The future looks bright for Listowel Community Centre

PENDING PLANNING PERMISSION BEING GRANTED, THE LISTOWEL COMMUNITY CENTRE & BASE GYM HAVE BIG PLANS FOR THE REVAMP AND RENOVATION OF BUILDING

NEARLY two years on from a fire that threatened its future, the Listowel Community Centre has well and truly risen from the ashes and is looking forward to an immensely bright future.

And plans for what this future will entail were shared with members of the public at an information evening in the centre last Thursday evening.

Pending planning permission being granted, the centre is set to undergo a major revamp and rejuvenation, with Trevor Horan, manager of the Listowel Community Centre and Base Gym, telling The Kerryman that he and the rest of the staff are extremely excited for what the future holds for the centre.

Amongst the many plans for the centre are an extension of the current building, the addition of a number of brand-new rooms in the centre, including a wellness room, a sensory room and both a base recovery area and a base studio. In addition to this, the centre hopes to open new meeting rooms, physiotherapy rooms and a juice bar, which they hope will attract great business from both cyclists and walkers using the Greenway.

Trevor added that an extension of the back gym and the return of the sauna and steam room are also included in the plans.

“We’re currently in the process of going for planning permission and that will happen in between a month and six weeks. We had the open night last Thursday and we shared the plans for the centre with the community,” said Trevor.

“We’re excited, very excited actually, for the future. I know the fire happened and I won’t say that it was a blessing in disguise, but it forced us to rethink the centre and how it is for everyone in the community, including those with disabilities, so we want to make this new centre more inclusive,” he continued.

“We have a number of groups coming to us at the moment from around Listowel and West Limerick to use our facilities. What we have at the moment, though, is only limited space but with the new space, we will be able to offer them a bit more. When this new building and extension goes on, it will open more avenues for us,” Trevor added.

Trevor was effusive in his praise for all of the staff at the Community Centre and gym, saying that they have worked tirelessly since the fire in November of 2022 to ensure that the centre was back up and running at full strength.

“The staff here, they have worked extremely hard, especially after the fire, to get the place open and running again. We have gone from strength to strength. We are busier than ever. We have the Kingdom Pickleball group which is after starting with us, we have Zumba, the hall is being used more. Gym memberships are up and, honestly, it’s all got to do with the staff here, they are working so hard,” he said.