'Doneraile For All' help progress new Community Plan
Locals in Doneraile are taking the bull by the horns following the formation of a new group, Doneraile For All.
Aimed at supporting the community, creating a cohesive approach and further developing the town with locals in mind, Doneraile For All is now planning to tackle the things that matter locally. The group are also behind the Doneraile Community Plan 2022-2027, with the support of Ballyhoura Development CLG and Cork County Council.
Rather than being run by a committee, the group is run by representatives from each of the various groups, clubs and organisations within the town, with the individual representatives likely to vary.
“We’ve highlighted a lot of things in this Plan and want to tackle these things and get all the organisations and groups involved,” a representative said. “It’s about getting the community together and the big thing, is that Doneraile itself is a farming and rural community as well as being a town and we want that represented,” she added.
As reported on earlier this year in The Avondhu, the Doneraile Community Plan was launched by Ballyhoura Development CLG on February 21 and saw several interested local parties come together to lead the process. Following a number of consultations, the wider community identified a number of needs and agreed on priorities for the heritage town.
Priorities were identified by locals under the themes of local organisation, community safety and anti-social behaviour, youth services and activities, infrastructure, services and economy, transport, mobility and access, and community spaces, derelict buildings and environment.
'COHESIVE APPROACH'
Some of the issues initially highlighted by the group, such as the need to assess community transport needs as only one bus link serviced Doneraile, have already been tackled with the introduction of new Local Link routes to the locality.
Currently, Doneraile For All are working on their mission statement and it is hoped that through the umbrella organisation, they can work through the list of action points they hope to take, utilising a host of sub-groups and sub-committees.
“We have great plans. We’re going to tackle the smaller things ourselves and hopefully build up Doneraile and the community for all age groups. Whatever plan we put forward, the aim is that we are all working together to get that and we have a cohesive approach, like for coordinating events or applying for funding,” the representative added.
Establishing ‘ Doneraile For All’ was number one on the list of ‘immediate priorities’ as identified under the Doneraile Community Plan 2022-2027 and it will now act as the umbrella community development group.
Next on the list, along with devising a mission statement, is ‘Youth, Safety and Anti-Social Behaviour’, ‘Future Development and Refurbishment of Community Facilities’, ‘Architectural Heritage’, as well as ‘Strategic Planning Themes and Project Register’.