Has Balbriggans time finally come?
Could a new vision and strategy for Balbriggan be the turning point for our own success? Fingal County Council has announced plans for a new strategy to develop Balbriggan town and surrounds. The plan will be built on "four key pillars, namely Economy and Job Creation; Public Realm; Education and Life-Long Learning; and Community and Integration." the statement from Fingal County Council states. The full statement can be read below.
Lets hope that finally all stakeholders, political, business, and community will come together for the good of our town and devise and develop a strategy that can really be delivered and acted upon.
I would like to see some elements of the Public Realm plan developed in 2011 acted upon. New funding and loans announced last December stated "agreement with the European Investment Bank will allow Fingal County Council to make progress on several major capital projects currently in its pipeline" which at that announcement included parts of the Public Realm Plan.
Click Here For details of the Balbriggan Public Realm Plan
Fingal Press Release 30-04-2018
Council to develop socio-economic strategy for Balbriggan
Fingal County Council today (Friday) announced the development of a new and wide-ranging socio-economic strategy for Balbriggan. The formulation of the strategy will be overseen by a high-level Leadership Group to be chaired by Professor Brian MacCraith, President of Dublin City University.
The vision for the strategy is that, building on its rich history and its growing talent base, Balbriggan will be an ambitious, cohesive and prosperous community, harnessing its economic and physical advantages and enabling an excellent quality of life for all its people.
The strategy will be built on four key pillars, namely Economy and Job Creation; Public Realm; Education and Life-Long Learning; and Community and Integration. Through this structure, the approach will be wide-ranging and will address all elements required to achieve Balbriggan’s long-term potential.
The development of the strategy will draw on an extensive public engagement exercise, a detailed process of research, analysis and benchmarking and expert international opinion. The strategy will be published in Autumn 2018 and will have a clear action plan, delivery timeframe and budget.
The Chief Executive of Fingal County Council, Paul Reid, said: “Balbriggan has a strong community base and some excellent economic advantages. Working in close cooperation with the State agencies, community groups, local business and the education system we will devise a strategy that has a clear implementation plan and a funding stream.”
The President of DCU, Professor Brian MacCraith, who will chair the Leadership Group, said: “Balbriggan is a town with many strengths, including its rich culture, its history and geography, its young and diverse population, its strong community and its growing enterprise base. I am delighted to be leading the development of a new strategy for the town and I am very confident that we can formulate a plan to secure a prosperous future for Balbriggan and its people.”
The Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Mary McCamley, said: “Balbriggan is one of the main population centres within Fingal so it is important the Council takes the lead in developing a strategy that will benefit everybody living and working in the town from an economic and social point of view.”