Public views sought as draft new heritage plan unveiled

The appointment of a professional archivist for Westmeath is among the policy objectives listed in the draft Westmeath Heritage Plan (2024-2030) which is currently out for public consultation.

The plan proposes to "support the management of and access to archives held by Westmeath County Council" and outlines an objective of appointing a professional archivist to work on archive collections held by Westmeath County Council "subject to national funding support".

Meanwhile, an update on the progress of the current heritage plan (2018-2023) states that a Conservation Architectural Heritage Officer was appointed in 2023.

The Draft Westmeath Heritage Plan 2024-2030 aims to increase awareness and appreciation of our county’s heritage and to safeguard it for present and future generations. The plan has four strategic objectives with a series of actions set out under each objective to guide the implementation of the Plan. Each of the actions has performance indicators, which will be used to monitor the implementation of the plan.

Ms McQuade told members of the council at their most recent meeting as they considered the draft version of the new heritage plan for the county that there has been a significant increase in the funding available for heritage projects since Westmeath County Council's last heritage plan was drawn up.

“The aim of the draft heritage plan is to increase awareness and appreciation of our county's heritage and to safeguard it for present and future generations,” Ms McQuade told the meeting.

The draft - which has now entered the public consultation phase - is to run from 2024-2030.

Ms McQuade said that the fact that funding has increased and new funding streams have come online had greatly facilitated the work of the council's heritage office.

Among the projects undertaken during the lifetime of the current plan were the management of Invasive alien species at Belvedere; training of community groups; the management and recording of historic graveyards; training in oral history; conservation works to seven monuments and the Westmeath field names recording project.

“We hope to find and embrace new opportunities and innovative ways to engage with and communicate about our heritage and aim to reach new audiences and this will be measured by new models of communication and engagement,” she stated.

Ms McQuade informed the meeting that the plan is currently live on the council’s consultation portal, and also on the council website. The public consultation will run until September 15, following which the submissions received will be considered by the council’s heritage forum and any approved will be added to the plan. At that stage, it will then return to the council for final approval.

At the suggestion of cathaoirleach Liam McDaniel, Ms McQuade agreed to place copies of the draft plan in the local libraries for the benefit of those who are not comfortable using computers.

Cllr Tom Farrell said it was important that the public got involved and Cllr Frankie Keena remarked that since becoming heritage officer, Ms McQuade had reached out to every corner of the county and even made herself available outside of office hours.

Councillor Louise Heavin the Chair of the Heritage Forum said, “I encourage everyone with an interest or involvement in the Heritage of our County to help shape the Heritage Plan by reviewing the Draft Westmeath Heritage Plan 2024-2030 and submitting their comments.”