Hard work of community praised by Fitzpatrick

The hard work and dedication of the local community in Cootehill has been praised by local councillor Aiden Fitzpatrick.

2021 has been a busy year for Cootehill despite the pandemic, with plenty of work carried out by the community.

€86,000 was secured under the streetscape scheme, which provided funding to building owners to do up their street fronts. Another €200,000 was announced for the Dromore Greenway scheme in April.

“It’s going to plan. We’re expecting the part 8 planning application to be submitted shortly and it should be getting underway in the New Year,” the Fianna Fáil representative says. The work by the local community to upgrade facilities and improve the town’s prospects has also won fierce praise from Cllr Fitzpatrick.

The former Ulster Bank building in the town is also to become a focal point for Cootehill with leases to be signed to create a remote working hub run by the Town Team, space for children’s mental health services provided by the Cavan Community Local Development Committee and for the Drug and Alcohol Forum. The building is owned by Colm and Lucia Smith.

“I was delighted to be to the forefront of this. We’re hoping to have the leases signed over the next couple of weeks”, he says.

It’s also hoped funding can be secured for a feasibility study to be carried out into sustainable energy in the town. This will look at the possibility of building an anaerobic digester in the town.

Shop local and support local businesses is the advice from Cllr Fitzpatrick in the run up to Christmas. “The last year has been difficult with Covid. I urge everyone to support the local businesses in the town,” he says.

“I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a safe Christmas.”