A Cultural Quarter for Sligo

Executive Summary

The Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010 and the National Spatial Strategy envisage Sligo growing into a compact growth centre that will drive regional development in the North-West. Achieving that growth requires investment in key projects that will increase the city’s attraction to skilled migrants that are integral to our future success while instilling pride amongst the resident population in what we and Sligo are. The Cultural Quarter project is a well thought through project that will do just that by capitalising on the county and city’s unique distinctive and natural resources.

The Cultural Quarter project taps into Sligo’s rich heritage across a range of areas and in a planned and resourced manner, uses that great wealth (hitherto much admired and appreciated but largely unharnessed) to create economic activity and growth while growing the resource itself into an amenity made available, access and useable (through interactivity) to visitor and resident. The project contributes to the achievement of every facet of the city we seek to create; quality public realm, person and pedestrian orientation, innovation and creativity. It advances the rise of the successful city through boldly embracing diversity, through the manifestation of quality local governance achieving a coalition of interests targeted on and delivering a single focused strategic objective, through attracting (and retaining) a skilled workforce, through vividly emphasising modern quality of life necessities, through growing city and environs linkages and connectivity, through a demonstration of an innovation culture and a business can do and go ahead.

It achieves the physical renewal and regeneration of that part of the city elevating Sligo to become the focus of national and international attention, generating civic pride and the “buzz” that marks out a city on the move. The concept themes and resource upon which the project is founded enable us build on that which is distinctively Sligo and to market Sligo as a strong distinctive brand. That base resource and theme being distributed and sourced city county and region wide, will give broad ownership of the project to the region thereby spawning a strong city-region relationship and bond from the outset.

Another great strength of the project is the inclusion of market financed hard commercial spaces and production units. The Model already has a successful record as a provider of flexible production spaces to “creatives”; a feature that will greatly expand in the new development. Thus it is not solely a “consumption” based project but one that has a strong “production” component.

The chosen site through the success of the Model (and the Model/local authority relationshi) and proximity of Green Fort already has a proven track record and a strong cultural/artistic national profile. With its high quality design, its emphasis on pedestrianisation and new linkages, it compliments and supports the O’Connell Street pedestrianisation project, the river walking routes recently developed and proposed, the Eastern Access bridge and the Cleveragh Recreation Park. Furthermore it provides, by way of the public car park (c 800 spaces), an essential supporting plank to new traffic management designed to accommodate the O’Connell Street pedestrianisation and ease of access to the city core that is itself substantially vehicle free. A car park at Connaughton Road is a stated objective of the Development Plan.

Finally the Gateway Innovation Fund can provide the financial impetus to deliver the vision. Both Sligo Local Authorities will contribute financially but given their limited income could not themselves secure project delivery. We believe investment now will pay handsomely long into the future.

- Proposed Sligo County Museum and Model::Niland – View from Civic Space

Policy Principles and Approach

The creative age and the importance of culture

“Ireland is well placed to capitalise on the creative age and become a truly creative sustainable society” these remarks were made at a recent conference in Dublin by Professor Richard Florida author of influential books such as The Rise of the Creative Class and Director of the Prosperity Institute in Toronto. Prof Florida said the ability to compete depended on cities being able to attract, retain and develop creative people. “Wealth is no longer just about how big your factories are, but about your ability to create new ideas – not just physical products, but in areas like arts, culture and entertainment”.

In Europe and elsewhere, at neighbourhood, city, regional and national levels, there is a growing realisation that culture can deliver on many aspects of community engagement, empowerment and leadership.

• Cultural activities both traditional and new create meaning as they are concerned with expression, celebration and achievement. They embody the identity and values of a place. They express local distinctiveness and can engender social cohesion.
• Culture, moreover, can assist in providing positive solutions to problems resulting from social exclusion by developing selfconfidence and capacity in individuals and communities. There is strong and growing evidence, for example, of the links between cultural participation, including sports, and social capital (bonds and networks of trust and reciprocity) in communities.
• Culture is associated with a high quality of life. For this reason, place-marketing strategies tend to focus on the local cultural offer, on the presence of artists and creative people and cultural industries in general. Thus, by helping to create positive images the cultural sector has a direct impact on inward investment.
• Culture’s role in tourism is key. Tourism offers are now increasingly focused on what is unique in a place, and ‘cultural tourism’ represents an average of 6% to 8% of nations’ GDP in Europe. Cultural tourism gives visitors the opportunity to understand and appreciate the essential character of a place and its culture as a whole, so a good cultural tourism strategy can also satisfy the requirements of sustainable economic development. Back in 2002, the World Tourism Organization, established that 37% of all tourism (265 million international trips) was cultural in nature and this trend was set to grow at a remarkable 15% per annum. According to the European Commission, 45-50% of tourist motivations in the world’s largest single market are ‘cultural’ in nature and origin.
• The cultural industries – in forms ranging from publishing to television, video production and design – are claimed to be the fourth or fifth fastest growing sector in the world’s developed economy after financial services, information technology, pharmaceuticals, bio-engineering and tourism. In global cities such as London or New York, the cultural industries employ over 500,000 people. In both these cities, investment in culture is seen as a key goal of their global competition strategies.
• Culture-led Regeneration. The increased concern with culture, consumption and image in urban policies is well documented, and, from the late 1980s onwards, cities and regions with different economic functions in the European urban hierarchy have used cultural policies to improve and develop their internal and external images. In  this scenario, cultural activity is seen as the catalyst and engine of regeneration. The design and construction (or re-use) of a building or buildings for public use and for hosting creative businesses (see for example, the Baltic and Sage Music Centre in Gateshead, Tate Modern in London or the Lace Market in Nottingham); the reclamation of open space (e.g. for festivals, parades and large scale events) and the creation of Cultural Precincts or Cultural Quarters are all examples of culture-led regeneration.

 Development of the Cultural Quarter and a substantial car parking facility is envisaged and provided for in the Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010. The Cultural
Quarter is identified as “a key named development project” in the Sligo Arts Plan 2007 – 2012 as is the creation of new public spaces, the expansion of the public realm and “the creation of dedicated outdoor performance facilities”. The Sligo County Development Board through its “Action Plan for Economic, Social and Cultural Development” (2006) also provides strong project support as does the County Strategy 2002-2012.

The Failte Ireland document “Tourism Product Development Strategy 2007-2013” gives recognition to the potential of “soft adventure” products, heritage and rural culture and the development of strong visitor attractions. The Cultural Quarter is closely aligned with many objectives of the National Development Plan 2007-2013 including support for “the development of cultural facilities in the NSS Gateways”. Indeed the level of support from the Department of Arts Sports and Tourism through allocations under both the ACCESS I and ACCESS II programmes is testimony to the standing of the project.

Project Rationale

Why a Cultural Quarter in Sligo?

Between 2002 and 2006 the County’s population as a whole increased by 4.6% (2,663 persons). In particular, the population of Electoral Divisions within 10 miles of Sligo City increased by 8.91% (1,810) with growth occurring principally in satellite villages (Strandhill, Grange, Carney, Ballisodare and Collooney). In addition, substantial population growth is expected in the City in 2007-2008 following construction/completion of residential developments permitted since 2004 (the year when Sligo and Environs Development Plan became operational) – approx. 500 apartments were permitted/proposed in the City Centre area since 2004.

Those taking up residence in and around Sligo are mainly young families, and single household professionals, some returning to live in the County from Dublin, Scotland, or other EU and US cities. According to research recently conducted by the Western Development Commission (WDC), their common goal is to take advantage of Sligo’s great
quality of life, lower cost of living, cheaper childcare, good art and cultural provision, lower property prices and the exceptional natural beauty of the local environment.

These attractions are complemented by the excellent work done by the first class education and training provided by Sligo Institute of Technology especially in the Sciences and Humanities through courses in Art and Design, the Performing Arts, Tourism and Recreation, Applied Archaeology and Environmental Science. These unique resources, combined to the demographic changes taking place in Sligo highlight the need – by both the existing and the new population – for access to a wide choice of cultural and leisure opportunities and a high quality of life. The proposed Cultural Quarter will act as a catalyst for such integrated provision. The buzz of creativity, innovation and entrepreneurialism generated by the clustering of cultural production and consumption around the centre of Sligo will make the city attractive to live in, but will also ensure that locally embedded production and consumption cultures play a role in the overall regeneration of the Sligo.

Additionally the Cultural Quarter project is a major regeneration scheme encompassing a key strategic city centre site. Through the investment of limited public funding very significant residential, commercial and industrial development is leveraged and delivered to the market. The development will also strengthen and expand city linkages, grow the
city’s pedestrianised areas and quality public realm and through the provision of a major public car park and access way at an optimum location on the periphery of the urban core, facilitate implementation of traffic management as will support and ease adverse impacts of the O’Connell Street pedestrianisation scheme.

Finally, the project on completion, with its many elements, will be a major regional attraction. Through the exposure, within the Cultural Quarter, of the county’s many attractions and facets, the visitors’ interest will be invoked. To capitalize on that interest the Cultural Quarter will devise and publicize bespoke trails and routes and tours of the
attractions and sites for the visitor to undertake and explore. Thus they will be enticed further into the region or to return on a revisit – the Cultural Quarter as a window to the
county and that which it has to offer.

- Master Plan: PPP and cultural institutions

Project Descripton

The Cultural Quarter will be developed on a site in the Councils’ ownership at The Mall/Connaughton Road. Its key components are: the extended and refurbished Model Arts and Niland Gallery, a new state of the art Museum, a new Civic Space, extensive Parking, new Pedestrian routes, new commercial spaces and new roadways. Led by Sligo County Council, the development highlights the importance culture and the arts play in the growth of the County. The development will be delivered through two separate procurements

• Extension and refurbishment of the Model Arts and Niland Gallery; delivered through a conventional procurement contract. This work is well advanced – the design team are in place since 2004 (following an architectural design contest), full planning was secured in October 2006, an enabling works contract is currently underway on the site (site clearance, diversion of ESB services and reduction of ground levels) and following the publication of a contract notice in August 2007 applicants are now being short listed for the main construction contract. Tender documents will issue in January 2008, construction completion will be mid 2009 and following museum fit out the museum and Model will open to the public in late 2009. The cost of this procurement is €29.4M
• The second procurement will be for the balance of the development i.e. the Civic Space, parking facility, pedestrian routes, commercial spaces and road way. It will be delivered by way of Public Private Partnership (PPP). The site of the Quarter covers a total of 4.20 acres of space on the edge of the city centre (3.29 PPP). The estimated cost of the PPP element is of €94M (inclusive of VAT). The PPP procurement has commenced (the PPP Assessment is completed). Following the publication of a contract notice to appoint a Client’s Representative, candidates are short listed and tender documents have issued. The Client’s Representative will, working with ourselves, the department and the NDFA, devise the output specification, prepare the project PSB and the contract documents. The PPP contract will provide that the Civic Space and the pedestrian and vehicular routes will be taken into public charge on completion of construction. The private partner will have ownership of the commercial spaces and will be granted a concession to operate the car park for a fixed period (possibly 20 years) following which the ownership of the public car parking spaces will revert to Sligo Borough Council. A draft master plan for the site is prepared and is included here.

The Quarter is a truly visionary project grounded on the local cultural ecology and set in a unique historic and natural landscape. The development will put Sligo on the map not only for the quality of its cultural offer, but also for the opportunities it will generate for creative production to take place in workspaces in and around the newly designed Civic Plaza.

Sligo has a proven track record amongst cultural providers with both the Model and the local authority Arts and Heritage services recognised nationally as leaders in their field. The Heritage Office facilitates structured heritage development in the county. Its work includes habitat mapping; auditing of traditional crafts and skills; placename surveys and monument and historic property advisory schemes.

Sligo Arts Service has invested more than €8.5m in the arts in Sligo in the past decade, €4.5m of which was awarded to local artists and organisations in the form of bursaries and grants. What has distinguished its work, however, is not simply the financial investment. It’s the strategic thinking, partnerships and consultative planning, which have underpinned a policy of public service arts that supports artists and arts organisations.

This coupled with the excellent reputation of Sligo’s other cultural organisations, such as, the Hawk’s Well Theatre, Blue Raincoat Theatre Company, Sligo Arts Gallery, The Yeats Society and the Coleman Traditional Music Centre and very strong amateur and voluntary sectors will ensure that the Quarter is more than a tourist destination and that it is sustainable and vibrant because it is rooted into the local cultural DNA.

- Entrance off new Civic Space

The Model Arts and Niland Gallery

Cultural Tourism is worth €5.1 billion annually to the Irish economy. The North-West region attracted 489,000 overseas visitors in 2005, and 123,000 visited Sligo. Through the Model’s redevelopment, it will become a compulsory stop off point for all such visitors to the area. The Model will generate internationally significant cultural activity that can be experienced by a regional audience and significantly raise the profile of the arts in the North-West. Its new entrance onto the Civic Space will make it a central point of the Cultural Quarter thus making it a living connection with the established ‘Old Sligo’ of the Mall and the new ‘cool’ Sligo.

The redevelopment will build on the Model’s proven track record of delivering high-level cultural programmes that are regionally, nationally and internationally significant. Recent highlights of the programme have included a unique performance by Patti Smith and a large exhibition addressing the creative legacy of Andy Warhol’s Factory. The redeveloped building will allow the Model to achieve the full ambition of its future visual arts, cinema and education programmes.

The Niland Collection, (Sligo’s Municipal Collection) is also housed in the Model. The Collection houses 47 Jack B. Yeats paintings and features works by Paul Henry, Sean Keating, Manie Jellet, Barrie Cooke, Patrick Collins, Paul Henry, Norah McGuinness, Dorothy Cross and Clare Langan. It is comparable only with collections in Dublin, Limerick or Cork, the redevelopment will ensure the continued growth of this nationally significant collection.

In particular, the redevelopment of the Gallery will provide:

• Increased and improved Gallery Space
• A new entrance
• A new state of the art Black Box performance space
• A new Education Suite
• 8 Artists Studio
• Improved visitor services and information provision
• A doubling of storage facilities
• A new destination restaurant

The vision for the redevelopment is to create:

• A unique destination arts space in Ireland that is locally relevant and internationally significant.
• A special place that is open and welcoming to all audiences to learn and think about contemporary culture.
• A catalyst for regeneration culturally and economically.

These plans will create a nationally unparalleled contemporary arts space which will allow the Model to deliver dynamic, innovative and inclusive activities, and play a defining role in pushing forward Ireland’s cultural future.

The Museum

The new Museum will complement the Gallery vision by highlighting the rich landscape and archaeological resources of the County. While every county in Ireland has a landscape or landscapes regarded as being uniquely beautiful, few can rival the iconic nature of County Sligo. Whichever approach one takes – from any of the cardinal points – outstanding landmarks dominate the point of entry. The beautiful Atlantic coast to the west, the quiet forested lakelands to the east, Knocknashee and Knocknarea to the south and Ben Bulben to the north.

These features attracted human societies who left behind objects, graves, mounds, industrial sites, ritual monuments, cooking sites, defended earthen and stone settlements, lake dwellings, castles, churches, graveyards, monasteries, ships, treasure, demesnes and estates, thatched cottages, lime kilns, ice houses, roads, railways and towns. This unique landscape and the societies that dwelt and dwell within it will be the subject matter of the new Museum.

The establishment of the new museum will address the need for a centrally located repository of Sligo’s material culture with a dynamic supporting museum service.The museum will be primarily oriented towards the public with a considered education and marketing programme as one of the its main features. It will compliment the existing heritage related initiatives spread throughout the county by acting as a signposting venue to these places and to the wide variety of natural and archaeological landscape sites and features that occur in the county and the region.

This will be a brand-new building designed to the highest standard of eco-sustainability and a highly innovative approach to the display of the collection. From the outset, the visitor to the museum will be given co-ordinates on how to read the landscape. This will be achieved through the use of maps, models, diagrams, computer-generated images and easy to read and comprehend time lines. It is intended that the exhibition plan will have a thematic rather than chronological approach and will be supported by a high level of interactivity. These themes of landscape and society will form the core of the permanent exhibition gallery. The museum’s temporary exhibition gallery will host a dynamic temporary exhibition programme. Effective programming of these spaces will lead to a vibrant varied museum experience and maximise the potential for consistent audience development.

The education and outreach programmes of both the Model and the new Museum will target particular groups and sectors particularly with a view to achieving society wide involvement and ownership and fostering and furthering social inclusion.

The Public Private Partnership (PPP) Development and its individual elements

The PPP is a 3.29 acres city development. It is iimmediately contiguous to the Model Arts and Niland Gallery and the new Museum (at the eastern end) extending westwards towards the city centre, from which it is within easy walking distance. The site has a strong cultural identity due to the presence of the Model and proximity of the Green Fort (a key landmark of the local landscape).

Utilizing a PPP procurement process the applicants will prepare the design in response to a brief prepared by the Sligo Local authorities. The criteria for award will be weighted towards high quality urban design. Other aspects will be financial proposal (amount of required subsidy) and programme for delivery. The project brief will require that the design proposal include a number of prescribed elements as follows:

• Car park of circa 800 spaces; with a preference that spaces are entirely underground
• Civic Space linking both cultural institutions and all the elements of the PPP
• Pedestrian routes linking the cultural institutions and the civic space to the city, the river and to the city’s eastern quadrant
• New road way to open up privately owned backlands for development and to provide a quality service access route to the Model Arts and Niland Gallery.

Outside of the above, applicants will be free to propose a mixture of development including retail, commercial, production spaces (including creative spaces) residential etc.

The intention is to create a viable sustainable public realm with pedestrian priority. Development adjoining the new civic space and the cultural institutions (Model and the Museum) will be “strong cultural” in nature. The emphasis there will be on cultural industries, workshops, retail outlets, artists residences etc. From that part of the site towards the river and city centre we envisage a gradient; going from the cultural to the commercial with limited residential. The design will be required to place emphasis on the cultural importance of the area and the cultural buildings and these will relate directly to the civic space with both cultural institutions having their main entrances off that space. The award criteria will reward proposals that are deemed to best provide for the generation of a Cultural Quarter that is strong and sustainable. The new streets will include active public uses and places to work and live – ensuring both day and evening use.

The civic space will provide a facility for outdoor performances, programmed by the Museum, the Model and the County and Borough Councils. It is central to creating the Cultural Quarter. It will be the pulsating heart of Sligo, a piazza for the 21st century animated by public events – open air festivals, carnivals, poetry readings, farmers and specialist markets, outdoor theatre etc; coupled with a programme of temporary cutting edge public art commissions. All this combined with live/work spaces for creative individuals and organizations; specialist shops, cafes and/or bars which are venues for evening entertainment – music, comedy etc. Visitors and residents alike will be drawn to that area of the city where they will access a menu of itineraries of events and sites and areas of interest linking archaeology, literature etc to surfing, river and sea fishing, cycling, golfing, hill walking etc.

The vision behind the PPP development is a well balanced mix of uses to include ground floor, small specialist retail shops; small scale restaurants featuring local cuisine, cafes, ground floor and upper floor work spaces for creatives (companies and individuals working in design, fashion, architecture, restoration etc) plus a specialist bookshop (archaeology, ethnography) and upper floor residential uses.

The intention is to generate active uses along the pedestrian streets and to combine vibrancy and liveability in a holistic way so that the development is not just a ‘theme park for the tourists’, but a place where the people who live in Sligo can come and enjoy the city’s culture and public space. It will also provide an urban focal point for creative producers for example, local organic produce, handcrafted goods and indigenous designer products.

Provision of the Cultural Institutions (extended and refurbished Model and new Museum) will drive the city and region forward through the provision of high quality culture, access to and development of the arts becoming a major visitor attraction within the region. However it is through the development of the entire project (Cultural Institutions and PPP) that the city and region really gains. The PPP development provides a vibrant hinterland for the cultural institutions, interesting urban spaces within the city linked through dedicated pedestrian routes to the city centre and to the river (route to the south over existing foot bridge and route west towards the new foot bridge being provided as part of the Silver Swan/Glasshouse development). The PPP also provides a new public parking facility (c 800 spaces) strategically located to support the city’s pedestrianisation and expanding retail economy. It grows the city’s commercial spaces, extends the city’s accommodation to the creative sector, with limited residential units ensuring an evening and night time occupancy. In the broader city development context the PPP element of the Cultural Quarter project will secure the development of a site currently serving as a surface car park (c 300 spaces), transforming and regenerating the city’s north eastern quadrant and extending the city’s public realm to link the cultural institutions to the city centre and the river. Delivering up on this development is key to achieving the vision for the city. City pedestrianisation relies on the provision of car parking well located off the circular vehicular routes (e.g. Connaughton Road), but convenient to the city’s core. Locations identified for such parking facilities include Abbey Street (development plan recently varied), the Quays area and the Connaughton Road (PPP) site. The later is the most significant of the three

• it will serve city visitors from the north (N15)
• it will serve city visitors from the east (N16)
• it will serve visitors to the Cultural Institutions with direct access to city pedestrian areas.

Parking as proposed also gives strong support to the growing retail sector and is recognized by both Councils and commercial interests as an infrastructural deficit within the city which must be addressed to grow and sustain the city.

The PPP model is seen as the ideal procurement vehicle. It enables the Council prescribe the essential elements of the development (car park, civic space, pedestrian routes, road way to backlands) necessary to achieve the city vision while permitting the market to offer forth the correct mix of commercial, retail, residential etc which it (the market) is best placed to determine. It facilitates market led innovation in design while placing the adjudication and selection of the solution fully with the Councils. Significantly also it facilitates very significant investment of private sector finance to drive city growth and to achieve our ultimate aims for the city.

The PPP element of the Cultural Quarter is estimated to cost €94.2M inclusive of VAT. Having prepared the PPP Assessment Report and having commenced the preparation of the project Public Sector Benchmark (PSB) we estimate private sector input of c €69M - the shortfall of €25M being derived from public funding through a combination of input from both Sligo Borough Council and the Gateway Innovation Fund. Without public funding the site would remain derelict and the area static without regeneration.

Reliance on private funding alone to develop the site would deny us the opportunity to prescribe the nature of the development, retain control of the design, secure the public parking, civic space and quality public realm with pedestrian prominence that together with the cultural institutions will combine to position our city to grow and prosper. Failure to make that investment means foregoing the project that combines and capitalises on our strong and uniquely distinctive assets to drive our city and region forward. That driver is completely sustainable being based on our natural resources.

Collaboration

Development of the Cultural Quarter project dates back to 1999. Since then we have consulted widely and collaborated with a wide range of agencies organizations and individuals, some at a national level others with a regional or local focus. From the outset the project is a partnership of the County and Borough Councils and the Model Arts and Niland Gallery. The Arts Council is a major funder to the Model and they have been consulted and maintained informed throughout. The National Museum of Ireland, the Ulster Museum and the Heritage Council have been involved through various discussions as has the Hunt Museum and the Museum of Country Life and museum and arts interests in Enniskillen and Omagh. We have consulted with heritage and museum bodies internationally, particularly in Denmark, Scotland and England, to ensure the cultural institutions are to the highest standards and reflect current international best practice and cutting edge technologies. The Sligo Institute of Technology is involved in project development and the museum in particular will compliment many of their programmes and courses including archaeology and natural history.

Other organizations and agencies consulted include the Sligo County Development Board, Sligo Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Failte Ireland (and North-West Tourism), Construction Industry Federation, a range of property developers and property advisors (particularly relating to the PPP) local and national, the Sligo Yeats Society, the Sligo Field Club and the County Sligo Heritage Forum. We have had numerous discussions with Stephan Burg (UCG) and the OPW (Kieran O’Connor). We have met with Sligo groupings representing persons with disabilities including the Sligo Access Committee. We have consulted with the various teams and departments of both Borough and County Councils, the Sligo Live Committee, representatives of the Farmers Market and the various utility providers. In all and separate to the above we have undertaken six public consultation events and regularly brief the local media. We have also retained the services of an international cultural planning consultant Lia Ghilardi (London).

- Proposed Sligo County Museum - Proposed entrance view

Conclusion

County Sligo is changing and more people want to come and live here. Recognized cultural activity, attractive public spaces, good housing, and a high quality of life are key factors in attracting people to move to an area.

The proposal for the Cultural Quarter is central to the development of a new identity and role for Sligo City and County within a national framework. It is central to the economic, cultural and social growth and function of the city and county as a gateway to the North-West of Ireland. It will facilitate a greater understanding of heritage and provide an imaginative platform for high quality contemporary culture. It will engender a sense of pride and ownership amongst newcomers to Sligo and its local population and will deliver on their expectation to be part of a modern nation. It represents regeneration of an important but derelict area of the city and supports and facilitates city pedestrianisation.

We are therefore proposing that we continue with our ambitions to establish a cultural hub in the centre of Sligo. Given Sligo’s Gateway Status under the National Spatial Strategy, we feel that it is of great importance to look at our cultural infrastructure strategically, both from an economic and social perspective. Good strategic planning will at this time add significantly to the quality of life of our population and draw inward investment to the area.

In August 2007 Sligo County Council established the Cultural Quarter Planning Committee comprising council officials and relevant expertise from the fields of arts, heritage and procurement. The committee is supported in its work by Lia Ghilardi, Director of Noema Research and Planning Limited, a UK-based Cultural Planning consultancy with a strong international reputation in the field of cultural and urban strategy development. Noema offers a unique and innovative approach to cultural-policy-led urban regeneration based on the concept of Cultural Planning.

Over the coming year the Cultural Quarter Planning Committee will develop a comprehensive management structure for the cultural components in this area of the city which will bring a strategic approach to realising Sligo’s full cultural potential; including its internationally renowned prehistoric landscape, its rich literary and cultural history and its unparalleled contemporary art collection.

 Costs

Risk Analysis

The table below outlines risks, risk severity and mitigation in respect to anticipated risks. It is informed by a Risk Assessment Workshop undertaken on 13th September 2007 and convened to assess risks as may pertain to the PPP element. In attendance at that meeting were Sean Carey (Sligo County Council and formerly assistant manager, Dublin City Council), Bartley Gavin (Sligo County Council), Cyril McNamara (Sligo County Council), J P Corkery (NDFA), Mairéad Hughes (NDFA), Kevin Woods (Sheridan Woods, architects), Thomas Day (PPP Unit, Dept of Environment Heritage and Local Government), John O’Regan and Kevin Corrigan (Davis Langton PKS, Project Managers and PPP Advisors), Jack Devlin (GVA Donal O’Buachalla, property advisors) and Aaron Boyle (Arthur Cox, Solicitors).

Severity Scale

• 5 Very Severe
• 4 Severe
• 3 Moderate
• 2 Small impact
• 1 Little or no impact on the project

Risk of Occurrence

• 5 Definitely will occur
• 4 High risk of occurrence
• 3 Moderate possibility of occurrence
• 2 Small possibility
• 1 Unlikely possibility of occurrence

Risk Response

• Avoidance: Consequences are avoided by changing the project Plan.
• Transfer: Transfer the consequences ownership and responsibility of the risk to a third party.
• Mitigation: Reduction of the probability and/or severity of a risk to an acceptable threshold.
• Acceptance: Accepting the consequences of the risk by developing a contingency plan or by accepting the impact of the risk

*  Transfer to private partner for PPP element.