Businesses urged to have say on barracks

Rodney Farry

Published: Wed 7 Jul 2021, 10:34 AM

The president of Mullingar Chamber of Commerce has called on the local businesses to contribute to the debate on the future of Columb Barracks.

The people of Mullingar have until July 16 to make submissions to the Land Development Agency (LDA) that will help shape the outline plan for the barracks. The LDA says that the aim of this initial phase of the consultation period is to “identify complementary uses” for the site in addition to the housing that it will develop there.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner in advance of a webinar the Chamber of Commerce is hosting on Wednesday, July 7, to get the views of members, president John Geoghegan said that its vital that the business community contributes to the debate and urged business people to make submissions before the deadline.

Mr Geoghegan, who is on the Columb Barracks Advisory Group established by the LDA, which also includes representatives from Westmeath County Council, the Public Participation Network of Westmeath County Council, Longford Westmeath Education and Training Board, and Enterprise Ireland, says the redevelopment of the barracks is a once in a generation opportunity for the town of Mullingar.

“The LDA wants to reach out to as many interested parties as possible to get from them what they think should happen in the barracks. The chamber thinks that this is a fantastic opportunity for the town. We couldn’t have asked for a better stakeholder than the LDA because they are well-funded, well set up, well-run. They have a proper mandate and proper people. They are going through a good procedure to hear everyone’s views.”

While the provision of housing on a greenfield site on the grounds of the barracks is the primary objective of the LDA, Mr Geoghegan says the state-sponsored commercial body wants to see other projects flourish in rest of the campus as long as “funding routes” can be found for them.

For him and the chamber, Mr Geoghegan says that one of the “key agendas” is the establishment of a construction innovation education and training centre.

“If you look at the next 20 years, we have two million houses to retrofit and we really need to get people trained on construction innovation. This could become a centre of excellence. We think there is real potential for a large facility. That would be a large investment in the town,” he said.

Mr Geoghegan also says the barracks would be the perfect location for a hub of eight or 10 units for fledgling businesses.

Given the size of the campus, he says that if properly planned and funded, the regenerated barracks campus can be home to a mix of housing, community uses, education and enterprise.

“There are a number of strands to this and it is really important that we capture the momentum of this. It is important to the town that anyone who has a concern or interest gets involved constructively and make a submission. All we want is a one-page document. If they could just write what they think, it would be fantastic.

“To my mind, the whole scheme in the barracks looks like a €100m investment between the housing and the old barracks. That’s phenomenal for Mullingar and it is going to happen over the next five years.”

The webinar for the local business community starts at 7pm. To register email: community@columbbarracksproject.ie.

Mullingar Chamber invite to webinar

Mullingar Chamber is inviting all businesses in Mullingar to participate in the business element of the Public Consultation on the Columb Barracks project hosted by the Land Development Agency at 7pm on Wednesday 7th July 2021.

This is an outstanding urban regeneration opportunity for the town and economy of Mullingar and Mullingar Chamber is encouraging as much business participation as possible to support this development and the growth of our town as a quality place to live and work.