FOOTBALL LEAGUE’S €1.5M PLAN UNVEILED
THE Wexford Football League (WFL) have unveiled ambitious plans for a major new €1.5million facility just off Esmonde Road in Enniscorthy. Under the new plans, the 12.5 acre site will contain three sand based, grass pitches; one full-size flood-lit astro turf pitch; a clubhouse; car parking facilities and a new road around the side of the facility which will connect Esmonde Road with the unfinished road at Springvalley Heights, taking a lot the traffic away from Turret Rocks.
At last week’s meeting of Enniscorthy Municipal District Council, the members voted in favour of a swap, which will see the council take over a 12 acre site owned by the WFL at The Lyre, Milehouse, in exchange for the land at Esmonde Road. The matter will now go before the County Council for approval and from there, it will go to planning permission stage.
Creating a facility of this scale has been a longterm project for the WFL and Chairman Denis Hennessy is looking forward to seeing the plans come to fruition.
‘This is the ideal site for us,’ he said. ‘It’s central in town, it’s in the centre of the county and there’s great access. This project has been going for nearly 30 years and this is our fourth site, but I’m confident that we’ve found the right one this time. It ticks all the boxes for the County Council and for us.’
Mr Hennessy also spoke of the benefits that the facility will have for local schools. With the Gaelscoil and Coláiste Bríde in extremely close proximity and the new St Patrick’s Special School also to be constructed in the area, it will be a godsend in terms of having facilities the students can use, right on their doorstep.
Cllr Paddy Kavanagh said that he had been working on the project with Mr Hennessy and the council for the past two years and it has the potential to be a major coup for Enniscorthy.
‘It’s a fabulous site and it will ideal for the area,’ he said. ‘The land there has been derelict for a number of years and this will clean up the whole area. As well as this, the whole new road structure will make it very accessible and it will be a great amenity for schools and young people locally. It’s a great investment in the local area and its another amenity that will bring more and more people into Enniscorthy.’
After passing the planning permission stage, WFL intend to approach the project on a phased basis which will first see the site cleared and fenced, then levelled for the installation of the pitches. Stage three will see the clubhouse built before the final step of installing the car park and landscaping. Mr Hennessy wished to thank Cllr Kavanagh and everyone at Wexford County Council for their ‘patience and understanding in helping us to get the best deal possible’. He said that the Project Development Committee is already in place and are ready to proceed.