Mixed views on plans for revamp of Heritage Centre in Adare

Limerick City and County Council is planning a multi-million euro redevelopment of Adare Heritage Centre. With the village set to be a focal point of Limerick when the Ryder Cup comes to Adare Manor in under three years, the local authority said it wants to upgrade the facility. Their hope is it “improves its potential for tourism and community opportunities”.

Under the proposals, the existing Heritage Centre, opened in the early 1990s, will be partially demolished. What is proposed is described by council as “the complete modernisation of the facility to improve movement through the centre, create a greater sense of openness and increase the visibility of the internal accommodation.”

The part-demolished building will then see an enlarged cafe, retail and exhibition space.

The library, which is housed in the complex would also get an improvement, and there would also be a new community space, if the development gets the go-ahead.

But this is by no means a certain thing, with councillors set to decide on the plan.

This is because it is a development taking place on council-owned land, and the option to reject, Fine Gael councillor Adam Teskey, who leads the Adare-Rathkeale district is one of a number of people to formally write to the local authority to express concerns. In a submission, he claimed what is being proposed is “flawed” and said public money should be spent on giving Adare’s Village Hall an upgrade instead. Cllr Teskey claimed that 95% of the existing Adare Heritage Centre would be demolished. He says it’s “misleading” in the planning file to describe it as a “partial demolition”.

“This application should be deemed invalid,” the councillor added. “Over 30 years ago, the current Heritage Centre was built in such a way to be mindful of the current aesthetics of the village with different ridge tile levels to allow for the area’s environments particularly its proximity to the Roman Catholic church which is a magnificent structure located beside the heritage centre. The new design in my opinion needs to be revisited as I feel it is not in keeping with the historic nature of the village,” said Cllr Teskey.

However, the Adare Community Trust has said it is supportive of the plans.

“We felt that as presented to the community, it will be a wonderful amenity for tourism purposes as well as being an asset for the local community along with Adare Village Hall which is also embarking on a desperately needed restoration and refurbishment. We think it is essential that heritage displays showing the history of Adare both past and more recent is an integral part of the plans. The plans for the front of the building would make space for events in future,” they stated.

From an article in the Limerick Leader.