Boyle town has received €1.7m funding under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
The announcement was made on Thursday evening by Minister for Rural and Community Development Michael Ring.
The funding had been applied for jointly by Boyle Town Team and Roscommon Co Co towards work on redeveloping the former Royal Hotel site.
The funding now paves the way for the complete refurbishment of the Royal building, the creation of a new riverside promenade and the development of a civic space to the rear of the building.
‘This news is absolutely fantastic’, said Boyle Town Team Chairman Brian Nerney.
“This is the big one we have been waiting for and is the final piece of the jigsaw for Phase One of Boyle 2040.”
With Roscommon County Council members voting through the 2019 budget that will see match funding come into place and with today’s grant allocation, we are now in a position to plan for work on all the Boyle developments this year”.
The level of funding Boyle has received in the last number of months has been unprecedented and for this the Team is forever grateful to Minister Ring and the Government.
” None of this would have happened without the assistance of numerous personnel in Roscommon County Council, local councillors, Oireachtas members and Town Team members, all who have worked tirelessly to get to where we are today”.
” This will bring a real feel good factor to Boyle right now and a future that looks brighter than ever before”.
“The allocations of the last few months just go to show that positivity always wins out over negativity” concluded a delighted Town Team Chairman.
The news has also been welcomed by Senator Frank Feighan who said: “This is wonderful news and another significant boost for the town of Boyle and I want to commend especially the work of Roscommon County Council and Boyle Town Team in progressing this project. This major funding has been announced today by the Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring.
“This significant town regeneration project will undertake a series of linked projects, including the refurbishment and conversion of the old Royal Hotel into an Enterprise Centre, exhibition space, information point and coffee dock and the creation of a new riverside promenade, which will link the town centre to key tourism attractions using the river, e.g. King House, Boyle Abbey.
“This development is part of a co-ordinated drive locally to attract more people and visitors into the town. The future use of the former Royal Hotel is at the centre of the Boyle 2040 development plan for the town.
“Boyle has already become a major beneficiary of Government investment with the Boyle 2040 blueprint being the key driver in leveraging funding. A series of funding announcements in the last number of months has included a €500,000 allocation to develop a cycleway linking Boyle and Lough Key Forest & Activity Park and €100,000 to fund a pilot scheme to attract more people to live in the town centre.
“I have said this many times but for too long, Boyle had been severely impacted by recession and this was magnified by the fact it is not a county or regional town. However, I strongly believe that all of these projects which have secured funding marks the beginning of great days ahead for the town of Boyle.”
“As we all continue to work towards attracting more people to the town, I also want to stress once more that the final piece in the jigsaw is the provision of a hotel.
“To that end, I will be working with all stakeholders in a bid to secure a hotel project which I believe can become a focal point for the new Boyle.”
Local TD, Denis Naughten has welcomed the allocation saying: “The funding for Boyle clearly shows what can be achieved when the community, Council and State work together”.
“I was glad to be able to work in support of the Boyle 2040 project at different points in its development and today’s announcement is a vote of confidence in the Town and the whole North Roscommon area”
