A public drop-in information / advice day will be held today from 10am to 6pm regarding the grant awarded by the Heritage Council to Kerry County Council to support the Castleisland community in heritage-led regeneration of the town centre.
The day-long , grant application aid session will be held at Castleisland Area Services Centre.
A Kerry Council Representative will be there all day to help any person who is interested in applying for a grant.
The closing date for completed applications is today week, Thursday 25th May 2023.
Announcement Last March
Last March, the Heritage Council, along with Minister of State Malcolm Noonan TD announced that 11 historic towns will share €1.3m funding under the 2023 Historic Towns Initiative (HTI).
The funding is designed to help in the provision of jobs through heritage-led regeneration and aid the rebuilding of local economies and address vacancy with heritage as its consistent focal point.
As one of the chosen heritage towns, Castleisland is to receive €250,000 to support the community-led regeneration of the town’s Main Street, underpin urban revitalisation, promote conservation-led improvements to the town’s historic fabric in a number of buildings and to ensure occupancy and address vacancy.
Tried and Tested Projects
This is a joint initiative between the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage and the Heritage Council, this year’s scheme follows on from highly successful projects undertaken elsewhere from 2018 to 2022.
The HTI seeks proposals that encourage the specific re-use of historic buildings with works on this year’s projects to be completed before the end of the year.
Funding is recommended towards three new conservation projects and the continuation of another in the following towns: Castleisland, Co Kerry; Ballina, Co Mayo; Bantry, Co Cork and Monaghan Town where the project received approval for a two-year duration in 2022.
Help with Grant Application
Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, Malcolm Noonan TD said that the announcement demonstrates the huge progress being made as part of Heritage Ireland 2030.
“These projects will richly enhance the look and feel of each of the towns involved,” he continued.
“This announcement demonstrates our commitment to heritage-led regeneration as part of our efforts to tackle vacancy and roll out our Town Centre First policy, creating town centres that function as viable, vibrant and attractive locations for people to live, work and visit,” he said.
Today’s 10am to 6pm facility at the Castleisland Area Services Centre is all about helping people in the designated area – in the map – to apply for the grant aid to participate in the initiative.
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