Regeneration work in Mayo town is 'progressing well'
The long-derelict Imperial Hotel in Castlebar is to be developed into a business hub.
The Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation project is progressing well, with the first stage of the four-stage regeneration programme now complete and a planning application for the long-derelict Imperial Hotel set to be published in the coming weeks.
The reactivation project encompasses the Youth Centre Project, the regeneration of the Imperial Hotel, the reactivation of the Mall and Ellison Street and the redevelopment of the Military Barracks.
The overall project aims to enhance Mayo’s county town, bring more people and businesses into the town centre and create a more attractive place to live and work.
The Youth Centre Project is now complete, with the old post office in Castlebar having been renovated and leased to Foróige. The centre is expected to open in the coming months.
The Part Eight planning application for the Imperial Hotel is expected to be published within the next couple of weeks. Once works begin, the building will be transformed into a Business Innovation Hub, with construction expected to take around 15 months. It is hoped that regeneration works will be complete by the second half of 2028.
Reactivation works on the Mall and along Ellison Street are due to be completed in the second half of 2027. Works along Ellison Street have already seen the demolition of four council-owned properties, which will be replaced with 13 new apartments.
Works are also progressing on the Military Barracks, which are being transformed into a state-of-the-art further education and training campus. A works tender has been published for the project, and it is hoped it will be delivered in the latter half of 2027.
John Magee, Head of Economic Development and Local Enterprise Office, provided the update on the Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation project at the October meeting of the Enterprise and Economic Development Strategic Policy Committee.
Mr Magee also outlined a number of projects across Mayo, funded through the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) and Rural Regeneration and Development Fund (RRDF), that will also be delivered over the next two years.
The Newport Regeneration Scheme is due to be completed by Q2 2027. The project will see a number of buildings demolished to make way for an Enterprise and Tourism Hub, with Mr Magee saying a contract for those works is hoped to be signed this month.
Dark Sky friendly lighting is also due to be installed in Newport this month, while public realm works are expected to begin in the first quarter of 2027.
In Ballyhaunis, the Department of Community and Rural Development has approved the main contract for the Community Enterprise Hub to go to tender, with the tender expected to be published this month.
Meanwhile, main contract works are continuing on the Ballintubber Abbey Visitor Centre, with both projects due to be completed in the third quarter of 2027.
The former Sisters of Mercy Convent site in Westport is also progressing, with completion expected by Q2 2028. The €13.5m RRDF-funded project will transform the long-derelict site into a new public library, community hub and civic offices, along with a new public realm area. It is the largest RRDF project in the county.
- Published as part of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
