Headford confirmed as a ‘Smart Village’

A major rural development initiative, Smart Villages, has been announced for Headford with the aim of enhancing cooperation, building new alliances, and delivering funding for the town. A capacity crowd had attended a town meeting last week to discuss the potential for Headford as a ‘Smart Village’ destination, with all of the main town stakeholders present on the invitation of Galway Rural Development (GRD).

Following that meeting, and the subsequent response, GRD have now confirmed Headford as its second location for Smart Villages in Galway with MEP Maria Walsh visiting the town yesterday to confirm the news.

Across the EU, ‘Smart Villages’ have implemented improvements to the lives of millions of rural dwellers in terms of their economic, social, environmental, and cultural lives.

CEO of GRD Steve Dolan said “Essentially, the Smart Villages concept opens up new opportunities to improve the sustainability of rural areas and it reflects the principles and methods associated with being ‘smart andcompetitive’. By any measure, Smart Villages Mountbellew has been an unqualified success and we’ve now had a wonderful beginning here in Headford.”

“As a start point, Smart Village training has been developed to address the needs of the community and businesses alike. This training, beginning this coming Tuesday in Saint Fursa’s Hall at 8pm, will help up-skill the wider Headford community under a number of strategic themes in the areas of food, nature, smart towns, and transport. Everyone in the wider Headford area is welcome to attend.”

For more details please contact Conor Carty on 091 844335 or email: Leader@grd.ie