Ballina has been granted €1.4 million for the completion of three major projects in the town from the BMW Assembly gateway and hub towns fund, which is administered by the European Regional Development Agency. The total cost of the three projects is €2.5 million, with Ballina Town Council and Mayo County Council putting the rest of the money towards the projects, which are the refurbishment of Pearse Street, the Jackie Clarke Library, and the new link road in the town between Pearse Street and Market Street.
Fine Gael town and county councillor Michelle Mulherin welcomed the funding for the three projects and said she hoped it was a sign of things to come for the town. “When we first got hub status for the town in 2002 we hoped that it would be the start of somthing good for the town,” she said. “This is one of the first major things we have got from having hub status and I hope the Government can take their cue from Europe who has seen fit to invest the money in Ballina.”
Cllr Mulherin also paid tribute to her fellow councillors and the council managment in the town and county for having the plans in place for these projects, because they would not have been able to get the funding if the forward planning had not been done. “This is great news for the town and a lot of credit must go to both my colleagues on the council and the council managment, who made sure that we had plans in place for the development of the town and made it possible for us to be able to apply for funding. It shows the importance of forward planning and what we have to continue to do into the future. It is also worth noting that while we are currently deciding our place in Europe for the future that this money is coming from Europe for us here to make the town a better place and a place that is ready to prosper and develop as we try to come out of this current recession.”
