Boyle Town Team in conjunction with Roscommon County Council has been awarded funding of close on €200,000 for enhancement work on ‘The Lawn’ area in the town centre.
€199,100 was announced on Tuesday morning by Minister for Rural and Community Development Heather Humphreys for “Enhancing the current riverside trail along the Boyle River to provide a more accessible and attractive recreational amenity”.
The funding falls under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS), which will enhance outdoor amenities such as walkways, cycleways, rivers, lakes and beaches.
Boyle Town Team Chairman Ciaran Sheerin said the Team are delighted with the news and that The Lawn has been an area that the Team have had in their focus for a number of years.
“We partnered with Roscommon County Council several months ago to write this application and we have all been patiently waiting for a decision from the department”.
“This area of Boyle is due a significant overhaul and this funding will make it a reality. If you have been in The Lawn area recently you will know that there are significant clearance and landscaping works required to renew this area and increase footfall” according to Ciaran.
“We asked the people of Boyle to help complete a survey several months ago on The Lawn area and this participation was a vital support in demonstrating a community need for such a project, because without this our application may not have been successful, so thank you to all who contributed”.
“This project feeds into the Boyle 2040 plan (Project Ireland 2040 National Planning Framework) as part of the soft exercise ‘loop’ element which further strengthened our application”.
“With the funding level available, the primary aim was to open up the area, make it more visible from the centre of town. Key elements of work will include: clearance of brush and general landscaping works, installation of a drained path surface and edging, removal of existing signage and replace with a new sign at trail entrance, replacement of lighting fixtures, provide age friendly seating at appropriate intervals and provide wildflower bedding mix along the bank”.
“This project will be a great foundation for future enhancements of the Lawn area”.
Ciaran added that Boyle Town Team would like to thank Lisa Joy (Tourism Officer Roscommon Co Co), Una Ni Chuinn (Town Regeneration Office, Roscommon Co Co), Nollaig Whyte (formerly Roscommon Co Co), other members of Roscommon County Council who helped us to author the application, Gwen Tierney from Landmark Designs who developed a design and costings for the project, the various clubs & organizations who wrote letters of support (Roscommon Sports Partnership- Noel Feeley, Boyle & District Angling Club- Jane Suffin, Una Bhan- Ned Mulready, Boyle Chamber of Commerce- Michael Keville, Boyle Athletic Club- Melissa Doohan), Frank Feighan T.D. who supported our application & Minister for Rural & Community Development Heather Humphreys”.
“We are very much looking forward to working with Roscommon County Council on this project delivery in the near term” concluded the Town Team chairman.
Fine Gael TD for North Roscommon Deputy Frank Feighan has also welcomed the news: “I want to welcome the project that will include the enhancement of the riverside trail along the Boyle River (known locally as The Lawn).
“The Boyle River is a fantastic natural amenity in the north Roscommon town and it’s environs and provides a wonderful asset in terms of visitor attraction and as a natural location for local people to use”, concluded Deputy Feighan.
Minister Humphrey’s said: “This investment announced today further underpins the Government’s commitment to developing our outdoor amenities as part of ‘Embracing Ireland’s Outdoors’, the national outdoor recreation strategy”
“This investment from my Department brings the overall allocation under the Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme (ORIS) to over €129 million since the Scheme was first launched in 2016″.
“It is testament to the positive impact ‘Our Rural Future’ continues to have on communities all over Ireland and Government’s commitment to that policy”.
“The times of lock downs are thankfully behind us but those times gave us all an appreciation of what our stunning outdoors had to offer us for our mental and physical wellbeing”.
“It gives me great satisfaction to see the work my Department does to ensure that our rural communities can benefit even more from what nature has to offer”.
“Our world class outdoor amenities continue to make rural Ireland the place to be for adventure tourists as well as those who appreciate a more sedate pace of life. These projects are spread throughout the country, so everyone can avail of the outdoors”, concluded Minister Humphreys.
The news has also been welcomed by Senator Aisling Dolan.
