Executive Summary

Introduction

Sligo is on the cusp of major transformation. As the county progresses to 2030, it will experience great change and inevitably a number of challenges including recent issues related to inflation, cost of living pressures and the war in Ukraine. This plan, the Sligo 2030 One Voice One Vision Strategic Framework (the Sligo 2030 Plan), seeks to position Sligo to embrace change, face its challenges head on and transform the county over the next seven years.

It also acts as the county’s new Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) as required under Government guidelines, with Sligo taking the lead as one of the first counties in Ireland to develop and publish the latest iteration of LECPs. While Sligo County Council will oversee its overall implementation, the Sligo 2030 Plan will be a shared plan with vital roles to be played by the private sector, education providers and the wider community to ensure its success.

Sligo is targeting the development of a cutting edge, innovative and forward-thinking county that is smart and sustainable. Sligo Town’s status as a Regional Growth Centre will be embraced to drive sustainable economic development across the county. All stakeholders, including the community and private sector, will work collaboratively at a local, regional, national and international level to share knowledge and identify best practice. Most importantly, everything that is pursued as par t of the Sligo 2030 Plan will be for the benefit of the community and help to ensure that Sligo is a more vibrant, prosperous, sustainable and inclusive county for all its people. To demonstrate the level of ambition this plan is targeting, a list of nine transformational ideas has been developed.

These ideas range from Sligo as a smart hub and place for learning which will include progression of the City Campus project related to the development of a cultural and learning hub in Sligo Town; to an idea around Surf & Work Sligo to attract young and mobile talent. However, while these projects represent ideas and concepts to help further frame the level of ambition, it is the actions in the Implementation Plan that detail the specific transformation that Sligo is looking to achieve.

• An introduction to the Local Economic and Community Plan process and overview of the development of this plan (Chapter 1)

• A vision and smar t model for Sligo (Chapter 2)

• Information on the policy context to which the plan must align (Chapter 3)

• A summary of the socio-economic analysis of the county (Chapter 4)

• Information on the consultation process (Chapter 5)

• An overview of the SCOT analysis (Strengths, Challenges, Opportunities and Threats) and needs identified (Chapter 6)

• High-level goals, objectives and outcomes along with a suggestion for transformational projects (Chapter 7)

• The initial Implementation Plan (Chapter 8)

• A monitoring and evaluation approach for the Sligo 2030 Plan (Chapter 9)