NEW COUNCIL BROCHURE HIGHLIGHTS SOLUTIONS TO MANY CHALLENGES
THERE are many challenges facing Wexford in the coming years, but the county council is confident that it is on the right road to improve social and economic infrastucture, and to create the right conditions for increasing investment, employment and key to that well-paid, worthwhile jobs.
‘As Wexford continues to experience economic recovery, it is important that the council acts decisively to lead the development and delivery of a range of targeted initiatives that will help our county to realise the huge potential it has in terms of jobs, qaulity of life and the environment,’ chief executive Tom Enright says in what in essence is a state of the ‘union’ address.
His remarks are contained in an Economic and Community Investment programme brochure 2018-2022 being sent to 56,600 homes and businesses in the county, which sets out the council’s stall and charts the way forward.
The is out from next Monday (February 12)
In it, Mr Enright says many of the infrastructure investments set out in the programme would not be possible without the continued support of the people of Wexford and the strong leadership shown by the elected members of the council.
He says recent ‘modest’ increases in the local property tax and commercial rates have been the catalyst to drive forward the delivery of these strategic investments by providing the additional income necessary to fund this ambitious investment programme which he is very confident will create a better future for County Wexford and all its citizens.
‘As a county, we are deficient in our economic and community infrastructure and this ambitious investment programme is a strong message from the council that not only do we recognise this deficiency, but we are absolutely committed in our duty as elected members to address it,’ says council chairman Cllr John Hegarty in his message.
The 16-page brochure, due to be sent out from Monday, February 12, sets out both Challenges and Opportunites for the county over the coming years, with Brexit listed in both categories. It gives the costs and current stages of all the major developments in the county, broken down between the four districts.
Challenges: Unemployment is two per cent above the national average, 18.4 per cent of the workforce work outside the county every day, losing young people and skilled workforce to other locations, realtively high levels of social deprivation, access to private and public housing, under-developed infrastructure, shortage of quality commercial property solutions, Brexit.
Opportunities: Improving road connectivity, council-led investment in commercial property solutions, availability of natural gas and high-speed broadband, capacity for growth in the quality food sector, international port at Rosslare Europort, affordable house prices when compared to Dublin region, Brexit, vibrant arts and culture sector, opportunities to grow tourism, particularly in heritage and outdoor activities, great people, great climate, quality of life.
The list of recreational projects includes Ford Mountain Activity Centre - Wexford County Council in association with Waterford and Wexford Education and Training Board is proposing to construct an activity centre on Forth Mountain to meet a demand for recreational, social, health and well-being activities for locals and visitors.
According to the council brochure, the project will be completed by the end of June next year.
The 18-acre Min Ryan public park in Wexford will complement the quality of life for people in Wexford by providing a high quality, attractive public space accessible to all. It will boast an array of attractive features including playground, picnic sites, walking trail, wetland water features, arts and displays of sculpture. It is due to be completed at the end of the first quarter of next year.
In Gorey, the Town Park project will see the redevelopment of the existing town park and showgrounds. The project will cost in the region of €1.5m. The new park will have extensive landscaping and planting with many extra attractions: a cafe, amphitheatre, circuit training area, boules, additional seating, picnic and leisure area, splash pool and wetlands area. Again, the project is due for completion next year, this time during the first quarter.
Among the economic projects are the M11 Business Campus in Gorey, which includes the Hatch Lab, an Innovation, Technology and Start-Up space creating an IT eco system in the region to develop and grow business in this arena, which is already in place and open for business.
In New Ross, the site for the Advance Technology Building in the Butlersland Industrial Estate will incorporate an Advanced Technology/ Office Building to be developed using a works concession contract and lease of the unit. It will be completed at the end of the third quarter of next year.
In Enniscorthy, a Business and Technology Park adjacent to St Senan’s is currently in planning and is due to complete the planning process by the end of June this year.
One of the biggest projects in the county is the development of the 10acre town centre site at Trinity Wharf, including office, leisure and residential with the primary objective of creating jobs. The council says the project is already attracting strong interest from investors with the start of the construction of site infrastructure set for the first quarter of next year.
One of the big challenges facing Wexford is the provision of social housing, which had been on the back foot for many years. However, things have dramatically for the better.
In the brochure, the council restates its ambitious three-year housing capital programme which will be delivered at an estimated cost of €200 million. This will see the council’s stock of social houses grow from a current level of 5,224 units to more than 8,000 units by 2019, an increase of almost 2,800 properties.
The council said that in 2017, more than 850 units of the overall target of 2,787 units were delivered. The council says it will continue to apply the necessary resources to ensure the targets are achieved and in turn significantly reduce the numbers of families seeking housing support.