Belvedere House and Gardens.

‘More parking needed at Belvedere’, officials told by elected representatives

A dispute over whether or not there is a need for more carparking at Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar, arose at a recent meeting of the Mullingar/Kinnegad Municipal Council.

Cllr Emily Wallace urged the council to seek funding for more carparking. She said that Belvedere is “the jewel in our crown”, one of the biggest tourist attractions in the county, and it must be allowed to flourish.

"We are promoting Belvedere and using it, but we need footfall to keep it open and that footfall must be allowed to increase within its perimeters," the Fine Gael councillor remarked.

Cllr Wallace said the council was putting a lot of money into the house and grounds, but they also needed to look at generating more revenue so it can “stand on its own feet”.

“The house has been closed for three or four years now and is not creating revenue,” she said.

“Let’s look at opportunities to get money for parking,” she suggested adding that it is the people using it that are paying to keep it open – “bear that in mind”.

Mullingar Mayor, Aoife Davitt said she was at the cross-country competitions there recently and she agreed that more parking was needed. Mayor Davitt said this was essential if more opportunities for gatherings at Belvedere were to be opened up, particularly with the Fleadh coming to town. It has to be safe for families to park, she stressed.

Cllr Denis Leonard acknowledged that the priority at the moment was to repair the roof at Belvedere, but he felt that the council should also be looking for funding for accessible parking for the elderly, the disabled and those with babies.

The meeting was told carparking spaces at Belvedere were increased from 92 to 111 last year by removing coach parking spaces. Another 55 cars can park in the overflow carpark beside the horticultural school and at peak times an area parallel to the main carpark is made available and can take another 40 cars.

The members were told it was worth noting that on the busiest days in 2021, October 30 and 31, the Hallowe’en event attracted 1,950 visitors to Belvedere and there was adequate parking between the main carpark and the overflow carparks so there is no need for more carpark spaces at Belvedere currently.

However, the director of services, David Jones said he was hearing what the members were saying and assured them that the council was promoting Belvedere. Having been newly appointed, he said he looked forward to visiting Belvedere this month and to meeting the manager, Stephen Masterson.

The priority capital project there at the moment is the restoration of the roof to protect the integrity of the building, he said, but he agreed to take on board the views of the members.