Demolition plans for town hall
Major new plans to replace Clonakilty’s historic former town hall with a digital business hub have the potential to transform business in the town.
That’s according to County Mayor Cllr Christopher O’Sullivan, who this week confirmed plans to develop new, state-of-the-art council offices and an e-hub at one of the town’s most recognisable buildings.
Cllr O’Sullivan said Cork County Council had confirmed its intention to demolish the former town hall, which has fallen into severe dereliction since it was damaged by flooding in 2009.
Located on Kent Street in the town, the building is around 200 years old, and has been used as a masonic lodge, Clonakilty Town Hall and most recently the town library and public dentist.
It was deemed structurally unsafe after an assessment by engineers commissioned by the Office of Public Works (OPW), who are carrying out the town’s flood relief scheme.
The building will be demolished in the coming months along with the adjacent fire station.
The plans aim to follow the success of the Ludgate Hub in Skibbereen, which became rural Ireland’s first digital co-working space when it opened in 2016.
Cllr O’Sullivan said that while he was aware the building’s history made its demolition an “emotive” issue in the town, the council had informed him nothing more could be done to salvage it.
“I have tried to represent the concerns of those who were attached to the building, but this is what has been decided,” he said.
“To me it’s an eyesore, there’s cracks in it, grass growing. The time to save that building was years ago.”
Cllr O’Sullivan said the new proposals had the potential to drive more people to the town in the coming years.
“There is no shame in using the Ludgate model, which is a template as to how things should be done across all towns.
“If we could replicate that in Clonakilty, it would attract people to live and work here, and would also create extra footfall, which for me is all a plus.”
He continued: “Whether investing in a building that’s gone beyond repair would get that same return, I’d have my doubts.”
Cllr O’Sullivan warned that the final plan would also depend on feedback from a public consultation, which is due to begin shortly.
Online reaction to the plans was mixed, with many welcoming action on the site, including one saying the building was “rotting and needed to be removed”.
However, others were less optimistic about the demolition of the former town hall, with one saying “a book could be written” on the building given its amount of history in Clonakilty.