St Nicholas Quarter regeneration a "priority project" for Louth County Council

The St Nicholas Quarter regeneration project in Dundalk remains a "priority project" for Louth County Council, with the local authority hoping to have a design team appointed as quickly as possible, councillors were told at the Dundalk Municipal District November meeting.

Cllr Sean Kelly raised the matter at the November meeting, seeking an update on the project. Senior Executive Officer, Olivia McCormack, told the meeting that it was a "priority project" for Louth County Council and that the preliminary business case has been approved by the Department of Housing, Local Government & Heritage. 

Louth County Council was approved for €7.5 million in government funding for the project, but could not proceed until the Department confirmed that it had approved the preliminary business case, the submission of which is required under Section 4 of the Public Spending Code. 

Ms McCormack told the meeting that while the Council was awaiting approval for the business case, it did go out to tender, the closing date for which was in October but was subsequently extended to 30 November, due to a lack of full full tenders properly submitted. Councillors were also told that officials from the Department would be visiting the following week to to tour the whole area as it is a priority project and Dundalk is seen as a Regional Development Centre.

Cllr Kelly then asked what sort of timescale they were now looking at in relation to the project. In reply, Ms McCormack said that they were aiming for this time next year to go to Part 8 planning for the project, but added that they would probably extend that to January 2024.

Cllr Edel Corrigan asked that since the extension was put on receiving tenders to 30 November, when would the Council be looking to award the tender. Ms McCormack replied to say that they would have to see what comes back in and assess it, which they would be trying to do as quickly as they possibly can. She added that they want to keep the project moving and get a design team appointed, which they would be aiming to get done before Christmas.