Cinema site new owners likely to reopen Harbour Street car park

The new owners of the car park at Harbour Street – who are to build a five-screen cinema on a portion of the site – are understood to have committed to reopen it as soon as possible.

The car park recently closed, causing upset to parents who use it as a drop-off and collection point for children attending the Presentation schools.

A source close to the company told the Westmeath Examiner it is the new owners’ intention to reopen the car park as soon as possible, pending the legal completion of the acquisition of the site.

The source confirmed that the new owners are aware that parents have been relying on the car park and as such were conscious of the urgency: “There are some hurdles they have to jump through in order to get it back open, but they would hope to do that as soon as possible. It is hard to give a timeline, but they are aware of the urgency associated with reopening the car park.”

There is no official start date for the cinema. But the company has acquired the site with the intention of developing the cinema and fulfilling the planning provision that was received last year.

It is understood that the cinema is going to be similar to the Omniplex five-screen cinema that opened in Killarney at the end of July, featuring a Premium Large Format or PLF screen, with modern laser-projection and Dolby sound which viewers will enjoy from electric armchair recliners.

“It will be not an exact replica but it will be very close in terms of specification and fit out and design concept,” the source said.

Mullingar mayor, Cllr Aoife Davitt, confirmed this week that the Municipal District of Mullingar Kinnegad and Westmeath County Council are aware that the car park has been closed.

“We actually don’t own the car park so that is the first thing,” she told the Westmeath Examiner, explaining that the arrangement that was in place was that the contract could be terminated at short notice.

“We are communicating with the new buyer in relation to this and we are trying to get communication lines open to see if the possibility was that we could re-engage with using the facility again.

“We absolutely would like to engage with that and move forward with that, because obviously it is quite useful as an overflow car park, for numerous different things that happen around that area.”

Cllr Davitt said the council has facilitated people who work or work in the area and who have permits, and she is hopeful that an arrangement can be put in place – especially for those dropping children to school at the Presentation schools, who have been using the car park for several years now.

“It has caused a little bit of displacement for people, especially in the run-up to the schools opening and things like that.

“I – no more than other councillors I am sure – have had people contacting me about it and just as a natural process on the phone, they were just discussing the options of where they would go safely to be able to park the car and walk maybe a further distance and maybe thinking of the other access points to the school and how they may be able to access the school from different areas rather than just that front one that we see there.”