Elected members of Killarney Municipal District have voted to move forward with the masterplan for the redevelopment of the Áras Phádraig site.
Kerry County Council received funding under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) to develop a masterplan, and appointed Reddy Architecture & Urbanism to prepare it.
The motion to vote on the masterplan was raised by Cllr Brendan Cronin and seconded by Labour councillor, Marie Moloney, at the recent meeting of the Killarney MD.
The development brief for Áras Phádraig outlined the requirement to provide a theatre, meeting rooms, educational space, office developments and a multi-story car park at the site.
The site was identified by the HSE as a potential location for a primary care centre and this was incorporated into the overall plan.
At the recent meeting of the Killarney Municiple District, Independent councillor Donal Grady, said he was in favour of the motion moving ahead , but couldn’t support it if a HSE care centre was included in the plan.
He asked the council for clarity on the need for the centre to be a part of Áras Phádraig.
In response, David Doyle, senior engineer at Kerry County Council, stated that the primary care centre has always been a part of the plans for the redevelopment. That it formed an integral part of the funding for the project and without the care centre the plan was not feasible.
Cathaoirleach of Killarney MD, Cllr Niall Kelleher, said he supported the plan, but on the provision of adequate parking spaces.
Independent councillor, Brendan Cronin, proposed to move ahead with the masterplan on the provision of further parking. The motion was seconded by Labour councillor, Marie Moloney, and was put to a vote by elected members.
This passed with 6 councillors voting in favour of moving forward with the masterplan, and Cllr Grady opposing.
Following the vote, Kerry County Council confirmed that Reddy Architecture & Urbanism will bring the application forward to the next stage of the redevelopment plan of the Áras Phádraig site and car park.
