SPECIAL SCHOOLS SET TO SHARE NEW CAMPUS
We prayed for this day! Multi-million euro facility announced for St Ita’s and St Mary’s
A NEW multi-million euro school campus is to be built on the Cement Road.
St Ita’s Special School on Crushrod Avenue and St Mary’s Special School in Drumcar will share the facility that is set to transform special needs education in Louth, Meath and North County Dublin.
Both schools have long outgrown the accommodation needs of the numbers attending both centres and the new building, on 4.5 acres close to the pitch and putt club, will be a state-of-theart complex.
Negotiations on the new centre have been ongoing for some years, but for Cllr Paul Bell, he can see the light at the end of a long tunnel.
He has been working on the deal since 2010 and negotiations with Irish Cement, the Department of Education and Louth County Council have progressed to the penultimate stage. After a few technical matters are resolved, the project will move to the planning process.
He says he knows those involved in both schools have ‘prayed for the day’ when their future could be secured.
Archdeacon Jim Carroll, chairperson of the board of management at St Ita’s, said it was wonderful news for everybody associated with the school
A MULTI-milion euro school campus, to cater for students from two special schools, is to be created on 4.5 acres of land on the Cement Road in Drogheda.
The site, adjacent to the Pitch and Putt club, will be a state-of-the-art building and comes after years of effort.
The campus will serve St Ita’s on Crushrod Avenue and St Mary’s Special School in Drumcar and will meet the needs of children in Drogheda, Mid and North Louth, Meath and North County Dublin.
“I am frankly estatic with this development which is the result of my determined campaign launched when I was Mayor of Drogheda in 2010 and almost concluded in my term as Cathaiorleach of Louth County Council which concluded three months ago,’ Cllr Paul Bell stated this week.
He says there has been ‘immense’ goodwill shown towards the project from Irish Cement, the Department of Education and Louth CC.