Put ‘Place’ first and commit to radical plan to support recovery of cities and towns, says Chambers Ireland in Budget 2022 submission

19th July 2021

Chambers Ireland today (19 July 2021) has published its recommendations to Government ahead of Budget 2022. 

Central to the Chambers Ireland Submission is the call for Budget 2022 to support urban recovery and tackle vacancy. Specifically, Chambers Ireland calls for the expansion and reform of the Living City Initiative, incentives to enable brownfield development and the introduction of a National Urban Strategy to radically address vacancy in our urban communities. 

Speaking at the launch this morning, Chambers Ireland Chief Executive Ian Talbot said, 

“Our member Chambers put ‘place’ at the heart of how we engage with local economies and how we serve the interests of member businesses. The ambition for more sustainable towns and cities, with thriving urban centres, is therefore a central priority of our work. It is with this vision in mind that we want Budget 2022 to be place-orientated, putting sustainable local economies at the heart of Government policy. 

As a priority, we must ensure that Budget 2022 supports urban recovery and tackles vacancy, both residential and commercial. This approach will be imperative to ensure that sustainable cities and communities can thrive and local economies can prosper. 

To deliver on this, we want to see the Government publish and resource a National Urban Strategy that will deliver for towns and cities across the country. This strategy should address vacancy and dereliction as a priority and improve both the affordability and liveability of our towns and cities. If we can successfully address these structural issues, we will be able to transform our urban areas and create thriving town centres."