There is an old saying: "If we fail to plan, we plan to fail." Many think that plans and reports are documents that sit on a shelf, gathering dust and not being acted upon. The PCDA was very aware of this risk and so we committed ourselves to certain principles to guide our actions.
1. We designed an inclusive process so that this vision will be Portarlington's vision. We engaged with all stakeholders, including state and semi-state bodies and the local community.
2. We set out to be truly visionary: our town is in serious difficulty and the vision needs to be both challenging and demanding to meet the ongoing development needs of the community.
3. We want a vision that is both practical and achievable. It will be based on solid research and consultation and it will be monitored and analysed on an ongoing basis.
Now is the time for everybody with an interest in the development of the town to come on board and offer their views and suggestions to this continuing process. No plan can be delivered by one organisation - we need the knowledge, energy, resources and commitment of everyone if we are to succeed. Please follow this link to view the interim report:-
http://www.portarlingtoncommunity.com/
The VISION
The vision is very much in draft form and the interim report is a framework to be developed by ongoing consultations and input.
PORTARLINGTON, TOWN OF ENTERPRISE.
This is not the narrow definition of enterprise often purely associated with self-employment and business, but involves the whole community. An enterprising community is one where people take as much ownership and responsibility as possible for the development and sustenance of their area. An enterprising community values and recognises every form of achievement and success by any of its residents and it sees the success of one as a success for all. An enterprising community grows enterprising people!
Creating an enterprising community takes a long time - there can be no quick fixes! We hope to work with schools and young people, with community programmes and projects, with the unemployed, people considering self-employment and established local businesses. We hope to mobilise community support across the whole spectrum of stakeholders in order to make things happen and effect change.
SUGGESTED 6 MAIN THEMES:
1. Support creation of new businesses - (Workshop- June 20th 2011, 2;00pm)
Making sure self-employment and the creation of new businesses are seen as options by as many local people as possible.
2. Support expansion and consolidation of existing businesses - (Workshop-June 20th 2011, 7:30pm)
Putting in place, directly or indirectly, supports to help local businesses remain in business and hopefully grow.
3. Creating a climate for enterprise - (Workshop-June 21st 2011, 2:00pm)
Making it possible for people and organisations in Portarlington to adopt a "CAN DO" mentality.
4. Tourism and Sports development - (Workshop-September 19th 2011,2:00pm)
Developing the tourism product in terms of accommodation, activities, information, entertainment etc.
5. Developing enterprising communities and people - (Workshop-September 19th 2011, 7:30pm)
Involving schools and youth organisations, community and voluntary organisations.
6. Development of Agri-culture sector and the local environment - (Workshop-September 20th 2011, 7:30pm)
Involving organisations such as Tidy Towns but ideally the whole community to ensure Portarlington looks as well as it can, is attractive, warm and welcoming.
All workshops last about 2 hours and are held in the Community Centre, Portarlington. To find out more information, or book your place on a workshop, you can email: sandracarr@gmail.com or call the office on 0578645728.
So now its over to you: one of the 6 themes above must be of interest to you: follow the link to the interim report at http://www.portarlingtoncommunity.com/ , read the report and leave your comment on the blog page. We look forward to your views and suggestions on any of the items in the report! This is a community effort, and only by acting together will we make the progress to develope the town to its full capacity. Thank you for your time and effort.
"Ar scath a cheile a mhaireann na daoine"
