Urban and Village Renewal Project
Project: Urban & Village Renewal Project
Lead Council: Donegal County Council
Partners: North West Region Cross Border Group (Lead Partner) & Strabane District Council
Timeframe: 01 September 2010 to 31 March 2014
Grant Requested: €995,000
The Urban and Village Renewal project seeks to assist in the physical renewal of the border towns of Lifford and Strabane. It act as a catalyst for further investment in the regeneration of both towns in terms of strengthening the town centre, promoting enterprise development and enhancing the area’s tourist product..
A programme of works will link the two towns via a corridor of art and improved public spaces leading from Lifford’s street works and amenity space through to Strabane’s Railway Street and ending at the Alley Theatre and Library..
Works in Lifford included the provision and enhancement of 2 car park areas and the undergrounding of essential services to increase visual amenity value. The upgrading of paved footpaths throughout the town’s main thoroughfare also featured along with the improvement of civic spaces through the provision of landscaping, decorative street furniture and new street lighting. Further to this the project has seen the installation of interpretative signage displaying local amenities and places of historic and cultural interest along with new navigational fingerpost signs.
In Strabane concentration was on Railway Street, to develop the link from the “edge of town” retailing to the town centre. Paving provision was put in place where none had previously existed; a puffin crossing was also developed close to a major supermarket outlet, to encourage shoppers and pedestrians to access the town centre. The undergrounding of overhead cables along with landscaping, street furniture and installation of new street lights has visibly improved the visual amenity of the area. Lighting features were installed to flood wash the exterior of the town Theatre and 5 urban canvas works to improve the façade of a number of business premises have also been put in place. As in Lifford the installation of interpretative signage and new navigational finger-post signs display local amenities and places of historic and cultural interest.
Dublin based artist Holger Lonze was commissioned to complete a new public art feature for Railway Street, an impressive life sized bronze sculpture of the renowned local writer and poet Flann O’Brien is now in place which is beautifully lit from within.
Lifford and Strabane have benefited from the collaboration of their parent Councils and this important gateway from Dublin to the North West is now a more pedestrian friendly and attractive place to visit as a result.