*The Cloister Building is set for a major redevelopment.
ALMOST €7M has been allocated to Clare County Council to transform The Cloister in Ennis to a multi-use community space.
A total of €6,997,047 has been sanctioned for the local authority from the Southern Regional Assembly via the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
It’s following an application submitted by the County Council to the THRIVE Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme which supports the regeneration of town centres by transforming vacant, under-utilised, or derelict publicly owned heritage buildings through renovation, renewal, and adaptive reuse.
€7m is the maximum amount available under THRIVE, this was obtained by Cork City Council, Donegal County Council, Dun Laoghair/Rathdown County Council, Kerry County Council, Longford County Council, Louth County Council, Monaghan County Council, Sligo County Council and South Dublin County Council. Fourteen local authorities were allocated funds in strand two of THRIVE.
Funds will be used to transform The Cloister into a multi-use community space which includes artist studios, a café, conference and exhibition space. The building itself dates back all the way to the thirteenth century to when it was part of the Ennis Franciscan Friary.
From October 2022 to March 2024, the building operated as The Monks Society, a restaurant and bar.
As part of the Council’s planning application lodged in December, the project includes the retention of the existing ground floor café and existing kitchen over two floors and the retention of bar licence. It would add an accessible platform lift internally to make all three floors accessible, a universally-accessible toilet and changing places toilet to ground floor.
An ‘Art Wall’ is to be created on the ground floor exterior onto Abbey Street “in order to facilitate engagement with art in the public realm including digital display and projected media”. An Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) screening determination concluded that there is no real likelihood of significant effects on the environment arising from the proposed development.
Director of Tourism Development with Clare County Council, Siobhán McNulty in response to concerns from county councillors in West and North Clare on Ennis being the only entry for THRIVE advised them, “the only settlement eligible to apply was Ennis based on its population”.
Elected members of Clare County Council clashed in March of this year before opting to give the green light to a Part Eight planning application for the proposed development at The Cloister on 49 Abbey Street in Ennis. The decision to approve the part eight was proposed by Cllr Clare Colleran Molloy (FF) and seconded by Cllr Mary Howard (FG).
At that March meeting, Cllr Colleran Molloy stated, “We need the heart of Ennis to be successful”. She added, “Ennis is a key town of the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy, this project will benefit not just Ennis but the wider county”. She is one of three Clare representatives on the Southern Assembly alongside Cllr Tony Mulcahy (FG) and Cllr Bill Slattery (FG). “The Cloister is a protected structure, it is a very significant strategic heritage building,” she noted while pointing out that “very extensive stakeholder and consultation” took place from September to March.
Financial viability of the site is important, Cllr Tom O’Callaghan (FF) stressed. “We’d like to be proactively positive, it is an empty site, the case study has to see will it wash its face going forward, that has to be the priority”.
Councillors were not given a clear understanding when the project came before them to be sanctioned, Cllr Pat Hayes (FF) stated. “I’ve a particular issue that we haven’t an understanding, we hear it is great for the county and town, for those projects we should have a briefing, we’ve twice sanctioned funding for a car park at the back of that building but that hasn’t proceeded. It wouldn’t be a bad idea if every councillor understood what was happening with this project, while it may be European and Council led, I’ve no doubt we’ve already expended a substantial amount of money, we might have even acquired the building already. We have already borrowed for the car park, it is no harm to have a business case for this project”.
According to Cllr Shane Talty (FF) there was a sense of irony about the planning report and decision. “The irony is that the local authority is now acquiring heritage buildings and bringing them into use while others are falling into complete disrepair and are a complete disgrace really. It is a big picture project here but we’re targeting other property owners and we’ve buildings in North and West Clare which are in disrepair”.
Responding to concerns from elected members before approving the part eight application, senior engineer Seán Lenihan said the building was not yet acquired by the local authority. “This is an opportunity that the Council has been presented with, it is a once in a generation chance in my view to bring a building of the Cloister’s stature into Clare County Council’s ownership, it is a private building, we haven’t bought it but we would have an opportunity to do with the grant”. He said, “We haven’t spent anything other than what we got in tranche one grant”.
Cllr Hayes questioned how much had been spent to which Lenihan confirmed €180,000 “which enabled us to make the application and do the work”. He said the car park has been a project talked about for some while, “it is owned by Clare GAA, we’ve entered an agreement to develop the site and recover costs, that project, a few things have to be done to get it ready, we’re approaching it in a two-strand approach, clearing it off, getting ready and into a brownfield, planning for 200 spaces which would be very welcome”.
Clarity was sought by Cllr Talty on whether Ennis MD councillors agreed by-laws to implement parking charges to recoup costs.
Director of Finance, Noeleen Fitzgerald explained, “like any project there will be considerable contributions required”. She said the Council had “not committed to anything” until a grant is approved.
THRIVE’s grant was labelled as “significant” by Lenihan but he cautioned that operational costs and management of the Cloister building was also “significant”. He said a review has commenced on the parking by-laws, “it will be a process in terms of engaging, we have to look at our figures and who can park where”.
