Adopted Budget 2021 to be officially launched in Q4 2020. The Ennis 2040 Strategy will serve to guide development within Ennis to achieve real economic improvements, spatial changes and enhancements in the quality of life, positioning Ennis as a leading regional town. A Clare County Council wholly owned special purpose vehicle, in the form of Ennis 2040 Strategic Development Designated Activity Company (DAC), is currently being set up to deliver a programme of targeted investment and property development, with responsibility for implementing key actions in the Ennis 2040 Strategy. Under the Ennis 2040 DAC, the Council will seek to bid for future Ennis town and environs infrastructure and economic development funding. The Ennis 2040 Strategy will inform the upcoming Clare County Development Plan 2022-2028 and the subsequent Ennis and Environs Local Area Plan.
Rural Development The strategic vision for the Rural Development Directorate is guided by the following strategies: • • • • •
Cliffs of Moher Strategy 2040 Rural Development Strategy 2026 Clare Tourism Strategy 2030 Clare Digital Strategy L.C.D.C.’s LECP (Local Economic and Community Plan)
It is just over three years since the launch of the Clare Rural Development Strategy. At the time it was both the first County-wide Rural Development Strategy and Rural Development Forum in the Country. To date this remains the case giving Clare County Council first-mover advantage for many of the National rural grant funding streams. There has been major Government investment in Clare through these grant schemes. The Rural Development Strategy focuses on eight targets. The delivery of the strategy depends on the ability of the forty organisations involved in the Rural Development Forum to work together to create the environment for rural development to occur in Clare. This Strategy is now accompanied by the Clare Tourism and Clare Digital Strategy, which seeks to utilize technology as an enabler. The Clare Tourism Strategy and Cliffs of Moher Strategy dovetail to support the growth of the tourism industry.
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