Green TD – Steven Matthews has welcomed the progress in bringing the buildings at the rear of the former Wicklow Town Court house back into community use. Deputy Matthews has gotten a commitment from both the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Courts service that a structural and internal review will be carried out shortly as part of a wider assessment of the whole campus. The initial proposal was to provide the Wicklow Towns Mens Shed a new place to meet but once the necessary repairs and safety assessments are carried out, there is potential for further community use. Discussing the development, Deputy Matthews said:
“The buildings at the rear of the old court house will be known to locals as previously being used by the civil defence for meetings and for storage facilities for the courts service. In more recent years they have been left vacant and its such a waste when there are community groups in Wicklow Town like the Mens Shed that could bring them back into use. I have met with the Mens Shed group on site and it would be an ideal location for them to meet.
“I raised this matter before the summer with the Courts Service and the OPW and to get a commitment that the buildings will now get a structural and internal assessment to provide estimates on the full cost of returning them to community use is very positive progress.
“The full works will require Government funding to complete and following the completion of the report, I will be meeting directly with senior officials in the OPW to seek to prioritise that funding. Getting this initial assessment is the first major step in getting this project completed.
“The OPW and the Courts service met earlier this month to work on a proposal for the assessment and I look forward to working with both organisations, and Wicklow County Council to ensure that this project is fully funded and completed as soon as possible, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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