Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan for Newtowncunningham set for launch

After a culmination of 18 months of work behind the scenes, Newtowncunningham Community Focus Group (NCFG) is pleased to finalise and make publicly available Future Newtown - a Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan for Newtowncunningham and its environs.

The strategy will be launched on Thursday, June 27, at 8pm in the Columbian Hall, Main Street, Newtowncunningham. All local groups and organisations, businesses and interested members of the community are encouraged to attend.

The strategy is a holistic and collaborative community-led study. It provides an evidenced-based framework, setting out key aspirations and priorities in supporting the sustainable regeneration of the village and the wider area into the next decade and beyond to 2040.

It provides a mechanism for the delivery and implementation of future development and regeneration of Newtowncunningham that will help facilitate the unlocking of the potential of the village including its strategic location, unique architectural and cultural heritage and attractive landscape setting.

The Strategy has a defined framework identified during the collaborative public consultation and stakeholder engagement conducted with the community in the Spring of 2023. NCFG committee say that the process has been community-led from the beginning: “We’ve been keen to listen to the community and the community needs and what they want since we initiated this project”.

Furthermore, the Strategy is action-focused and therefore will rely on the involvement of all key stakeholders including public sector agencies, private sector companies, as well as the community organisations that exist within the village and wider area. The Strategy seeks to deliver a vision for the regeneration and future development of Newtowncunningham to the establishment of a master plan, practical and achievable actions, and a viable pipeline of future and site-specific projects and interventions.

Chair of Newtowncunningham Community Focus Group Margaret Martin said “The Strategy is available for all residents, businesses, stakeholders and interested individuals in the community to endorse and take forward. We hope the document will be key to unlocking future funding opportunities with short, medium and longer-term delivery timescales”.
Councillor Paul Canning and committee member said “It is hoped it will act as a guide and a blue print for what can be developed and achieved in Newtowncunningham over the coming years”.

To view the document and for any other information please contact: newtownfocus@gmail.com

This Regeneration Strategy and Action Plan was commissioned and overseen by the Newtowncunningham Community Focus Group (NCFG) and Donegal County Council’s Community Development Team, with the professional skills of GM Design a mutlidisciplinary Planning Led team enaged for the purpose of produing this Strategy.

The Masterplan divides Newtowncunningham into four key areas
A) Western Newtown
B) Central Newtown
C) Eastern Newtown
D) Moyle and the environs

Johnny Stewart, town and country planner with GM Design, is a member of the design team that has been commissioned by NCFG to produce the regeneration strategy.

“There is a lack of public space, open space and there are aesthetic improvements that could be made to return it to its historical rural charm," he said. "It has experienced quite an expansion over the years and it’s about trying to see what the residents feel they need and what can be delivered through a regeneration strategy."