'Waterford is in a great place right now' - new council CEO outlines his vision

The newly-appointed Chief Executive of Waterford City and County Council has unveiled a number ambitious projects and initiatives that he hopes to achieve during the lifetime of the current council which was elected in June

Sean McKeown officially took up the role on August 21, following the retirement of Michael Walsh at the end of May.

Originally from County Armagh, he has close links to the South East, with a distinguished career in local government having served most recently as Director of Planning, Economic and Environmental Services at Kilkenny County Council. 

Prior to that, he was Interim Chief Executive of Kilkenny County Council for just over 15 months, following the retirement of Colette Byrne.  He has also served as Director of the South East Action Plan for Jobs and Head of Enterprise and Economic Development with Kilkenny County Council.

On moving to his new role, Mr McKeown says it really is an exciting time for Waterford. "There is an ambitious pipeline of projects and strategies in place, and I want to continue the strong momentum in delivering on them, building on the excellent partnership in place with the elected members here in Waterford City and County Council.

“Waterford is in a great place right now, full of opportunity, from being one of the fastest-growing counties in Ireland and benefitting from significant investment in placemaking initiatives, through to the establishment of SETU and being voted in recent years by the Irish Times as the Best Place to Live in Ireland," he said.

He added that he is currently working with the Council team and the newly elected members to develop a Corporate Plan "that sets out our shared vision, objectives and priorities for the next 5 years".

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Some of these objectives include consolidating Waterford as the driver of the regional economy, further strengthening the appeal of Waterford by the provision of affordable housing and continuing tackling vacancy and dereliction, the implementation of the soon to be adopted Destination Experience Development Plan to strengthen Waterford’s position as a key tourist destination, enhancing effective stakeholder engagements to ultimately deliver the best outcomes for the people of Waterford and driving climate action and the transition to low carbon service delivery. 

The local authority says sustainability is at the heart of achieving these objectives.  With Waterford City designated a Decarbonising Zone (DZ), the DZ projects include building energy efficiency, sustainable transport, renewable energy generation and carbon sequestration.

“While Waterford City and County Council must take the lead, climate action requires the collective involvement of everyone. I will strengthen our leadership credibility by ensuring early delivery of our Climate Action Plan, maximising Council-led initiatives under the SEAI Pathfinder Programme and continuing the drive towards modal shift and active travel, in our transition to a carbon neutral city by 2040,” commented Sean McKeown.

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Having set out a number of ambitious projects and initiatives that he intends to drive with Waterford City and County Council, the new CEO added: “I firmly believe we mustn’t forget about the basics. I will also have an eye to consistent delivery of fundamental services, such as road maintenance, street cleaning, tree planting and landscaping. These are essential for a well-presented city and county.

“I will also strive to ensure Waterford continues to be Ireland’s cleanest city including under IBAL litter surveys, and that we continue to maximise funding schemes to tackle vacancy and dereliction, and the regeneration of our rural towns and villages. 

“In essence, Waterford as ‘Ireland’s Best Place to Live’ is a status that I and all the Council team are committed to upholding.”