€17m Nazareth plan passes final hurdle
WITHDRAWAL OF OBJECTION TO AN BORD PLEANÁLA WILL FINALLY ALLOW DELAYED €17 MILLION PROJECT TO GO AHEAD
AFTER months of uncertainty management, staff and residents at Nazareth House in Dromahane this week finally received the news they had been hoping and praying for.
This comes after it emerged the controversial objection to a €17 million plan to expand and refurbish Nazareth House had been withdrawn – paving the way for work to finally start.
A delighted John O’Mahoney, Regional Director with the Sisters of Nazareth, said he hoped work teams would be on site before the end of next month.
“To be honest, everyone was getting worried about the future of the project. Now we can look to the future at Nazareth House with certainty,” said Mr O’Mahoney.
“We will be meeting with the builders within the next fortnight to put in place a programme of works,” he added.
THE long-running saga over plans for a multi-million expansion at Nazareth House in Dromahane has finally been resolved after an objection lodged against the ambitious development was withdrawn.
It is hoped that work will finally commence on the €17 million project before the end of October – more than 18-months after the original planning application was lodged with Cork County council.
In March, planners finally gave the greenlight to the project to completely refurbish the facility, increasing the number of residents it could accommodate from 85 to 120.
Delight quickly turned to disappointment after it emerged that a last-minute objection to the development had been lodged with An Bord Pleanála in the name on Ms J McCarthy with an address at Dromahane.
An Bord Pleanála was to have made their decision on the appeal last month. That was deferred to facilitate what a spokesperson for the appeals board described as “further consultation” on the issues raised in the objection.
However, on Monday John O’Mahoney, regional director with the Sisters of Nazareth, received a pleasant surprise in the post confirming that the objection had been withdrawn.
He said the dramatic development now paves the way for work to commence on the project within the next few weeks.
“We were once again left disappointed when the decision was delayed so you imagine how delighted we are that this has finally reached a positive outcome,” Mr O’Mahoney told The Corkman.
“To be honest, everyone was getting worried about the future of the project. Now we can look to the future at Nazareth House with certainty. We will be meeting with the builders within the next fortnight to put in place a programme of works,” he added.
Mr O’Mahoney said he hoped work teams would be on site by the end of October.
“The project will take approximately 19-months to complete and will consist of two separate phases,” he said.
The first of these will be the construction of a 120-bed, two-storey extension linked to the current facility, which was established by the Sisters of Nazareth in the 1930’s. Once complete it will incorporate 120 en-suite bedrooms, a dedicated dementia unit, therapeutic gardens and dedicated walkways.
“This will take approximately one-year to build. Once it is completed we will move residents in and begin work on refitting the existing building to include a new hall, lobby area and physio facilities,” said Mr O’Mahoney.
The plan also makes provision for the demolition of the existing assembly hall and adjacent convent buildings as well as alterations and additions to Newberry house in order to accommodate the relocation of the convent of the Sisters of Nazareth.
The work will cost in the region of €17 million and will be jointly funded through existing funds, a bank loan and fundraising initiatives, the latter being coordinated by the Friends of Nazareth House.