Leitrim Local Community Development Committee (LCDC) will be responsible for the oversight and delivery of the Leader element of Ireland's Rural Development programme in Leitrim. The Programme budget is just under €6million over the lifetime of the Programme.

Minister Heather Humphreys signed the contract for the new programme with representatives of Leitrim LCDC, Leitrim County Council as the financial partner and Leitrim Development Company as the implementing partner at an event in Cavan on July 8th last.

Leader funding is targeted at priority areas identified in the local development strategies developed by local action groups (Leitrim LCDC) and evaluated by an independent evaluation committee. Projects can come from areas as diverse as enterprise development, rural tourism, social inclusion and the environment.

Further details on the rollout of the programme will be announced over the coming weeks and applications will be submitted to the Implementing partner, Leitrim Development Company. The decisions on grant approvals or otherwise will rest with Leitrim Local Community Development Committee (LCDC).

Leitrim LCDC was established in 2014 as part of the reform of Local Government. Leitrim LCDC has 17 members  made up of elected members of the Local Authority, Local Authority staff (Chief Executive and Head of the Local Enterprise Office), local community interests and representatives of Public Bodies (HSE, Teagasc and Dept. of Social Protection) and local development bodies.

Carrick on Shannon Chamber of Commerce in conjunction with Leitrim County Council are delighted to welcome Simon Wall, award winning architect and Westport Town Architect to its second Town Team Meeting of 2016. The Town Team are hosting its next meeting Wednesday evening, July 6th at 6.15pm in the Landmark Hotel.

if you have a business in the town, part of a community group in the town this is an ideal opportunity to hear what is happening on various projects to market the town, improvements in public realm in the town and learn some lessons from Westport's approach to Town Development.

Town Architect to Westport, Co Mayo for almost two decades; Simon Wall is responsible for the built environment as part of the town management team. In recent decades, Westport has experienced its largest building programme since Georgian times, from Section 23 tax designation, through the ‘Celtic Tiger’ years to the present day; during this period the town has won many accolades including: three national Tidy Towns wins, and was in 2012 assessed by The Irish Times to be ‘The Best Place to Live in Ireland’.   The town is a pioneer in the development of urban and rural greenways, including the international award winning 45km Great Western Greenway linking the town to Achill Island. Simon will discuss Westport’s holistic approach to town planning.

Leitrim County Council is delighted to have led out on the development of an initiative to signpost and extend the development of the Blueway in Counties Leitrim, Cavan, Roscommon and Longford under funding received from the pilot Regional Economic Development Zone (REDZ). This was one of two flagship projects funded under REDZ to the value of just under €300,000 to develop the capacity of communities and businesses along the waterways from Belturbet in Cavan through Drumshanbo and Carrick on Shannon in Leitrim onto Boyle in Roscommon and Lanesboro in Longford. The Blueway is an initiative of Waterways Ireland to maximise the potential for a range of land and water based recreational activity similar to the Greenway for cycling.

Minister Heather Humphreys, T.D. ,Minister for Regional Development, Rural Affairs, Arts and the Gaeltacht will formally launch this initiative on Friday, June 24th at 5.30pm in the Landmark Hotel, Carrick on Shannon.

The REDZ programme came about due to the innovative partnership already in existence of the four local authorities, ESB and Bord na Mona in the USEFE (Upper Shannon Erne Future Economy ) initiative prior to the announcement of the competitive national competition for REDZ Flagship projects.

USEFE is a unique business and agency led initiative to drive economic development across the key sectors of importance in the Counties of Cavan, Leitrim, Longford and Roscommon. These sectors include tourism, food, creative, renewable energy and pharma. Depending on the sector involved USEFE works in conjunction with relevant agencies and businesses. In the case of the Blueway project, Waterways Ireland and businesses in the food, craft, tourism and heritage were the key partners to ensure the project was achieved on time and to top standard.

As a result of the REDZ funding, along with matched funding from the partners, the following has been achieved:

• Series of capacity building workshops and infrastructure audits for 22 communities in the Towns and Villages along the Blueway in the USEFE region
• National and Regional Signage of the Blueway Region
• Production of 4 Blueway Trail brochures for Food, Outdoor Activities, Arts and Crafts and Culture and Heritage
• Two capital infrastructure projects to develop and enhance facilities at two key access points.

The Blueway will continue to be developed and promoted and offers an excellent example of regional development in practice.