Inaugural meeting of Enfield Town Team that will shape future development
The first meeting of the Enfield Town Team which will help drive the Town Centre First Plan to revitalise and re-imagine Enfield and shape its future development, took place on 8th June last.
Enfield was one of 26 towns around the country to receive funding to develop a Town Centre First Plan under the Government's Town Centre First Policy.
Meath County Council's Town Regeneration Officer Pat Shore explained that the aim of the plan is to "map out future development of the town, focus on tackling dereliction and vacant properties, and making the town centre a more attractive place to live, work, socialise and run a business".
Part of the Town Centre First process was the selection of a town team, representing a wide variety of local community groups, businesses and interests.
The Town Team is made up approximately 15 participants including the Enfield Development Group, local businesses, schools, residents' associations, Tidy Towns, sports groups, Macra na Feirme, disability, and Comhairle na nÓg, as well as councillors, Niamh Souhan and Ronan Moore.
Paul Hogarth Consultants have been engaged to develop the Town Centre First Plan for Enfield and they will have a number of further meetings with the Town Team and Meath County Council in the coming weeks to work on producing a draft plan.
The draft plan will then be put on public display later this summer for the public and businesses to come and give their thoughts and feedback.
The relevant feedback will be taken on board and considered for inclusion in the final revision of the plan, before it is sent to the Department for approval.
Cllr Ronan Moore said: "We met last Thursday with some 15 participants representing a myriad of groups and sectors and I think it is fair to say that everyone is keen to begin a busy process of local engagement and work to develop a clear strategy for the future development and revitalisation of Enfield Town Centre as a desirable place to live, work, socialise and operate a business".
Angela Smith, who is the Enfield Development Group representative on the team said: "After the initial survey and consultation back in July 2022, it is great that the Enfield Town Team has now been formed. Enfield has experienced rapid population growth, which continues today, and the town faces many challenges such as lack of community facilities, traffic and parking problems, to name a few.
"We are particularly keen to see the lack of amenities for the many young people in the town addressed. We would encourage all Enfield residents to engage with this project and we’ll be posting regular updates on the progress of the Town Team to our social media channels."
The Town Centre First policy aims to create viable, vibrant and attractive locations to live, work and visit, while also functioning as the service, social, cultural and recreational hub for the community.