Wicklow County Council is exploring temporary community use of the former Bank of Ireland building on Main Street, Carnew, Co Wicklow, ahead of major redevelopment, a step that matters to building and architecture professionals because it shows a council keeping a vacant town-centre asset active while a capital programme waits for funding.

Wicklow County Council owns the building, which it bought after Bank of Ireland closed the branch in 2021 as part of a wider national programme of closures, and the property has remained largely unused since.

Councillors in Baltinglass Municipal District were told at their October meeting that an earlier application for redevelopment funding was unsuccessful, and that the council cannot submit a new application until next year.

Council officials said they were open to the idea and willing to explore ways the building could be used by local groups and community organisations in the meantime.

The long-term plans include refurbishment, accessibility improvements and energy efficiency upgrades to create a modern community facility.

The structural driver is funding that arrives in cycles, with the building named in 2022 in the first tranche of a scheme where the Minister approved €7.5 million to redevelop 36 vacant properties, including former Bank of Ireland branches, as community hubs.

For the sector, the timing matters because the council’s Part 8 notice set out a remote working hub with a new single-storey rear extension, a glazed entrance and a new shopfront, so the design stage has already been consulted on.

With the next funding application not possible until next year, interim use becomes the only near-term activity on the site, which keeps the shell occupied without committing capital to works.

The broader implication for the sector is that councils holding acquired vacant buildings are likely to open them for temporary uses while waiting for funding calls, a pattern that can keep town-centre assets visible until designers and contractors are appointed.

Source: Independent.ie / Irish Times / Public Consultation