Group to develop e-town in Tarbert

A SECOND e-town in the Shannon Development region has been announced.

Tarbert in Co Kerry follows in the path of Miltown Malbay in Clare — Ireland’s first e-town.

Work on the project began in Miltown Malbay last year and the idea is to use changes in communications technology to enable people to run their business from home.

“With many commuters complaining of lengthening journey times, Shannon Development saw the need to generate a new 21st century model to deal with the growing problem,” said the group’s chairman JohnBrassil.

The idea is to develop clusters of mixed-use live/work accommodation tailored to people who want to establish and run their business from their homes.

Shannon Development has begun the planning for a second e-town development across the estuary in Tarbert. “We believe the e-towns concept has potential to be replicated in any rural community,” said Mr Brassil.

A recent national e-towns’ conference in Tarbert targeted established service businesses, local authorities, economic development agencies and community development organisations.