The allocation of €500,000 for the development of a new community park in Monksland complements previous funding of €1.5 million announced for the project in January of this year.
The funding announcement this week is a major boost for the Monksland and will allow for first phase development of the community park to incorporate multi-use, multi-generational area, tiered seating, performance area and walking trails.
Previous funding allocated towards the development was to allow for the commencement of design work on the community park incorporating additional pedestrian and cycle links between residential and commercial locations in Monksland.
Noting the recent funding allocation, local Independent Deputy, Denis Naughten noted that when construction of the community park concludes, it will benefit both the local Monksland community and the wider Midlands region.
“The investment of €500,000 for the new community park, on the lands between the old and new Tuam roads, will incorporate a multi-use performance area and walking trails, and will not only benefit the residents of Monksland and Bealnamullia but the wider area as well.
“This funding comes on top of a €1.5 million investment announced last month to create a town centre focus for Monksland by Roscommon County Council in conjunction with the Department of Rural and Community Development.
“This funding of over €2 million in the last number of weeks for Monksland will complement previous rounds of funding from the Department of Rural and Community Development, including a €3.6 million investment that is presently being drawn down for the development of a new enterprise centre in Monksland.
“In total there is close to €6 million of funding being invested in the Monksland area and this is as a direct result of decisions I made in Government to establish funding streams through the Urban and Rural Regeneration Funds to get vital local projects like the ones in Monksland off the ground.
“These funding programmes allow local communities and the county council to design projects that will drive forward economic development, rather than Government Departments designing a ‘one size fits all’ approach which had failed so many towns previously.
“This new approach is now beginning to help towns and villages across our area reinvent themselves with the long-term objective of making them better places in which to live and to invest, but none of this could have been possible without the work and commitment of the Monksland Town Team and the support provided to the community by Roscommon Leader Partnership and Roscommon County Council which are providing considerable resources to secure and draw down this Government investment,” Deputy Naughten asserted.
