Dementia care company still committed to Birr Workhouse project

A dementia care company has told the Midland Tribune this week that it is still committed to its project in Birr Workhouse.
  For the last couple of years the restoration of the severely dilapidated and historic building has been in development limbo, with no sign of any work starting.
  There had been great hope for the building's future back in 2018 when an exciting project was announced for it. However, since then no work occurred.
  Local community group Birr 20:20 told the Midland Tribune a few weeks ago that they have not heard from the company behind the project for many months. The company is called  Castle Rook.
 The Midland Tribune emailed and telephoned Castle Rook on a number of occasions over the last month asking them for an update, and if they are  still committed to the project or had it been abandoned? This week we received a reply by email from the company's director Candace Lafleur, and the news is good.  "Yes, we are still committed to the project," said Candace. "However, over Covid our financing for the project has stalled and we are looking to pick this back up toward the end of the year."
  Salters Sterling of Birr 20:20 warmly welcomed the update. "This is excellent news," he said, "and gives us all some hope."   Many in the Birr area fear that the former Workhouse will become ever more severely dilapidated in the coming months and years.

  Since the inception of Birr 20:20 in 2015, the restoration of the Workhouse has always been in the group's sights.
  In September 2018 a Birr 20:20 meeting was told that the building had been purchased by Castle Rook, a Canadian/Chinese company with its Irish base in Louth, and restoration was now underway, focusing initially on the roofs, which are in a very bad way. The building was also badly damaged by fire in 2017 initiated by a group of young vandals.
  Detailed plans were shown during the September 2018 meeting to great enthusiasm. Access, the meeting was told, had been secured to the left of the building, leading past a proposed museum.
  Castle Rook said it was proposing to transform the Workhouse into a centre providing care for those with dementia.
  The proposed centre would provide a roofed pavilion for seating; a landscaped sculpture park; a glass walled dining area to retain connection with the public café, community day care centre, crèche and playground.
  The public and residential areas, while having a degree of interaction, would be secured with a biometric fence, allowing security for residents, with a degree of freedom of movement. Thirty residents would be housed in the main building, eventually rising to 70.
  Mylo robots would also be in use. The Mylo robot connects to the resident's wristband and can monitor heartbeat and bloodpressure, as well as being programmable as a reminder not only for medication times, but also for ‘me time’ at the treatment centre.
  The September 2018 meeting was also told that capital was in place for the purchase and initial works.