Starting the conversation for a town centre management framework for small towns in rural places: An Irish context

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine the current Town Centre Management [TCM] practices within Ireland's rural towns since the abolition of Town Councils in 2014. This new study finds that Ireland's approach to TCM is much more complicated and multifarious with varying practices across the samples. The findings highlight a fractured TCM partnership between the public sector (Local Government), and opposing sectors, (Retailers, Volunteering Groups, Citizens, and Business Owners). Adding to the knowledge on TCM schemes in Ireland, this paper finds that despite respected recommendations from semi-state bodies to drive town centre management by local ‘dynamic leaders’, no model has been developed to attract, support, and retain such a person. This post-positivistic study with a descriptive qualitative design was drawn from a series of in-depth interviews with significant key stakeholders, across a stratified sample of rural towns, that have experience in TCM practices. The results which emerge facilitate a theoretical management framework as a guide for town centre stakeholders to analyse the unique elements of their situation and implement a strategy towards a TCM scheme. This research demonstrates that TCM with the right structure and support from local government is a viable solution to rejuvenating towns in rural Ireland.