PLANS RESURFACE FOR MICRO DISTILLERY AT 1798 CENTRE
PLANS to convert the 1798 Centre at Arnold’s Cross into a micro distillery have resurfaced after a planning application was lodged with Wexford County Council in recent weeks.
The application, made by John Stafford of Slaney Farms, Tomnalossett, focuses on transforming the ailing tourist attraction into a distillery, which it is hoped will attract visitors in its own right.
Initial discussions have taken place between Wexford County Council and Mr Stafford and it is understood that a deal has been worked out in principal to go ahead with the project, provided planning permission is granted.
Mr Stafford produces potatoes at his farm and intends to use his own home grown product for the manufacture of gin and vodka at the Arnold’s Cross premises.
The 1798 Centre was officially opened in 1998 and while initially it enjoyed some success, numbers of visitors to the national centre have dropped significantly in recent years, something which is partly attributed to the building’s isolation from Enniscorthy Castle, the Athenaeum and the Cathedral in the town centre.
‘Basically, this is the same proposal that we had before,’ said District Manager Liz Hore. ‘I think the last time around, the business people behind the move weren’t ready to progress, but it seems we are ready to move forward with the project now.
‘Everything depends on planning permission being granted, but the 1798 centre will definitely remain open for the coming tourist season at very least. After that, we will look to relocate the centre. Perhaps even as a temporary measure, we could look at linking in with the Athenaeum. Nothing will happen until autumn at the very earliest anyway.’
One potential new home which had been mooted for the 1798 Centre as part of a new multi-million euro ‘ tourism hub’ for the town, was the Castle Nightclub which sits in between the Castle and the Athenaeum.
However, in recent weeks, owner PJ Doyle has remained firm in his assertion that he will ‘never sell’ to Wexford County Council and that he intends to re-open the nightclub before the year is out.
With the relocation of the 1798 Centre being a key element of the major tourism plan for Enniscorthy, along with the inclusion of Vinegar Hill, the council has not yet ruled out the possibility of placing a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) on the nightclub in order for plans to progress, however, Mr Doyle says that he will fight this move every step of the way.
In the meantime, the council are hopeful that the establishment of the micro-distillery at the Arnold’s Cross could also play a part in a push for tourism in the area. ‘We would hope that this project could take off from a tourism point of view as well,’ said Ms Hore.
‘It fits right in with the work we have been doing on food tourism and we wouldn’t have made the centre available to be utilised for anything else other than something that is in-keeping with the ethos for tourism.’
The plans indicate that changes to the structure of the 1798 Centre itself will be minimal, however it will be completely gutted internally to install a full distillery. No alterations will be made to the fabric of the protected structure and existing car park and entrance and exit points will be maintained. Similarly, the new plans state that ‘Visitor attraction, café, toilets, display areas and storage facilities will remain as existing other than the display material which will change to be in keeping with the distillery use of the building.’
With pre-planning talks with Wexford County Council having proved successful, Mr Stafford is hopeful that the project will be given the green light in the coming weeks, freeing the way for him to purchase the centre. However, the District Manager has stressed that the 1798 Centre will continue to operate as normally until after the busy summer period this year.