EFFORTS TO SAVE CAMPUS DEAL AS SALE FALLS THROUGH

NEGOTIATIONS are taking place in an attempt to rescue a land deal at Newtown Road for a new Wexford Campus of Carlow IT, after the sale fell through

The Institute, who paid a deposit on the 30-acre site over a year ago, confirmed the sale had been cancelled by the vendor.

‘Institute of Technology Carlow regrets to advise that we have received a letter from the vendor’s solicitors informing the institute that they have cancelled the sale and were in the process of returning the Institute’s deposit which was paid in December 2016’, said a spokeswoman.

She said the move was ‘surprising’, adding that the site was the subject of a NAMA taxpayer bailout.’

‘Recently, as part of a larger portfolio, this site’s loans were transferred to an American private equity company.’

Labour leader Brendan Howlin also expressed his ‘profound disappointment’ at the news that the land deal will no longer go ahead.

‘This site remains, in my view, the most suitable location for a Wexford Campus. I will continue to do what I can to ensure that a new third level campus for Wexford will be developed on this site,’ said Deputy Howlin.

‘I remain absolutely committed to the establishment of a multi-campus Technological University for the South East, including a Wexford campus, and all our efforts need to be reunited in the pursuit of that goal’, he added.

The Wexford Campus spokeswoman said the Institute of Technology acknowledged the continued support of the Department of Education and Skills, the Minister and all Wexford elected representatives. ‘We will be working hard with all influencers to resolve this situation in the coming days’, she said.

‘Procurement of a new green field site is the first phase of a significant and long-term strategic plan for Wexford Campus which includes a seven phase long-term capital investment programme in Wexford. Our resolve and ambition in this regard remains undiminished’, she said.

College president Dr. Patricia Mulcahy told the Institute’s annual graduation ceremony in the National Opera House last Friday that she was confident the situation would be resolved.

The college announced in early November that the purchase of a greenfield site at Newtown Road was ‘imminent’. The Higher Education Authority (HEA) gave Carlow IT permission in 2015 to acquire a site in a prime location in Wexford after the college made a convincing case to the Department of Education and Skills and the HEA for a new purpose-built campus to eplace existing buildings in use at St. Peter’s College and the old County Hall in Spawell Road.

It is understood that the funding level for the site purchase approved by the HEA was in the region of €2 million.