EU in my Region: UrbanCOOP project brings European Stakeholders to Galway
- Galway hosted international project partners as part of an EU Project
- The Interreg Europe funded UrbanCOOP Project supports multilateral cooperation amongst local government actors
- Galway County and Galway City Council showcased Good Practice examples of smart urban planning around Galway City
The Northern and Western Regional Assembly were excited to welcome a group of European project partners involved in the Interreg Europe EU funded URBANCOOP project to Galway for a two day event on 6th and 7th November 2024. URBANCoop strives towards better cooperation governance to attain urban sustainable development and this interregional learning event to facilitate this aim, will bring partners and stakeholders from all over Europe to Ireland. The event in Galway facilitated collaboration and learning between EU regions, which is a central element of all Interreg Europe funded projects.
Over the course of two days, the project partners from 7 different countries (Italy, Bulgaria, Spain, Estonia, Romania, Bosnia & Herzegovina, and Ireland) heard from local and regional representatives, as well as from actors involved in urban development and regeneration. The 2- day visit also included visits to sites of significance around Galway City.
On Day 1 Senior Planners from Galway City Council and Galway County Council presented how their local authorities cooperate under the Galway Metropolitan Area Strategic Plan (MASP), which forms part of the Northern and Western region’s Regional and Spatial Economic Strategy. The process of sustainable urban planning and examples of good planning practices and regeneration projects was also highlighted. In addition, the process by which communities are involved in local planning and decision-making will be also be explored in a presentation by a representative of the Galway City Community Network, the Public Participation Network in Galway City.
A further suite of presentations on urban regeneration projects was delivered by representatives from the Land Development Agency, the Port of Galway and the Northern and Western Regional Assembly. These presentations were followed by site visits that will take place in the afternoon of Day 1. The participants will be given a tour of the Port of Galway and an overview of its planned regeneration. Next, the participants were taken to Nun’s Island Theatre and Cultural Centre, in the heart of the city, which has recently secured funding to revive the site under the NWRA THRIVE Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme. This Scheme is managed by the NWRA and is delivered as part of the region’s European Regional Development Fund Operational Programme. Lastly, the participants got to visit the recently developed and award-winning ERDF funded Pedestrian Bridge, ‘Droichead an Dóchais’.
Day 2 of the event is comprised of a workshop element to hear from the guests and exchange ideas in an interactive session. The focus on these meetings will be on achieving the outputs of the project and fulfilling its deliverables. The 2 day event was conclude with a Steering Committee meeting amongst project partners to discuss the management of the project and next steps.
More information on the UrbanCoop meeting visit: https://www.interregeurope.eu/urbancoop
