Progress on plan for Monksland Community Hub

Plans for a new two-storey community hub in the heart of Monksland, which aims to deliver "wide-ranging" benefits for local residents, have gone on display for public consultation.

The proposed building would be situated to the west of Monksland Business Park and adjacent to the new Monkland Community Park, which was officially opened in June.

Roscommon County Council's plans for the community hub include providing 1,513 square metres of "flexible community floorspace" that would incorporate "multi-use studios, meeting rooms, a café and double-height performance space".

According to an architectural design statement for the facility, it will seek to address a "chasm" that exists in the generation of a sense of community within Monksland.

"The Monksland area is a largely industrialised zone for pharmaceutical enterprises, which, while they have brought employment and valuable industrial investment to the area, have left Monksland and its immediate hinterland bereft of a sense of community," stated the planning document.

"A catalyst for regeneration, the subject site is embedded within the central core of Monksland and will opportunistically act as a natural link between residential zones to the north of Monksland, and retail areas at the south," it said.

"The proposals will stitch together a chasm which has been allowed to manifest within the heart of Monksland."

It went on to say that local community groups had been "actively engaged" to determine what they would like to see accommodated in the new hub, and that the existing Monksland Community Centre groups regarded the proposal as "an extension" to the services they currently offer.

The concept for the new facility is described as building upon "the classical notion of a pavilion-type structure" and one which would "create intrigue, acting as a focal point" within the park.

"Both park and building are designed to complement each other," according to the plans. "The new building should be seen as something which is intrinsically linked to the new community park."

The facilities proposed in the community hub include a "flexible" central courtyard which "can be open or closed off depending on what events are happening" in the building, along with an external café terrace on which "parents can relax with a coffee and observe their children at play" in the park.

A total of 48 car parking spaces are proposed for the community hub, including six electric vehicle (EV) charging bays, three accessible parking bays and eight cycle stands.

An environmental assessment screening report, included with the planning documentation, concluded that the project "does not have the potential to cause significant environmental effects" and that an environmental impact assessment would, therefore, not be required.

The plans have been on display at Roscommon County Council's Áras an Chontae offices since the beginning of August and will remain on display until this Friday, August 29. They are also available on the county council's website.