Galway Bay FM Newsroom - Labour have launched a survey on the future of towns and villages to hear what people think needs to be done to rescue the main streets and save their local towns and villages.
Called the towns and villages survey, the public are asked a number of questions to gauge their feelings about where they live and if they are satisfied with the services that are available to them at this time.
Councillor Niall McNelis is urging the people of Galway City and County to engage with the survey on the future of towns and villages in the city and county to chart a way forward to restoring and improving vital local urban centres.
Cllr McNelis said:
“Between the closure of bank branches, loss of retail and the move to online services, the future of our towns and villages has never been more at risk. The pandemic has shown the importance of local services but also accelerated the move online endangering more shops.
“The Labour Party is carrying out a major national survey to hear what the people think needs to be done to rescue our main streets and save our towns and villages.
“We can’t continue to lose commercial services, banks, post offices, shops and pubs and expect our urban centres to thrive. We need a major rethink about what we can do to save our town.
“Just last week the government launched another plan to save rural Ireland but we’ve seen it all before.
“With the Covid-19 pandemic there have been radical changes in the way people live and work. So many more people are working at home, and less are commuting. For example, there is so much potential for remote working hubs in some of the many empty buildings left behind by bank branches.
“The pandemic has also reminded us how important our local shops and amenities are for providing us with the products and services we need. The loss of pubs and restaurants reminds us of how important these are as social settings.
“I would ask the people of Galway County in villages and towns such as Clifden, Oughterard, Moycullen, Spiddal, Barna, Oranmore, Clare Galway and Headford to engage with the survey and share with us their views of what we can do too.”
