Events centra saga rumbles on: Still no decision on funding
An initial €20 million State aid package to develop the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main Street was on offer but has since increased over the years to €57 million. Picture: Chani Anderson.
A Cork city councillor has raised concerns about a decision to delay the final issue of funding for the long-awaited events centre in Cork city.
Cabinet gathered today for its last meeting of the term, during which RTÉ funding, disability services, and legislation around access to cash was discussed.
The events centre was not on the agenda, despite promises from senior politicians that a decision on the funding would be made before the end of July.
An initial €20 million State aid package to develop the former Beamish and Crawford site on South Main Street was on offer but has since increased over the years to €57 million.
Following a detailed design process by BAM, Cork City Council prepared and submitted a detailed report to the Department of Housing on the additional costs required to build the venue.
Earlier this month, all major business organisations across Cork city, including the Cork Business Association (CBA), the Cork branch of the Irish Hotels Federation (IHF), Cork Chamber of Commerce, the Vintners Federation (VFI) in Cork, and the Restaurant Association of Ireland (RAI) released a joint statement urging the government to approve the funding.
Labour Party councillor for Cork City South East Peter Horgan said this further delay in a decision on funding for the venue means that all documentation should be published to restore any confidence in the project.
"Another delay is hardly what the Cork public, the main funders of this project, want to hear on this," said Mr Horgan..
"I have sought, for many years now, the publication schedule and issues surrounding the events centre. It was the first question I put to the chief executive in the July meeting following the local elections.
At a meeting of Cork City Council on July 8, chief executive of Cork City Council, Ann Dohert, responded to Mr Horgan’s question regarding costings and timelines of construction following the expected approval of funding.
Ms Doherty confirmed that public funding of €57 million was pledged to the project and that a recommendation in relation to additional funding was with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
She said it is expected that construction would take two years to complete and that a review committee would be set up to ensure that the minimum requirements of the venue’s programme are met.
App?
