Episode 1: Dr Philip Crowe
In episode one, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Dr Philip Crowe, Assistant Professor at UCD’s School of Architecture and Centre for Irish Towns (CfIT).
In episode nine, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Mark Dearey who runs the Store bar and Music Centre in Dundalk, Co Louth.
Mark Dearey runs the Spirit Store Bar and Music venue in Dundalk. His family have been in business on the heart of the town for three generations. He is a former Green Party Senator and County Councillor and as such, in 2008, proposed the plebiscite to establish the first Business Improvement District (BID) company in Ireland, outside of Dublin. He currently chairs Dundalk BID, which in tandem with Louth County Council and local and regional stakeholders has significantly strengthened the Town Centre’s appeal and commercial performance in recent years.
Mark is a founding member of the Heritage Council and Partners’ Dundalk CTCHC Project and he has worked closely with Ali Harvey and others on the creation of the first-ever CTCHC baseline report for Dundalk Town Centre, which had a ministerial launch in June 2019. The launch event in Dundalk Town Centre was organised around a study visit by a delegation of the Dutch Provinces, which focused on an exchange and sharing of key outcomes and outputs in relation to innovative town centre regeneration policy and programmes in Ireland and the Netherlands.
In episode one, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Dr Philip Crowe, Assistant Professor at UCD’s School of Architecture and Centre for Irish Towns (CfIT).
In episode two, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Tara Buckley, Director General of RGDATA the Retail Grocer's Trade Association.
In episode three, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Damir Hajduk, Head of Retail and Online Services Unit, DG GROW, European Commission.
In episode four, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Martha Farrell, Marketing Lecturer from IT Tralee.
In episode five, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Sarah Sherlock, Chair of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland's Geomatics Professional Group.
In episode six, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Orla Murphy, Associate Professor at UCD School of Architecture, Planning and Environmental Policy. Orla co-presents the RTE series Building Ireland.
In episode seven, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Ian Talbot, Chief Executive of Chambers Ireland and Secretary General of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC)
In episode eight, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Nicki Mathews, Built Heritage Policy Team at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
In episode ten, Alison Harvey, from the Heritage Council, speaks with Jamie McNamara, Chair of SPAB Scotland.
We asked all our podcast series interviewees, "If you could do one thing for town centres, what would that be?" Have a listen to hear what they said.