on funding call in Spring 2025.

THRIVE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union under the Southern, Eastern and Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027 and the Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021-2027. Further information is available on the websites of the Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly at www.southernassembly.ie and www.nwra.ie.