Motion: Rural Village Renewal

This Council recognises that rural villages and small rural towns  across the North of Ireland, including throughout the Fermanagh and Omagh District, have suffered from years of British Government  imposed austerity resulting in underinvestment, population decline  and the gradual loss of essential services.

This Council agrees to bring together the information and recommendations already available through the Rural Affairs Sub- Committee, Community Planning Partnership and Local Development  Plan into a short evidence paper identifying the main challenges and opportunities facing our rural settlements.

Calls for a cross-departmental review led by DAERA, as the department responsible for rural communities, including relevant public bodies such as Invest NI and the Housing Executive, with the   view to addressing vacant and derelict properties, housing, essential services, roads, public transport, broadband, community and sporting    facilities, village regeneration, rural businesses, remote working, tourism and the creation of sustainable local employment.

This Council believes that our rural villages, if properly supported and  resourced, can attract families, businesses and investment and become an important driver of social and economic growth across the North.

Council therefore calls for the review to deliver a clear action plan, named departmental responsibilities and a properly funded, multi-annual Rural Village Renewal and Economic Development Programme.  This must include practical financial support to bring vacant and derelict properties back into use for homes, businesses and community purposes.

Council further calls for Fermanagh and Omagh to be used as a pilot area for this new approach, turning decline and dereliction into  housing, employment, investment and thriving rural communities.