Ballyshannon’s future is in your hands - Cllr urges people to have their say

It is no secret that Ballyshannon is a town which has struggled more than most in recent years. 

But a project with huge economic and cultural potential is now within its grasp, and people are urged to get behind it and have their say on Ballyshannon’s future.

Cllr Barry Sweeny (FG) is among those calling on people to familiarise themselves with draft plans for the Ballyshannon Town Centre Regeneration Project. A public consultation period has been extended, meaning the community has until next Tuesday, November 15 to study the plans and make submissions.

It would appear that some misinformation has been circulated via a poster in the area in recent days, causing confusion about the proposed plans.

Cllr Sweeny said: “The draft plan is a 44-page document that was highly researched. There has been a lot of public consultation in regard to what was needed and wanted in the town, as well as consultation with outside consultants and staff within Donegal County Council’s road, heritage and planning departments. 

“It is a good plan. There are things that could be changed a bit but it is a draft and I would urge people to go and see for themselves, and make their own submissions.”

Cllr Sweeny believes passionately that this is a very important time for Ballyshannon. And if everyone works together, the community could change the fortunes of the town significantly for the better. 

“It is like a jigsaw puzzle, and we need to get all the bits to fit together,” he said. 

“This regeneration is very important; it is the centre of the puzzle. It is a great opportunity to spark regeneration because it is an infrastructural project and the hope is that it is going to have far-reaching positive consequences for Ballyshannon in terms of business development, healthy lifestyle, a better place to live, a safer and more accessible and inclusive community. 

This project will encourage economic growth through enterprise units. It will brand the town as an historic town, facilitate inclusion for everyone through the Changing Places facilities and the new public toilets, and it will create a civic hub where future plans can come together.

“We can incorporate cycle ways, walkways and greenways. Indeed, the Ballyshannon Bundoran Greenway scheme has been accepted in principle as a viable scheme.”

This major regeneration scheme is one of a number of very positive projects that have the potential to celebrate and cement Ballyshannon’s history and heritage while putting it in a very strong position for the future. 

“There are a lot of other projects going on that are all very good for the town, and very exciting,” said Cllr Sweeny. 

“This is the opportunity to move forward. We have projects such as Historic Towns, Active Travel, the Mall Quay area going on, and bigger ones such as the Sheil Hospital.

“You have public bodies and private investment in the town for housing development. And there are other projects in the works that are supporting economic development, arts, culture, etc. 

“Businesses that have set up in Ballyshannon are doing well. We had a very good business meeting with Minister of State for Business, Employment and Retail, Damien English. There are good news stories in Ballyshannon. For example, when the former rubber factory closed, there was a big loss of jobs. But now there are 14 businesses operating out of the premises.”

One topic that has been raised - and which seems to be the cause of much of the confusion - is how the future plans will affect car parking facilities. 

Cllr Sweeny said: “There are two elements to this. The road from the Sheil Hospital is coming through anyway so that means a reconfiguration of Market Yard car park anyway. 

“So it is about tying the two projects together. The new road might be responsible for some car parking spaces being lost but this regeneration project will compensate for that.”

“And if people have concerns or questions, this is the time to raise them, through the public consultation process so that we can all work together to ensure the best future for our town.”

Regarding the extension to the public consultation process, a spokesperson for Donegal County Council said: “This will afford the public a further opportunity to view the draft stage designs for the project and to make comments or submissions on areas of interest or concern, which will be considered during the continuing design process.”

Submissions or observations on the draft design proposals may be made on or before 4.30pm on Tuesday, November 15 by emailing: regeneration@donegalcoco.ie 

People can also make submissions in writing to: The Regeneration & Development Team, Donegal County Council, Three Rivers Centre, Lifford, Co. Donegal.

The draft project information and plans can be viewed at: www.donegalcoco.ie/services/planning/regenerationprojects or a copy of the project information may be requested from the Regeneration & Development Team at: regeneration@donegalcoco.ie or 074 9153900.