“What do we want our Village or Town to be in 5 or 10 years’ time?” This is the central question that communities seek to address when they embark on a community planning process.

Communities in Offaly are embracing change in how we live, work, and keep ourselves healthy. This change is driven by climate change, rural depopulation, aging communities, and shifts in our rural economy. The cessation of peat production by Bord na Mona also impacts the landscape and a way of life.

Community planning provides the crucial space to begin to ask how this change can be turned into an opportunity and how best to build resilient communities.

The Plan is the Critical Mass

While people involved in community life enjoy the “doing,” having a plan allows time to think about the future and plan actions accordingly. Having a co-ordinated plan and agreeing on common actions:

• Builds critical mass and allows communities to articulate their need as a “community”.
• Is crucially important in terms of accessing the range of funding supports, schemes, and programmes that are available.
• Allows communities to demonstrate they understand the “need” and have developed a plan to address it.