Update from the Old Courthouse Proposal Team
Back in December of 2021 a group of local women made a submission to Bray Municipal District. It started with a concern, which developed into an idea and finally a plan of action. Simply to get the Old Court House on the Boghall Road back into Community use.
Since then, Karen McDonald, Aoife Flynn Kennedy, Daryle Carey, Deirdre Lally, Emma Lally, Anne-Marie McMorrow and Jolene O’Connor, who make up this small team have been working constantly to get that plan of action completed. What seemed like a simple idea has in fact been many months and years of hard work.
They have lobbied and succeed in getting the building transferred into the ownership of Wicklow County Council. They have supported the Council in their application for Community Recognition Funding which was successful and has seen thousand of euros spent bringing the structural integrity of the building up the scratch. They have worked in partnership with the Board of Ballywaltrim Community Centre to get their support to progress their plans.
Today they have secured agreement with Bray Municipal District to enter into a Caretaker’s Agreement on the building, a major milestone in the plan.
The Caretakers Agreement will allow the committee to move to the next stage, informal public consultation. The committee want to gather the ideas, thoughts and any possible concerns of those living beside and in the surrounding area. It is hoped that the community facility will be focused on adults and older members of the community, as well as families and may have the option to provide outreach services to the area from the likes of Citizens Information, Bray Area Partnership and MABS among others.
The next phase is to complete the legal requirements and then go out to the public, which they hope will take place in mid-September. The Committee acknowledged the huge support they have received from the staff of Bray Municipal District and the Board members of Ballywaltrim Community Centre. This is a grass roots, community led project and the support of these organisation has been crucial to reaching this point.
It’s an exciting time for the committee and the community and they look forward to updating everyone soon.
For further details please check out their Facebook page at ‘Old Court House Proposal Team’.
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