Mayor welcomes 'transformative' €13m funding for Clonmel town centre

Mayor of Clonmel Cllr Siobhán Ambrose says the €13m funding for Clonmel regeneration projects announced by Minister James Browne on Monday will be “transformative” for the centre of her hometown.

The town's first citizen welcomed the multi-million allocation at Tipperary County Council's September meeting in Clonmel on Monday and noted the business people and people of Clonmel were delighted with the news.

She said it was “fantastic news” and Clonmel had waited years for this funding.

Cllr Ambrose recalled watching other towns getting regeneration funding in previous years while they in Clonmel looked on “exasperated”.

The Fianna Fáil councillor noted that three years ago she voted for an increase in rates which meant the Council could raise the required matching funding to avail of the €13m Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund allocation.

She thanked all involved in securing this funding including council staff, fellow councillors, past and present, and the town's business community.

And she expressed the hope there won't be any delay in moving the regeneration projects receiving this funding forward.

Fellow Clonmel councillors echoed her welcome for the funding at the council meeting.

Fine Gael Cllr John Fitzgerald said it had been a long road dating back to 2015 to secure this regeneration funding, and they were now delighted it has been allocated.

He noted this announcement followed soon after Clonmel's business people voted to set up a Business Improvement District company to work to improve the town's prosperity. It was a great news story for the town and it had come at the right time.

“My delight is for the people of Clonmel that they can now have a town they can be proud of because, I am sad to say, they have been the other way at times. This is great hope the Government has given them.”

Independent Cllr Richie Molloy also heartily welcomed the funding, pointing out it has been talked about in Clonmel for many years and people had lost confidence in securing the regeneration. He particularly welcomed the €5.6m funding to transform the DW Parke's Chemist building on Gladstone Street, which has been an eyesore for years.

“This funding is going to make a huge difference to the people of the town,” he added.

Cllr Pat English of the Workers & Unemployment Action Group thanked everyone involved in securing this funding, which they had pushed hard to obtain for 11 years. He asked when the regeneration scheme works will start and what matching funding will Tipperary County Council have to produce?

Tipperary County Council CEO Sinead Carr responded that the Council would report to elected representatives with further details on the time frame at the county council's October meeting.

She paid tribute to councillors for making “very tough decisions” in relation to commercial rates and the Part 8 planning permissions for Clonmel regeneration scheme projects and also paid tribute to Clonmel's business community.

Ms Carr said the usual amount of matching funding the council was required to provide was 25% of the funding allocation. She pointed out that this money was identified in the Council's budget when the rates were increased.