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Clarecastle community full of ideas for development


FITNESS facilities for young and old, cultural activities, a farmers’ market and the development of the River Fergus are just some of the innovative suggestions made by the community of Clarecastle as part of Clarecastle Community Development’s two-month consultation to establish a vision for the village’s future.
The new Clarecastle Community Development company held its first public meeting in the Abbey Hall in January at which the interim board of Clarecastle Community Development undertook to consult with the community of Clarecastle.
Since then, they have been very busy contacting sectors in the community to gather their thoughts. A contact information form was delivered to each household in the parish of Clarecastle encouraging individuals to provide details of particular skills and services they could offer the new development company and seeking their views on potential projects they deemed necessary for the improvement of Clarecastle. 
The opportunity was also given to feed input and comments to Clarecastle Community Development through its website www.clarecastledev.com. 
According to Marie Clare Gorman, spokeswoman for CCD Ltd, “The school and youth have been consulted and have come up with some great ideas, some very novel. So far, CCD Ltd has heard from numerous individuals proposing thoughts for developing the community including projects that would provide “a centre” for Clarecastle, would promote tourism, provide facilities for fitness and health for young and older members of the community and provide training to improve employment prospects for our youth.
“There have been requests for a general clean-up of Clarecastle, more made of our history and heritage sites, cultural activities for all, a café, walks, farmers’ market, the development of the river to name but only a few. Individuals have also offered a wide range of skills and services from professional help down to putting out chairs at an event. The response has been very positive and has enabled CCD Ltd to put together an excellent database of contacts, volunteers and proposed projects, which can be put to good use in the coming months and years.”
The Interim Board of Clarecastle Community Development has also been meeting with the main organisations in the community. “At these meetings, the main challenges facing the organisations have been considered and opportunities for development examined. Discussions from organisations so far have been very positive and fruitful,” said Marie Claire.
In parallel with meeting organisations, CCD has been putting together a register of businesses in Clarecastle. The intention is to expand this database to include businesses in Clarecastle, local businesses based outside Clarecastle and then global businesses, those outside County Clare but with a link to Clarecastle. Clarecastle Community Development intends to organise a meeting with this important sector in the coming weeks.
CCD Ltd is putting together some sub-committees to carry out some general research in areas of history and heritage as well as nature and wildlife. “This data will be useful background information for a development plan,” she explained.
The interim board will continue meeting with groups and organisations with a view to completing the consultation process by the end of March 2012.  “Using the information gathered, the data will be analysed and a development plan commissioned for the next three years. Clarecastle Community Development will report back to the public on our work and initiate a number of key projects,” concluded Marie Claire. For more regular updates on what Clarecastle Development Company is doing, visit the website www.clarecastledev.com.

 

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