Newly formed Town Team in west Offaly hosts first meeting

THE newly formed Ferbane Town Team held its first introductory meeting on Tuesday, October 1, 2024. This team was established following a drop-in clinic in July 2024, which sought volunteers from various local groups and organisations. Town Teams typically consist of 8 to 10 members, including business owners, residents, and community representatives, all working together to revitalize their town.

The Ferbane Town Team includes representatives from An Síolán, Ferbane Tidy Towns, and sectors such as education, business, sports, youth, and residential areas. The team is supported by the Town Regeneration Officer from Offaly County Council, in partnership with Offaly Local Development Company, Laois Offaly Educational Training Board, and An Garda Síochána.

Olwen Cummins, Town Regeneration Officer with Offaly County Council outlined “the role of town team is to develop a comprehensive plan outlining the objectives they aim to achieve for the town over the next 10 to 20 years” adding while the role of town team will take a lot of work and dedication, they will have a unique position in the community to become ‘local experts’ to take a lead on the development of projects that can make positive, long-term changes for the town. “Nobody knows what the community needs more than the people who live and work in their town” added Olwen.

The Town Centre First policy aims to create vibrant, attractive town centres that serve as hubs for living, working, and visiting, as well as social, cultural, and recreational activities. Earlier this year, €30,000 was awarded to Ferbane by the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Town Centre First Policy. These funds will be used to support the Town Team and to develop the Town Centre First Plan for Ferbane.

In the coming months the team will collaborate with the Town Regeneration Officer and Offaly County Council to formulate a plan that will guide the regeneration of Ferbane, build on the positive initiatives taking place and set a new vision for the town’s future by identifying key projects for development.

One of the first events for the Town Team is to attend an information gathering workshop in conjunction with the Technology University of the Shannon (TUS). This will be a public event, held in Gallen Community School, on Tuesday 22nd October, 2024, from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm.

Participants attending the workshop will discuss and examine:

the town’s strengths and weaknesses

opportunities for development and

community suggestions for making Ferbane a more attractive town to live, work and visit.

There will be a follow up workshop towards the end of November where the information gathered will be presented back to the community for consideration.

More information regarding the Town Centre First policy can be found on offaly.ie or by clicking the following link

https://www.offaly.ie/town-centre-first-policy/