Call to postpone works on amenity in Dromineer
Tipperary Co Council has been asked to postpone construction of the new watersports activity centre in Dromineer amid local concern over summer disruption.
The €1.2m Fáilte Ireland-funded project will see demolition of the existing public WC and shower block building, and construction of a new facility centre for water sports activities. The centre is to provide hot shower, changing and toilet facilities along with secure storage, induction spaces, equipment washdown and orientation points. It is to cater for the significant increase in people enjoying outdoor water-based activities such as kayaking, paddle-boarding and open water swimming in Dromineer.
Briefing members of the council's Nenagh Municipal District last week, Project Manager Paul Crowe said a preferred tender has been identified to proceed with construction. Mr Crowe expected that a contractor would be on site at the end of March. A nine-month construction timescale is envisaged, so the new facility could be completed by the end of this year.
Welcoming this progress, Cllr Joe Hannigan said a key feature of the new centre is that it would be available all-year-round.
He wanted to know what facilities would be put in place while the construction work takes place.
Cllr Louise Morgan Walsh said numerous people in the local community had expressed concern to her over the construction work taking place in the summer months and the impact it would have on tourism and the local economy in general. She wanted to know why construction had not started before now so that the facility could be operational by the summer. Cllr Morgan Walsh made the point that funding and planning permission for the development were granted two years ago.
She asked if the council could postpone construction until after the summer months. She also suggested holding a workshop about the plan for the local community.
In support, Cllr Pamela Quirke O'Meara said she had also received calls from concerned locals about the activity centre plan. Dromineer has become very busy and some local residents have had people knocking on their doors looking to use the toilet. Cllr Quirke O'Meara wanted to know what would happen with no public toilet facilities at the busiest time of the year.
PORTALOOS
Mr Crowe said the existing toilet facilities are opened around St Patrick's Day every year but closed again in October. He assured that provision would be made during that period again during construction of the new centre, which Mr Crowe stressed would be open 12 months of the year on completion.
He pointed out that portaloos were put in place for the Christmas Day swim in Dromineer last Christmas. The council is looking at making a similar provision during construction of the new centre and Mr Crowe welcomed the opportunity to meet with local people to discuss all aspects of the plan.
But he said he does not want to postpone the project until after the summer and believed Fáilte Ireland would be of the same view.
An assessment of accessibility to and from the new facility has been undertaken and a separate funding scheme of €200,000 has been applied for in respect of these measures. Delaying the project would have a negative impact, Mr Crowe told the meeting.
APPEAL FOR PATIENCE
Cllr Morgan Walsh spoke of how people come from all over the country to visit Dromineer. It is a “big ask” to expect the local community to put up with what is planned for the summer months, she opined.
Cllr Séamie Morris hoped Dromineer would be busy in the summer and he appealed for people to be patient. The watersports activity centre would be a “great project for Dromineer” once completed. It was delayed over a request for a change of design and there was nothing the council could have done about this, he said.
Cllr Hannigan described the project as a “gamechanger for Dromineer”. “There's lots to like about what's going on there,” he enthused.
Concluding the discussion, Mr Crowe said a Part 8 public consultation process in connection with the new facility would be advertised shortly.