Following on from the success of our initial Resurgence 25X event with Waterford Chamber and an R25X radio series with WLRfm on the 5th of May 2021, we were joined by a host of knowledgeble guests, including An Tánaiste Leo Varadkar. They looked at five ideas to get Waterford moving, and offered their expert opinions on how to get them over the line.
Resurgence 25X was developed by ATPO to address the challenges presented by COVID 19 to our society and to shine a light on possible ways to rise to these challenges. The concept is to garner as many ideas and options as possible from as wide a field of contributors as possible to push us through to full sustainable recovery by 2025 (or earlier).
ATPO linked up with Waterford Chamber to deliver the first Resurgence 25X webinar event which took place on the 19th of January. The event was very well received by attendees and the Resurgence movement had begun in earnest. Ideas were received (and recirculated to all attendees) in relation to a wide variety of sectors (e.g. connectivity,sustainability etc.).
In order to reach an even wider audience and to gain more ideas, but this time specifically in relation to resurgence for Waterford, a customised Q and A series, Resurgence 25X for the Radio, was broadcast on the Hot Desk (WLRfm) over the month of March 2021 .
Based on the above we collected a variety of
(a) completely new ideas and
(b) revised versions of ideas that have been circulating but not acted upon to date.
And so on the 5th of May ATPO, once again partnering with Waterford Chamber, checked out some of the proposals and ideas received, in relation to Waterford, for real viability to allow for their implementation within a few years (by 2025). As it would be very difficult and unwieldy at this stage to try to further a wide range of ideas for actual implementation in Waterford it was decided to choose five ideas for this initial viability process. The five ideas we assessed at this session appear to be really suitable for implementation within a short time frame.
The ideas and the expert discussions are presented below.
A Remote working network for County Waterford
Minister
Leo Varadkar was delighted to join the guests to speak about the current support available for remote working hubs.
Seamus Kilgannon (WorkLAB Waterford) discussed the issues related to setting up remote working hubs.
Waterford as an Outlet City
Richard Hazell (International Outlet Village expert) and Niall Harrington, (Fewer Harrington & Partners) drilled into the necessary steps to get this idea moving for Waterford.
High-speed train service to Dublin
Barry Kenny, Iarnrod Eireannn (Irish Rail) and Marian Walsh (Carron + Walsh) spoke about how to make a high speed service for the South East a reality.
City Centre Farmer’s Market
Darina Allen, Ballymaloe and
Clodagh Griffin
(Event Manager) discussed the viability of a permanent enclosed food market for Waterford city.
Where Ireland began the Greenway begins : moving the start of the Waterford Greenway to the William Vincent Wallace plaza.
Mary Houlihan (Fáilte Ireland) and
Ronan Mulligan (Mulligans Pharmacy) shared their views on the retail and tourism benefits of this proposal.
The feedback from all those who watched this event live on the day and who have watched the recordings have been exceptionally positive. Comments included the following;
'Energising and informative',
' Inspirational',
'Revolutionary'
It was such a privilige to be part of this session which aimed to make a real difference for Waterford. Resurgence in action!