Dublin, 6th March 2020: The role of placemaking in helping to enhance Ireland’s attractiveness to investors was highlighted at an event yesterday hosted by IDA Ireland in partnership with the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government. The event was held as the second phase of the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government’s Urban Regeneration and Development Fund was rolled out.  Under the call, local authorities are invited to submit proposals for transformational placemaking and urban development projects that will enhance the attractiveness and liveability of Ireland’s cities and large towns and support compact urban growth, one of the key strategic objectives of Project Ireland 2040.

The creation of urban environments that offer good quality of life is important in allowing investors to attract and retain the talent necessary to support their establishment and growth. Placemaking offers the opportunity to differentiate Ireland from other locations by delivering attractive urban areas in which to reside.

The Department of Housing, Planning & Local Government (DHPLG) said: “There is clear recognition that a high-quality built environment is key to Ireland’s future prosperity and wellbeing. Today’s event offered an opportunity for stakeholders to come together and examine best practice placemaking in Ireland and internationally, and how transformational placemaking projects are delivered.”

James Farrell, Head of Strategic Policy at IDA Ireland commented:

“The creation of attractive places to live and work is good planning and good enterprise policy. It can provide a competitive edge to Irish towns and cities when it comes to attracting and retaining the skills and talent on which FDI is reliant. Today’s event highlighted the importance of Placemaking in Ireland and brought together local authorities to discuss the many ways we can work together to improve the quality of our urban locations. As well as being a great place to do business it is in Ireland’s interests to also be known as a great place to live.”


Note to Editors:
Full information on the URDF is available here:
https://www.housing.gov.ie/sites/default/files/publications/files/ppm_urdf_012020_urdf_call_for_proposals.pdf

IDA Annual Results 2019
https://www.idaireland.com/newsroom/ida-ireland-achieves-all-targets
 
A separate fund (the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund) supports projects in rural areas.
 
Contact
Sarah Nolan
Communications Executive
IDA Ireland
087 1017336