County town’s foresight is 20/20

THE foresight that has been shown in Ennis by involving the local community in working towards creating a vision for the town’s future has been praised as a “beacon” for other parts of the country to follow.
On Wednesday, the feedback from the first phase of the Ennis 2020 visioning project was presented by members of Ennis Town Council and the University of Limerick.
Earlier this year, the local authority gave the go-ahead for the UL Practicum Programme to carry out community research aimed at developing a vision for the town, designated as a hub under the National Spatial Strategy. The research included input from a cross-section of the community through public meetings, public space interactions and the use of social media, amongst others. The opinions of the community have now been gathered and phase two of the project can now proceed.
The next phase will see three working groups examine the information that has been collated by the university, with the aim of identifying a number of priorities to be worked towards.
The results of the community visioning exercises are being made available to the public through a number of developments including an e-newsletter, an e-comic (which comes in various forms and can be used in schools), an e-learning presentation and a website which went live this week.
Speaking at the official presentation, Dr Chris McInerney of the University of Limerick said the next phase of the project will meet the challenges of the recession.
“This was an exercise in planning without certainty and planning with curiosity. We didn’t know what the end project was going to be and the very fact that people were willing to go with the uncertainty was great. Phase two requires a bit of renewed effort and energy and we have entitled it as Ennis Planning Beyond Recession, because there is a danger that we could get completely constrained by thinking that we’re in a recession and nothing is possible. There is something possible beyond the situation we find ourselves in. People have taken a risk by getting involved with this project, as this has involved a very different process and Ennis should be seen as a beacon for other areas.”
Ennis town manager Ger Dollard outlined the local authority’s commitment to the continuation of the project.
“When the idea was first floated some time back, we said we’d dip our toes in the water and see how things would go. I think we’ve all managed to swim quite well since. At this point, hopefully we can see the shoreline; for some it might be a bit far off but for others it might be nearer and over the next couple of months we hope to bridge that gap.
“In Ennis Town Council we certainly saw the opportunity to discuss some issues relevant to Ennis and to achieve a common understanding of our priorities as a town. One of the major benefits of the whole process was the open, informal nature of the consultation. If this was the end of the process it would be a job well done; it’s an excellent document and an excellent summary of issues to have. But it’s not the end of the process. We have spent some time trying to move on the process and bring it to a conclusion. It’s important that the document sits in the context of the Ennis and Environs Development Plan and the context of Ennis as a hub town and in that, if we can achieve an overall common understanding and vision for the town and maybe a small number of priorities that we could focus on fairly immediately, I would be very, very proud.”
Councillor Johnny Flynn, who chaired the presentation, said the response to the exercise has been “amazing”.
“We need to dream a bit beyond the recession and look to the future of the town. When Michael D Higgins became President he spoke about active citizenship and this is a very good example of that. People just got engaged with what we’ve been trying to do.
“There are three working groups looking at what has been gathered as source material to develop 20 or 25 priorities that can be put down in a plan and discussed and worked on. Then we can use the various State agencies and seek additional funding if necessary so that we can get beyond the recession.”
Dr Mary Shire, vice president of research at the University of Limerick commented, “Research is very important, not just to the university, but it is important to Ireland and economic recovery. In doing that, it has to be research with consequences and impact so that is what the university is very focused on. The UL Practicum is an innovative way of learning and it is something that other universities have not done. I hope this can be replicated more, not just in Ennis. It is needed in Limerick and all across the country. It’s a great achievement what has been done but it’s only the first step. The second phase is starting now and hopefully there will be a start on implementing it.”
The meeting on Wednesday also heard from the Dr Maura Adshed of the UL Practicum programme and Ann Loftus of Clare Active Citizenship Network.