Blow to FDYS as deal for premises collapses
THE youth service in Wexford has suffered a major setback following the 11th hour collapse of a deal for it to move to new premises in Common Quay Street.
The FDYS, which has been based in Francis Street for more than 30 years, is now left looking for looking for somewhere to move to, but it is not optimistic that a suitable high-visibility position can be found in the town in the short term.
The FDYS had expected a lease on the former ESB building to be agreed late last week, but Wexford area youth services manager Sean Cooke said he had received an email late on Thursday saying the landlord was ‘not in a position to proceed and he was putting the property back on the market’.
‘I would have felt in a position to deal with any of the issues raised,’ said Mr Cooke.
‘I am very disappointed that we got to the stage where we agreed a basic deal in principal and it was only a matter of dealing with some of the practilaties,’ said Mr Cooke, saying that as late as last Thursday he believed the lease was in place to be signed.
‘I thought it was only a matter of pushing a button,’ said Mr Cooke, who had a contractor ready to carry out the work at the new premises.
‘It came down to differences between the two parties. The landlord had certain requirements and the proposed tenants had certain requirements and the negotiations broke down,’ said Colum Kehoe, managing director of Kehoe and Associates, which who had been representing the landlord.
He confirmed the ESB building was back on the market with an annual lease of €26,000 a year.
‘We have put a lot of time and effort into this, into getting where we are,’ said a frustrated Mr Cooke, who in June briefed the local authority on the plans for a new ‘one stop shop for young people’ in the former ESB buildng beside the Bullring.
In June, Mr Cooke told councillors at a briefing that the new premises would help them to consolidate the FDYS brand in the town centre.
The FDYS had sought funding from the National Lottery, the Reasonable Accommodation Fund for the Employment of People with Disabilities and the capital grants DCYA 2016, for refurbishment work necessitated by the move.
The youth organisation has been based in Francis Street in a buidling co-located with the Presentation Convent for more than 30 years.
Last week, Mr Cooke said he had hoped the move would be complete by December following a six- to eight-week refurbishment.
He said 14 people were permanently based at the FDYS premises with another eight who use it from time to time.
‘When I started here last June.. I looked at what we needed as an organisation and that was an integrated space and that’s the model of development that’s happening right now,’ said Mr Cooke.
He said there was also ‘a thing about our visibility’.
‘In Francis Street, where we are in a large building, we are a little bit invisible in promoting services to young people; another issue was the cost of running an old building like this.. it’s prohibitive and it’s going to get worse,’ he said.