€ 30k grant will help save Gate House at Doorly Park
A € 30,000 grant allocated by the Department of Arts and Heritage to assist the County Council with the conservation works planned for the Gate Lodge at Doorly Park, has been warmly welcomed by Cllr Declan Bree.
“This is very positive news. The gate lodge is an important part of Sligo’s built heritage and has been designated as a Protected Structure.” said Cllr Bree.
He said: “However, despite the fact that it is a Protected Structure and in public ownership the condition of the building has been allowed to deteriorate and local residents in particular have rightly expressed concern about its condition. Five years ago I proposed that an application be made to the Department of the Environment seeking grant aid for the refurbishment of the building. I pointed out at the time that it could be used as a resource by the local community. I am aware that Regeneration project funding was then sought to undertake work with a view to making the lodge available as a facility to the community, but that application was not successful.
“The € 30,000 grant now received from the ‘ Structure at Risk fund’ will assist the Council in terms of carrying badly needed conservation works on the building and hopefully it will lead to additional funding being made available to allow for the complete refurbishment and restoration of the lodge.”