A decision by Leitrim county councillors not to proceed with the sale of Carrick on Shannon town hall, a protected structure built around 1830, has been widely welcomed by local people.
Elected members opposed a proposal to dispose of the historic building on Bridge Street at their monthly meeting on Tuesday. Now local campaigners say the council should spell out its plans for the property.
Fine Gael councillor Finola Armstrong-McGuire who proposed that the sale not proceed, said she had been absolutely and utterly against any move to dispose of the “beautiful building” which the community felt ownership of.
Local business man Gerry Faughnan who had campaigned against the plan to sell, expressed relief . “The important thing is that the sale has been stopped,” said Mr Faughnan. He said it was time now to reflect and consult on the future of the building.
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Pointing out that that the county council had revealed only last March that it was looking for expressions of interest he said most people were surprised at the proposal to sell so quickly. “It caught everyone on the hop”.
In a statement following the councillors’ decision, the local authority said the move to bring the building to the market arose following consideration of its current use as part of the corporate office estate. “The building is a protected structure and will present significant challenges in meeting zero carbon and accessibility requirements” it said. “In this context, it was considered that the investment potential of the private sector, notwithstanding its protected structure status, would allow the building to reach its full potential”.
Edwina Guckian director of a the local Airc Damhsa dance club said there was a consensus locally that it “it should not be taken out of the people’s hands”, especially given the lack of a meeting space in the town .”And also people don’t want it to fall into a state of disrepair,” she added.
Local resident Geri Dunne said she was over the moon that councillors had made this decision but believed “it is just the start of the fight” to ensure the building is maintained for use by the community. “We have so few beautiful buildings , she added pointing out that Carrick on Shannon jail which also dated back to the 1800s had been demolished in the 1960s.