Waterford's skyline should be significantly enhanced within 12 months. This follows the signing last week of a £1.4 million contract for extensive renovation and enlargement of the city's main Garda station.
The present buildings and the adjoining old employment exchange on the heights of Ballybricken have been an eyesore in the heart of the city for many years. The accommodation has also been far from comfortable for the gardai themselves and the 2,000 or so prisoners who pass through it each year.
Assistant Garda Commissioner, Mr Peter Fitzgerald, attending the contract-signing ceremony for the refurbishment work, remarked with some understatement: "It wasn't a customer-friendly station."
A Garda station should be a focal point for the people, he added, and the planned extensions and renovations would result in a newer structure with a changed aspect and impact.
The location on the hill at Ballybricken is an illustrious one, with many historical associations. Earlier structures on the site included St Patrick's Fort of 1625 and James Gandon's short-lived courthouse in 1784. This was demolished in 1824 and replaced by the imposing Waterford City Gaol which lasted until the 1960s when it, too, was demolished.
Only this year, the huge gates of the jail were discovered in use at Tramore Race Course, where they were covered with galvanised sheeting. They were donated to Waterford Corporation which now has them in storage awaiting an appropriate relocation.
Meanwhile, the new Garda station design refers to the symmetrical facade of Gandon's courthouse and seeks to re-create the classical townscape of this part of Waterford. It will increase the floor area of the station from 788 sq m to 1,640 sq m. The contract is due to be completed next July.