by Damian Dowds, Inishowen Independent
BUNCRANA Town Council is considering a €1 million
extension and refurbishment of its premises on St
Oran’s Road in the town. Councillors recently viewed
detailed plans for an extension to the offices, with
the county architect estimating a building cost of
almost €600,000. When refurbishment of the existing
office and ancillary works to the grounds, including
the provision of 20 car parking spaces and a one way
route around the offices, are included, the price
tag will come closer to €1m.
The extended premises will include a new council
chamber, outreach facilities for Donegal County
Council, offices, toilets and a staff canteen.
Cllr Pádraig MacLochlainn said he was very impressed
with the plan. “I’m glad to hear that the architect
consulted with and worked with the staff on drawing
up a functional plan that meets their needs,” he
said. “I’m impressed with the plan.”
In endorsing the plan Cllr Joe Doherty said that
with building costs at lower levels than they have
been in some time, that there’s never been a better
time to build.
Welcoming the plan Cllr Michael Grant said it
provided a good solution to the accommodation
problems faced by the council. “I like the plan, the
new building works to a simple and clean design and
will be fit for purpose. The one way system around
the site is also a very sensible idea.”
However, some councillors criticised plan for the
new 426sqm two story office block, saying that it
isn’t in keeping with the residential nature of the
St Oran’s Road/St Mary’s Road area and that the
council would need to be seen to uphold good
planning practices.
“It’s a modern monstrosity,” Cllr Peter McLaughlin
blasted. “The building needs to be more in tune with
existing buildings in the area. The area has been
zoned historical and the owners of our a
neighbouring property went to great lengths to
maintain its character and we need to do the same.”
Agreeing with Cllr McLaughlin, Cllr Nicholas Crossan
said that he favoured selling the existing office
and building new premises on a greenfield site.
“Agreeing a design like this will open the
floodgates to other similar building applications,”
he said. “We could build a purpose built block in
conjunction with the HSE and Donegal County Council
and put all the Government agencies together.”
County manager Michael McLoone poured cold water on
the notion of building in conjunction with the HSE,
saying the health agency won’t have a building
budget for the foreseeable future.
“This is the best medium-term solution for Buncrana
Town Council,” he said. “It would be unwise to do it
any other way.”
McLoone did, however, suggest that the exterior of
the new office block could be modified to give it a
more traditional character so that it could be
reconverted to a home in the future should the need
arise. He said that the Town Council would have the
full use of the county architect in drawing up the
plans. |
