“We want to be part of the successful development of Drogheda”
The Committee of the Love Drogheda BID has welcomed the Geiran Community Safety and Wellbeing Report saying it provides a new pathway forward for Drogheda and highlights the challenges constraining Drogheda and the opportunities to forge a new future for our town.
In his report report Vivian Geiran says: “One is struck, when meeting representatives of local community and voluntary bodies in Drogheda, by the levels of energy, passion and commitment evident in the area.
“Nevertheless, as with so much of the work done in Drogheda, by statutory and non-statutory bodies alike, there is a clear need to clarify who is doing what, coordinate the work better, address gaps and eliminate any overlaps”.
In a statement Love Drogheda says: “Many of the issues that have been highlighted within the Geiran report have been raised by local community groups, politicians, state agencies and bodies previously and these views have now been validated.
“The report recommends the development of a cross agency oversight group and an implementation board that will take a root and branch look at all the factors that are impacting Drogheda across all sectors. To be successful we hope the cross agency oversight group are allocated the significant funding that is required to create meaningful and long lasting impact.
“As a Town centre stakeholder organisation we look forward to engaging on the next steps in this report with the creation of a localised taskforce and potential subgroup on employment, business and enterprise.
“As part of the recommendations, Love Drogheda BID welcome the identification of a Joint Urban Area plan as an important element in service provision for all parts of the community.
“This plan will help to set out a cross boundary strategic long-term vision for the town across all sectors including community infrastructure provision and help provide the services required within Irelands 6th largest urban conurbation.
“For the purpose of town centre safety and engagement with An Gardai, Love Drogheda BIDs are delighted that the report noted the implementation of the See it Say It App as a practical solution for confidential reporting of incidents.
“Increased Garda numbers has helped return the town to normality and we look forward to the continued support of An Gardai and the success of Operation Stratus and the success of the Garda Youth Diversion Programme.
“This will in effect assist in removing the negative publicity surrounding the town which may have a bearing on attracting Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to Drogheda.
“With further investment and development of the Fintech Corridor we hope that we can strengthen our position as a Regional Growth Centre with targeted support from National agencies to grow our local employment opportunities for our youth of today and tomorrow.
“The pathway forward highlighted by the report indicates that the road ahead will be delivered through cross agency collaboration and not in isolation and we want to be part of the successful development of Drogheda.
