RESTART

RESTART is an €8.4 million investment delivered under Investment Area 4.2 – Rural Regeneration and Social Inclusion – of the PEACEPLUS programme.

The project is supported by Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB) and will deliver significant strategic investment across the border towns of Newtownbutler, Clones, and Belturbet.

RESTART will help transform communities that have experienced the long-term effects of partition, conflict, economic decline, and social fragmentation.

These towns were once thriving market centres and focal points of economic and social life. Today, they face shared challenges including:

• High vacancy and dereliction
• Closure of retail premises and town centre services
• Rural isolation
• High age dependency
• Inward migration pressures
• Poor health outcomes
• Reduced access to public services
• Limited community infrastructure

RESTART responds directly to these challenges through a combined social inclusion programme and rural regeneration strategy, investing in both people and place.

RESTART is delivered through a strong cross-border partnership:

• Fermanagh and Omagh District Council (Lead Partner)
• Cavan County Council
• Monaghan County Council
• Clones Family Resource Centre
• Erne East Community Partnership
• Clones Erne East Community Sports Facility

Together, these partners are delivering coordinate

The overall aim of RESTART is to:

• Improve quality of life for people living and working across the greater Clones, Erne East and Belturbet region
• Strengthen social cohesion and inclusion
• Improve economic vitality
• Restore confidence in rural town centres
• Build long-term resilience in cross-border communities

Through strategic investment, RESTART will create:

• Healthier, more confident rural communities
• Greater integration of new communities
• Stronger community cohesion
• Restoration of local services through social enterprise
• Reduction in vacancy and dereliction
• Increased economic activity and opportunity

RESTART consists of seven interconnected work packages:

• Social Inclusion Programme
• Rural Regeneration Programme
• Sport, Recreation & Wellbeing – Building Relationships
• Newtownbutler Community Hub
• Clones Canal Stores Hub
• Belturbet Community & Enterprise Hub

RESTART represents a bold and collaborative commitment to ensuring that rural border communities not only recover — but thrive socially, economically and environmentally for generations to come.