Towns and villages in Ireland are very much alive! This is one of the key messages which came out out of the Future of Towns Summit that took place on 18 October 2017 in Sligo.  However, the event highlighted that key to success is the cooperation between the various stakeholders and a high level of volunteerism. Brexit poses a threat but can be overcome if effected regions and sectors are willing to act now.

Delegates from local authorities, town teams, local businesses associations and business groupings met in Sligo to learn and share resources in the fight to revitalise Irish towns.

Speakers at the event included: 

• Sven Spollen-Behrens, Director, SFA - Brexit and the Irish town
• Catherine Curran, Assistant Principal Officer, Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation - The framework for town centre renewal - Best practice and a practical step by step approach
• Simon Quin - Director and Visiting Professor, Institute of Place Management, Manchester Metropolitan University - The 4 "R's" of town centre renewal
• Richard Hamilton, Associate Director, Future Analytics Consulting - What makes a healthy town? A town planners perspective - town planning, revitalisation of vibrant and successful towns
• Kevin Traynor, National Director, The Coach Tourism & Transport Council - The role of coach tourism in Ireland and the opportunities available to rural communities as a source of employment and revenue.
• David McNulty, Director, Tourism Development International - Towns and villages - emerging tourism opportunities.

The programme and presentations from the Future of Towns Summit can be found here.