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Dromore West Playground

Dromore West Playground  has been a hive of activity since opening to the public at the beginning of the summer.  Its location adjacent to the community centre in the heart of the village makes it an attractive amenity for children and parents in the surrounding area.  The equipment was chosen carefully in line with EU best practice guidelines and recommendations of local children in the Dromore West area.  It is a good example of a successful partnership between Sligo County Council, the local community, DELG and the National Children's Office.  

Report on Playground Grant Scheme 2005

The recent Playground Grant Scheme organised through the Office of Community, Enterprise and Arts highlighted a significant demand for community based play facilities around the county. 

The scheme was developed in response to the DEHLG's initiative to provide €60,000 to each local authority to encourage the development of community based play facilities.  This was match funded by Sligo County Council as part of an initiative to encourage community/local authority partnerships as regards the provision of community facilities. 

Submissions were received from Riverstown, Coolaney, Tubbercurry, Skreen-Dromard, Geevagh, St Ceclias School and Enniscrone.  It is estimated that this represents approximately 50% of the overall demand in the county.  A further seven groups who are planning to develop play facilities over the coming years were in contact. 

Projects were assessed according to certain criteria including accessibility, safety, community involvement, local contribution, proven demand and consultation with children.  It was agreed to support one major play development project (Riverstown) and refurbish an existing playground (Tubbercurry) in 2005.

Play Policy

Sligo County council and Sligo Borough Council have recently come together to develop a play policy for the county.  A play policy is considered necessary for the following reasons:

• To outline the local authorities role in relation to the development of play opportunities in the county through a range of local authority services including planning, arts, community, parks, environment etc.
• To ensure consistency and quality in the provision of play facilities.
• For more clarity as regards joint management arrangements between communities and local authorities, safety, litigation, insurance and funding.

The policy is currently at draft stage and will be open to consultation until the end of September.  It will be presented to the Borough and County Councils before the end of 2005. 

Community Forum

Currently there are 500 groups registered with the County Community Forum.  A detailed directory of all of the community and voluntary sector groups in the county is currently being undertaken.  We expect that an additional 200 groups will be identified through this process and this research should be complete by October 2005 and serve as a useful resource to the general public, community and voluntary organisations, the local authority and other local agencies.  The Directory is co-funded by Sligo County Community Forum, Sligo County Council, Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs and Sligo Leader Partnership Company.  Any groups who would like to be included in the directory should contact the Office of Community, Enterprise and Arts. 

Strengthening Voices at a local level

The Office of community, Enterprise and Arts together with the County Community Forum received funding from Peace II to develop and support Area Fora in the five electoral areas in Sligo.  The recently elected members of the County Community Forum have identified the need to develop the capacity of locally based organisations to impact on policy making and strategically plan for the improvement of their areas. 

The Forum will provide training in each electoral area in community development, influencing policy and communications.  The aim of the project is to establish/develop strong structures which are capable of participating in policy at a local and national in the following areas:

• Sligo/Drumcliff Electoral Area
• Sligo/Strandhill Electoral Area
• Tubbercurry Electoral Area
• Ballymote Electoral Area
• Dromore Electoral Area (West Sligo Area Fora)

The Area Fora will be responsible for electing members to the County Community Forum and, through this structure, for nominating community representatives to the boards of various community and voluntary sector organisations.  The main advantages of being involved is not only information on funding, research, training, but also the opportunity to influence policy and to work with other organisations in your area to make it a better place to live.  It is the strongly held belief of the County Community Forum that working together groups can make a much greater impact on the social, economic and cultural development of their areas. 

If you are involved in a community and voluntary and are interested in becoming involved in the project, please ensures that your group is registered with the County Community Forum.  To do so contact Siofra Kilcullen at 071 9150751.