County Council do not intend to acquire closed Roscrea hotel say Tipp Sinn Féin

The future of the former Damer Court Hotel site in Roscrea remains uncertain following the €150,000 spent on a feasibility study by the Department of Rural and Community Development, say North Tipperary's Sinn Fein representatives.

Three options for the Roscrea town centre site were identified by the local authority, the first of which was described as loss-making, “due to the inefficient layout, restricted restaurant, limited access”.

The two remaining options are projected to cost between €5.5-million and €7.6-million and Tipperary County Council have stated that issues such a attracting a hotel operator will be challenging, they say.

A recent Parliamentary Question (PQ) was submitted by Sinn Féin to Dara Calleary, Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht.

The PQ reply said the property is privately owned and any decision in relation to its sale, the timing of any sale, or the future use of the property remains a matter for the owner.

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Minister Calleary went on to infer that any moves for state acquisition of the hotel would be up to Tipperary County Council, North Tipperary Sinn Féin said.

“Town centre regeneration is a key focus of my Department and the range of funding schemes available to local authorities from within the Department are guided by the national Town Centre First policy which seeks to tackle vacancy and ensure our rural towns are vibrant and lived-in places,” the Minister said.

Cathaoirleach of North Tipperary Sinn Féin, Dan Harty said: “We have heard a lot of promises and seen little delivered regarding the purchase of the former Grant’s Hotel and the most recent statement on the matter by Minister Calleary sees the government distancing themselves from any responsibility by passing the buck to Tipperary County Council.

“I welcome the fact that Roscrea has been selected for the new Town First development scheme that will see the redesign of Castle Street. However, following the response from Minister Calleary, I asked Tipperary County Council to clarify if they intended to pursue the acquisition of the former Grant’s Hotel.

"The response from the council was clear - Tipperary County Council does not have any plans to acquire this site,” Mr Harty said.

PQ QUSETION

The Parliamentary Question submitted to Minister Calleary asked if, following the publication of the feasibility study on the closed hotel, the Government plans to proceed with the purchase of the property.

If the property was to be acquired, the Minister was asked what will be the timeline for acquisition and what will be it's future use, including whether it will be developed as a community hotel, or otherwise, to support tourism and local economic activity in Roscrea.

“With a view to supporting Tipperary County Council and informing any options, my Department approved funding for the Council to carry out a feasibility study as to any potential sustainable future use of the property,” the Minister said.

“The Council has confirmed that this this study has now been completed and that it is now publicly available on the Council’s website,” the Minister said.

In response, the North Tipperary Sinn Féin Cathaoirleach said the Minister has inferred that any decision around the acquisition of the site would be the prerogative of the local authority.

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“Following the recent publication of the feasibility study around the future use of the hotel site and the initiation of the process to redesign Castle Street under the Town First development scheme, does Tipperary County Council intend to apply for government funding to proceed with the acquisition of the hotel?” Mr Harty asked.

“If a decision on this has yet to be reached, what is the process where a definitive decision will be made?

“The building remains in private hands however my understanding is that it is for sale on the open market. The only funding which was made available to Tipperary County Council was for the carrying out of the feasibility study which is now complete and a copy has been sent to the Department.

“The feasibility study identifies a number of possible options, and it is open to other entities, including the private market, to determine a potential use for this site,” he said.

“There is a Town Centre First Plan in place for Roscrea and finding an appropriate use for that site would be of great benefit to Roscrea, however Tipperary County Council does not have any plans to acquire this site.

“The Council, in conjunction with the Roscrea Town Team and other bodies is pursuing a number of projects in Roscrea as part of the Town Centre First plan such as the Gantly Road redevelopment, the redevelopment of the Main Street area and the project to look at a redesign of Castle Street,” he said.