Wexford groups given €380,000 to play with
ALMOST €380,000 of LEADER funding has been allocated to 13 local groups for the development of nine new playgrounds, a multi-user games area, a crazy golf course and two outdoor gyms around the county.
The 13 new facilities are situated around the entire county.
The LEADER Programme in County Wexford is overseen by the Wexford Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) and is delivered in partnership by Wexford Local Development and Wexford County Council.
Making the announcement, Cllr Kathleen Codd Nolan, Chairperson of the Wexford LCDC said: ‘Each community has worked hard to demonstrate the need for their new facility, to prove their own capability as a group to oversee the construction stage of the project, and to show their community’s capacity to manage the facility into the future. I congratulate these motivated voluntary groups who are helping combat rural decline in our county through community-led local development.’
Adamstown Community Centre will develop an outdoor gym with allocated funds of €10,000. Fethard Community Development Association are also developing such a facility; they received funds of €9,980.
Kiltealy Hall Development Group received €32,927 for the development of a multi-user games area (MUGA) while Rosslare Community Development Association CLG received €9,232 for the refurbishment of their crazy golf course.
Recipients of funding for playgrounds are: All Blacks AFC Community Group (€37,347); Barntown Community Centre (€33,658); Bree Community Development Group Ltd. (€37,029); Clonroche Development Association (€35,921); Monaseed Community Group (€36,494); Murrintown Community Development Group (€37,500); Riverchapel Community Complex Ltd. (€33,090); Shelmalier CLG (€30,909); and Tintern Community and Sports Complex Ltd. (€35,626).
Riverchapel Community Complex received over €33,000 towards the construction of the area’s first playground.
Craig Lang from the complex said: ‘Our area is home to 369 families with children under the age of 15 who all deserve to have safe, free, accessible places to play. As a voluntary committee, we are very proud to be able to give that to them. The application process was stringent but made sense - we had to prove we could deliver on the playground proposal if given the money and we are really excited about doing just that.’
Since the launch of the current LEADER programme at the end of 2016, the LCDC has allocated a total of €2,357,877 to community groups and private businesses to support community developments.
Over the next two years, a further €5,222,227 will be grant aided.