A new town revitalisation project has been announced for Dungarvan. This has an allocated funding package of nearly €1.4million for the development of an incubation, innovation and commercialisation hub, the creation of a Digital Knowledge facility to support existing and new companies and the development of training workspaces.
The project aims to revitalise Dungarvan town through the provision of 90 co-working spaces across 3 different town centre sites. It is expected the facilities, which will be spread across three town centre buildings will facilitate up to 200 people when fully operational.
Waterford City and County Council has costed the project at approximately €1,743,582 with the Department of Rural and Community Affairs committing €1,394,822 to the project.
Speaking about the announcement the Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber CEO Jenny Beresford said “This is very exciting news; it will be a hugely important feature for the future of Dungarvan. The primary elements of this proposal which appeal to the Chamber are its emphasis on town centre, prioritisation of enterprise development as a vehicle for broader economic development and town centre vibrancy. The targeting of iconic town centre buildings which are currently under-utilised, and which run the risk of long-term vacancy and dereliction. The Chamber is excited about the potential to exploit concepts which can revolutionize an industry and support sustainable development goals (SDG’s) and to guiding and supporting businesses to use the Digital Transformation Hub through all stages of a business life cycle and working cross-sector so the benefit is felt extensively.”
Behind the scenes this project has been lead by Kieran Kehoe, Town Manager & Director of Services, Waterford Council and a steering group including Richie Walsh, Waterford Local Enterprise Office, Chamber Members Colin Byrne, Totem and Denis Herlihy Business Consultant and Jenny Beresford CEO Dungarvan & West Waterford Chamber.
