Playground and nameplates among local projects to get Leader funding

INNISHANNON’S playground development and the erection of new street nameplates in Dunmwanway have been approved for Leader funding. 

In all, contracts  to the value of €468,000 have been signed in recent weeks throughout Cork. 

Projects include the construction of and commissioning of a specialised Cheese Dairy at Bo Rua Farm, Ballynoe which fell under the Leader theme of Enterprise Development.

This will enable them to scale up and commercialise their farmhouse cheese utilising the Dinneen family farm Montbeliarde cows whose milk is used in traditional French cheese production.

Other projects include the development of playgrounds in Inniscarra Community Centre, Grenagh and Innishannon plus a project involving the erection of street name plates in Dunmanway.

County mayor, Cllr Declan Hurley said: ‘Cork County Council is delighted to be associated with these projects which will benefit communities and play a role in job creation.’

There are 24 additional projects to the value of around €1m approved by the Local Action Groups (LAGs) of North/South and West Cork which are going through the final steps prior to issuing of contracts.

Tim Lucey, chief executive of Cork County Council explained: ‘The Leader programme is a European Union initiative to support rural development projects initiated at the local level in order to revitalise rural areas and create jobs. Overseen by the Department of Rural & Community Development, funding to the value of €13.93m has been allocated to Cork County over the five-year period.’

Decisions on Leader funding are made at a local level by the three Local Action Groups (LAG) North, South & West Cork which are a sub group of the Local Community Development Committees (LCDCs). 

Cork County Council are the financial partners with the Department of Rural & Community Development for this programme. A Local Development Strategy forms the framework for decision making.