CARSTOWN HOUSE ON DANGER LIST
THE historic Carstown House near Termonfeckin, badly damaged by fire and vandals in recent years, is on An Taisce list of national buildings at risk.
The report has prompted Cllr Kenneth Flood to again call on Louth CC to purchase and restore it.
‘Carstown has been listed in the report as being one of the most ‘at risk’ historic buildings in the State. An Taisce is a charity that works to preserve and protect Ireland’s natural and built heritage and its report listed, for the first time, the country’s ‘ Top 10 Most-at-Risk Buildings’. To the shame of Louth, Carstown House was on that list.”
“Carstown House has been discussed in the Council chamber on a number of occasions and the response from Council officials has always been lack of available finances for such a project,’ he states.
However, Cllr Flood feels that we can not ‘just sit back and do nothing’.
“The warning couldn’t be starker. We must act to save Carstown House. People in the Drogheda/South Louth area are extremely proud of the buildings of historical significance in our locality, such as St Laurence’s Gate among others. The thought of what happened to The Buttergate, being neglected to the point of having to remove the top half, ever happening again is anathema to local residents.”
The An Taisce Report recommends Carstown House being used as a residential property to save it. Cllr Flood suggested “if Louth County Council cannot afford to restore it then we need to look at other options like having a Voluntary Housing Body agreeing to build on the site to use for social housing. My party colleague Cllr. Joanna Byrne is Chair of the Council’s Housing Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) and we will be exploring this option in the coming days.
“We need and plan to take action to save Carstown House as saving a building of historic significance and providing a house/home seems like a win win situation and one that Louth County Council should not ignore.”