Bellingham Castle granted permission to retain refurbishments

The revamped Bellingham Castle

Bellingham Castle has been granted conditional planning permission to retain many of the refurbishments carried out to it following its reopening in January 2014.

Late last year owner Howard Corscadden applied to Louth County Council for retention permission for the work carried out at the castle including the internal refurbishment and decoration of rooms, internal alterations, the removal of non-original walls/partitions and stairs, the openings in original walls, the fireplace in the reception hall, the new bar and lounge, the restoration of existing external walls and the new stone entrance steps.

He has now been given the go ahead to retain the changes to the castle, which recently hosted The Voice of Ireland finalists.

Also set to be retained are the external landscapings, the lawns, new statues, water fountains, carparking and the security gates to the entrance driveway.

Permission has also been granted to lower the existing chimney to the front elevation and the amendment to the extract ducting.

Bellingham Castle seeking permission to retain refurbishments

The revamped Bellingham Castle

Bellingham Castle will be reopened a year following its refurbishment quite soon and anyone who has visited it in the past 12 months or so will tell you what a fine place it has become.

The castle, which recently hosted the judges from The Voice of Ireland, faces a sweat to hang on to many of those changes, however, after only recently applying for planning permission for the work carried out to the protected structure.

Owner Howard Corscadden has applied to Louth County Council for retention permission for the work carried out at the castle including the internal refurbishment and decoration of rooms, internal alterations, the removal of non-original walls/partitions and stairs, the openings in original walls, the fireplace in the reception hall, the new bar and lounge, the restoration of existing external walls and the new stone entrance steps.

Also seeking to be retained are the external landscapings, the lawns, new statues, water fountains, carparking and the security gates to the entrance driveway.

They are also seeking permission to lower the existing chimney to the front elevation and the amendment to the extract ducting.

Louth County Council are due to decide on the matter by December 18^th.

Work begins on Kearney brothers’ Dublin 4 pub

Work is underway at Bellamy’s at present to get it ready for its opening

The Kearney brothers – Rob and Dave – have moved a step closer to becoming publicans after it was revealed that work has begun on the D4 pub which the pair have purchased along with their Leinster and Ireland teammates Sean O’Brien and Jamie Heaslip.

The quartet had a €1.35m offer for Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge accepted in February with Rob Kearney revealing on Twitter earlier this week that “work is under way in Ballsbridge, exciting times ahead!”

Reports earlier in the summer suggested that the players hoped to have the pub open in September following refurbishment.

The name of the bar will change, with Heaslip and Kearney encouraging people to guess the new name for the pub via Twitter with the hashtag #guessourpubname.

A prize of four tickets to a Leinster home match and four invites and a bottle of champagne to the opening have also been offered up for those who guess correctly.

The public house is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

 

Moran calls for greater social housing investment in Louth

Senator Mary Moran

Local Senator Mary Moran has welcomed the announcement that Louth will be allocated €76,000 for the refurbishment of vacant social housing by Minister for Housing and Planning, Jan O’Sullivan TD.

The Labour Party member said though that while investment was welcome, more was needed to ensure that those seeking social housing in the county are catered for quicker than they are at present.

“The announcement comes when affordable social housing is very much in demand.While any investment in social housing is welcome, unfortunately the number of people seeking social housing in Louth remains extremely high. I am pleased that this funding will benefit some people who are seeking social housing. However I have asked Minister O’Sullivan to ensure that housing for people with a disability also remains a priority as I believe the number of people in our area with a disability who are awaiting suitable housing remains a problem.

“In some cases empty houses in housing estates  have been vandalised when abandoned and can depreciate the value of the surrounding houses. The refurbishment of vacant homes in Louth will create jobs in the construction sector for people who are unemployed. The positive psychological impact of having a job is equally as beneficial as the financial benefit to the long-term unemployed in our community.  With economic growth recorded by the ESRI recently, we still need further investment in social housing and for the needs of the people of Louth to be met, for the economic and social recovery of this country. This includes reaching out and supporting people who are long-term unemployed.”

Kearney brothers become publicans

Last night’s announcement from The Grafton Lounge

The Kearney brothers, Rob and David, are well known for the exploits on the rugby field but they are also set to become known as publicans after taking over Bellamy’s pub in Ballsbridge.

The news was officially announced last night by The Grafton Lounge, who have purchased the Dublin 4 boozer with the Kearney’s and their Leinster team-mates Jamie Heaslip and Sean O’Brien.

A major refurbishment is planned towards the end of this month, with the hope being that the pub can be opened by September – just in time for the new rugby season.

Reports suggested in March that the Leinster and Ireland quartet had bid more than €1m for the pub along with Dublin publican Noel Anderson. It had gone on the market for €825,000 but the selling price is reported to be around €1.35m.

The pub is located just a stone’s throw from the Aviva Stadium and also close to the RDS, right in the heartland of rugby in Dublin’s southside.

Clanbrassil Street set for badly needed refurbishment

Clanbrassil Street has fallen into disrepair in recent years

Clanbrassil Street is set for a refurbishment at last.

Cllr Jennifer Green

The news was announced at last night’s monthly meeting of the council with plans set to go on public display in the Town Hall this week.

While welcoming the news, Sinn Féin councillor Jennifer Green has admitted she has some concerns and hopes to see them addressed before work proceeds on the street – which has become difficult to navigate in recent years even for the abled-bodied.

Along with a number of her council colleagues, Cllr Green – from Mulholland Avenue – went on a walk around Dundalk recently with wheelchair user John Morgan. Mr Morgan recently issued a report to the council, raising awareness of many of the accessibility issues in the town.

Commenting on this, Cllr Green said: “When I was with John Morgan, I was utterly shocked at the state of some of the pavings and kerbs in some parts of the town and how difficult these errors make it for wheelchair users to get around.

“In Anne Street, in particular, John had to drive down the road in order to cross from one side to the other as the kerbs were just too high for his wheelchair to access, which in this day and age is just ridiculous and so dangerous.

“I didn’t appreciate how bad it was until I looked at it through John’s eyes. The Square was refurbished and although it looks well, John found it difficult to pass over the silver bumps and it was very uncomfortable for him. These are things we don’t appreciate and why we need to involve all parts of the community in the decision making process.”

Upon hearing the news of plans to refurbish Clanbrassil Street, the Sinn Féin representative asked would it make the area more user friendly for people with disabilities.

Cllr Green said the response was positive and officials in the Council said they have set up direct contact informing the various registered disability groups about the plans which will include ‘drop kerbs’ which will make the area more accessible.

The former council chair said: “This is very welcome news and I hope that wheelchair users like John Morgan will feel they were listened to and that Dundalk town belongs to all of us. The plans go on public consultation this week and can be viewed in the Town Hall. I would urge all interested parties to view them and all recommendations to the plans are welcome.”