Bad news as major North Tipp project hits a roadblock
The Rialto Cinema is a fine building in Banba Square and has a long history in the town.
A MAJOR project in North Tipperary, to restore the historically important Rialto building in Banba Square, Nenagh, has hit a major funding roadblock.
Rosemary Joyce, Senior Executive Officer, told the September Nenagh Municipal District meeting that she unfortunately had bad news to convey to the Councillors. “I am sorry to say that we recently learned we had been unsuccessful in our application for funding to renovate the Rialto building,” she remarked.
She said the project will require substantial financial investment and she said the Council will not abandon the building but will continue to seek a funding breakthrough for it. She said the building does present challenges for potential developers because it has significant amounts of asbestos and it is a protected structure.
Cllr Seamus Morris said it was very disappointing news, “but I know the Council will continue to look for funding. Some people say to me the Council should just allow people in there and get on with it. Such a quick fix sounds tempting. However we are looking for a good fix not a quick fix. This is a very historic building in the town and we want to do it right.”
Cllr Louise Morgan Walsh agreed. She said it was disappointing news but it wasn't the end of the road. She praised Rosemary for her enthusiasm and hard work.
However, there is no disguising the fact that the plans to transform this former much-loved cinema into a digital and enterprise hub have suffered a serious setback, after a lot of work was invested in trying to secure the funding.
For several years Tipperary County Council has been working on plans to develop a digital and enterprise hub in the former cinema.
The 1940s cinema, located in central, busy Banba Square, was first allocated funding in 2022 for the start of the development, which is projected to cost €1.5m.
At the September meeting of the Nenagh Municipal District (MD), Ms Joyce told the councillors that the project had been unsuccessful in getting funding under one of the schemes that the Council had applied for.
“We have been unsuccessful in our application for funding under the Smart Regions scheme for the Rialto building,” she remarked. “It was an extremely competitive process, and the funding that was available was cut.”
The former cinema has been the focus of regeneration discussions for a number of years due to its central, important location in the town centre and its extended period of vacancy prior to its acquisition by Tipperary County Council.
The Rialto Cinema is a fine building in the Square and has a long history in the town. Itwas originally designed by WM O'Dwyer, in a style influenced by Art Deco architecture.
The cinema opened on September 1, 1946, and originally had seating for 900 patrons, including a balcony. The venue operated for almost 30 years before closing in May 1976.
At the time of its acquisition by Tipperary County Council in 2020, the property was associated with Angela and Donal O’Connor through Sheahan’s Hardware Ltd.
Sheahan’s Hardware, which had operated from the former Rialto Cinema building for a number of years, later relocated to larger premises on Martyr’s Road in Nenagh.
The council purchase formed part of a wider strategy to secure and redevelop the landmark town centre building for future use. Council documents described the building as a "key pillar" of Nenagh's “Historic and Cultural Quarter” and cited its prominent town centre location and potential for future redevelopment.
If funding was granted it would allow the local authority to lease the building to the “Rialto Regional Centre for Innovation and Enterprise CLG.”
According to council documents, the company was established to pursue the development of an enterprise centre in Nenagh “with a focus on technological innovation and entrepreneurship.”
The plans were tied to the ultimately unsuccessful application for funding under the Enterprise Ireland Smart Regions Enterprise Innovation Scheme.
According to council documents, a company limited by guarantee must be in place to access funding and support the development of the proposed enterprise centre. The proposed lease would run for a period of 15 years. An annual rent of €30,000 would be set at €30,000 and the rent would increase by 5% every five years, starting from year two of the lease. Now it’s back to the drawing board and more work.