Waterford city awarded €7million under Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme
THRIVE funding will be used to revitalise 18th century property on Lady's Lane
Waterford city is one of five urban centres set to benefit from funding of up to €7 million each under THRIVE, the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme, awarded under Ireland’s two European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) Regional Programmes.
THRIVE was developed by the Southern Regional Assembly and the Northern & Western Regional Assembly, working in close partnership with the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.
€7 million has been awarded to Waterford city as well as Gorey in county Wexford, Mallow in county Cork and Navan in county Meath, while Galway city has been awarded €3.8million under the funding programme.
The funding will be for the renovation, restoration and reuse of publicly owned vacant and derelict heritage buildings with the aim of revitalising urban centres.
Through citizen and community engagement, the relevant Local Authorities determined the most beneficial end use for these buildings, which include theatres, cultural & community hubs, County archive, market plaza, community arts centre and a children’s visitor attraction.
Waterford Fine Gael Senator and General Election candidate John Cummins has welcomed the allocation of €7 million under Strand 2 of the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme (THRIVE) for Waterford City and County Council to bring the former men’s hostel at 18 Lady Lane in the heart of Waterford City back to life as a new Childrens experience.
18 Lady Lane will be converted into a visitor attraction - Tir na nÓg – the land of young people to create a magical journey of discovery celebrating children’s past, present and future while conserving the original fabric and decorative internal features of the building to ensure authenticity is retained.
The building will be converted into a life size dolls house, with a café and terrace lit by pencil lights on the ground floor, a new lift will be installed resembling building blocks and a new fire escape will be installed resembling a Meccano set.
Without urgent intervention, this historic building could be lost forever and that is why this €7 million is so important. Conserving the original fabric and decorative internal features of the building is a critical element of the project," Senator Cummins stated.
Welcoming the funding awards, Minister of State for Heritage and Electoral Reform, at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Malcolm Noonan said that the funding will "support local authorities in not only preserving and protecting these valuable historic buildings, but also ensuring their long-term sustainable re-use as key cultural and heritage assets at the heart of their communities".
"These innovative adaptive re-use projects have huge potential to drive town centre revitalisation and have been developed in collaboration with local citizens and stakeholders in line with New European Bauhaus principles and Town Centre First policy.
"I also look forward to the next tranche of funding that will support more THRIVE heritage led regeneration projects across the country," Minister Noonan said.
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