Ballinamore Area Strategy One vision One priority plan Co-ordinated action Prepared with the participation of the people of the Ballinamore area. Liam Scollan and Margaret Scollan in association with the Ballinamore Area Steering Group; May 2018 2 1. Executive summary ......................................................................................................................... 4 2. Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 7 3. Overview of Ballinamore area ........................................................................................................ 8 4. Towards a vision.............................................................................................................................. 9 5. Needs, ideas and themes for development .................................................................................. 11 6. Top priorities for the Ballinamore area ........................................................................................ 12 7. Key themes, key goals and their justification for the Ballinamore area ....................................... 13 8. External policy priorities ............................................................................................................... 22 9. Organising for the future of the Ballinamore area ....................................................................... 24 Appendix 1 List of all consultees/attendees at workshops .................................................................. 27 Appendix 2: Original brief and actual activities and timelines ............................................................. 28 Appendix 3: Housing stock and vacant dwellings 2016 ........................................................................ 30 Appendix 4: Needs and concerns of local people ................................................................................. 31 Appendix 5 Ballinamore: - ideas for development: .............................................................................. 32 Appendix 6: Second tier priorities ........................................................................................................ 37 Appendix 7: Basic constitution for a voluntary group .......................................................................... 38 Implementation review dates ............................................................................................................... 39 Acknowledgements We wish to acknowledge the work of many people in the Ballinamore area who have been progressing several important projects and whose work in promoting and organising public participation at meetings was vital. We wish to thank 133 members of the community who participated and took time to work together at workshops and whose names are listed in Appendix 1.i We thank especially those who have formed a Ballinamore Area Steering Group to take this strategy forward and those who have agreed to help implement the projects identified as priorities during the process. The existence of such a group is vital to ensuring that the momentum created can be sustained and have a lasting impact on the area. We thank the artists and Solas Art Gallery, Ballinamore for their kind permission to reproduce their paintings in this strategy, the Commercial Hotel for generously providing the venue for all the public workshops and Smyth’s Siopa Ól for kindly hosting the team meetings. Finally we wish to acknowledge the sponsorship by Leitrim County Council of this facilitation exercise. 3 1. Executive summary 1.1 Introduction This document commences by introducing the background and methodology by which The Ballinamore Area Strategy has been prepared. We then set out a brief overview of the area and introduce some ideas about the type of vision which local people aspire to. We then describe the needs, ideas and themes for development followed by a listing of the top priorities for the Ballinamore area including the actions, timescales and those responsible for implementation. We then place these priorities in context by setting out the key strategic goals which they meet and justify their importance in “Key themes, key goals and their importance for the Ballinamore Area.” We then address external policy priorities, which local people want local and national government to consider in order to provide an environment which is more conducive to the achievement of its key priorities for development. Finally in “Organising for the future of the Ballinamore Area” we describe the welcome emergence of the Ballinamore Area Steering Group and the crucial role it can play in community leadership, integration and implementation. 1.2 Background Between February and May 2018 over 130 people from the Ballinamore area participated in a series of public workshops , facilitated by Liam Scollan and Margaret Scollan and were facilitated to create a vision, strategy and plan for the wider area and to identify key priorities. The workshops were characterised by large enthusiastic attendances, plenty of ideas and a focus on discerning a key vision and way forward. At these workshops each and every voice, both quiet and loud, was heard and is reflected in this plan. 1.3 Overview Ballinamore and its wider rural environs including neighbouring electoral divisions had a population of 1,971 in Census 2016 constituting a drop of 11% from 30 years previously in 1986.ii From analysis of population, employment and housing occupation data alone it is clear that the area faces significant challenges to attract people and jobs. Feedback from the first public workshop on 19th February 2018 reflected these challenges. 1.4 Vision Ballinamore can position itself as a town that promotes science and technology and as a hub centre for a range of outdoor walking and cycling trails and canal journeys. It can also tell a story about journeys through time from heritage of the past to a science-led journey of possibilities for the 4 future. All these themes emerged in the many ideas and projects which people at the workshops envisaged for Ballinamore. A thriving Ballinamore can lie at the heart of many journeys. The 400th anniversary of its founding in 2021 will be a timely opportunity to refine Ballinamore’s vision and showcase a strong and compelling image of the area. 1.5 Needs, ideas and themes for development Chief concerns, raised at workshops, included the need for more social facilities for young and older people, poor use of tourism potential, planning constraints, unfair exploitation of forestry, lack of employment, population decline, town centre image and the loss of the County Council’s presence in the town. Participants proposed over 100 project ideas (summarised in Appendix 5 of this strategy) to develop the Ballinamore area. They reflect a strong public desire to develop the area in a holistic manner embracing a wide range of social, cultural, scientific, artistic, economic, educational, sporting, environmental and public policy themes. 1.6 Top priorities for the Ballinamore area The local community has prioritised 11 actions with the aim of improving the area in social, economic, energy and infrastructure terms. Participants were asked to prioritise projects on the basis of being doable, affordable, impactful and having dedicated people to implement them. Theme Goal Project Social To ensure that Ballinamore is a The completion of a community childcare caring supportive place for children facility. Young people and young people. Social To provide more locally accessible The extension of nursing care to a 45-bed opportunities to care for the health unit. Older people of older people. Social To provide a modern performance The adaption of the Community Centre to community and screening facility with the facilitate a modern theatre space and ability to attract viable audiences multi-purpose usage Education To build up provision beyond post To achieve outreach training e.g. primary level in Ballinamore. apprenticeships in structural steel and apprenticeships agri-industry and other practical skills Enterprise To provide modern facilities which The creation of new starter units along will attract a new generation of the “we-work” principle and possibly Facilities entrepreneurs to the area. linked to the digital hub concept. Enterprise To realise Ballinamore’s potential Completion of the Leitrim phases of the to be a hub for outdoor walking, 41km Cavan/Leitrim Greenway, cycling and canal journeys. Development of the St Felim’s Visitor Centre and enterprise hub Tourism Completion of remedial works to maintain local canal and lake amenities Energy To make Ballinamore an energy Investigation of potential to convert flows positive town. from the weirs on the Shannon-Erne into energy for public buildings. Accessible To support an active, healthy, Faster broadband for the rural areas infrastructure inclusive life for all residents outside the town. through having accessible New town plan with new designs which infrastructure for everyone. improve access and the streetscape 5 1.7 External policy priorities The scale of the challenge facing Ballinamore is such that local development bodies and Leitrim County Council on their own cannot be expected to reverse decline and achieve the level of growth which people believe should happen. The facilitators met with local government representatives on the 25th April 2018 to discuss specific policy concerns raised in the public workshops