President of Midlands Gateway Chamber, John Humphries said this week “We’re not gone away you know!”.
John clarified the position of the Midlands Gateway Chamber in terms of the National Spatial Strategy, saying “Minister Hogan did not state that the National Spatial Strategy was being scrapped; this was erroneous, indeed the NSS continues to have statutory effect”.
He went on to explain that the Midlands Gateway towns which comprise Athlone, Tullamore, and Mullingar were linked together to form a Gateway in 2002 and since then our Gateway status has influenced considerable investment in the region particularly in transport, housing, water services, communications, energy, health, and education infrastructure.
“The Midlands Gateway Chamber works closely with State agencies in a bid to attract investment and growth to the Midlands area,” John added.
“It will be the focus of this chamber to lobby for the status of the Midlands Gateway to remain as Athlone, Tullamore, and Mullingar. The chamber represents over 600 businesses from Athlone, Tullamore, and Mullingar who feel it is important to retain and grow what we have in the Midlands, ie tourism, education, indigenous business, foreign direct investment, building on those strengths to create more employment in the area.”
