Sports campus jumps planning hurdle

It will be the New Year before the starter's gun is sounded on work for the new Cavan Regional Sports Hub.

In sporting parlance the project completed pre-race warm-ups last week with the allocation of €19 million under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund, and successfully jumped the planning hurdle.

Cavan County Council, which is progressing the development in partnership with Cavan GAA and the Royal School, must now wait until the New Year for an official letter of offer before confirming timelines for the development.

Confirmation of the planning permission was, meanwhile, published on An Bord Pleanala's website last week.

An inspector's report indicated that between the second quarter of 2025 and the third quarter of 2026, it's hoped to complete the main arena, hockey pitch, two sand mattress GAA fields, car parking and other elements such as planting adjacent to the River Cavan, a new Dublin Road access point and bridge, as well as making provisions for habitats such as an artificial badger sett.

It's hoped the €19M will go a long way towards delivering the first phase of the project.

The next phase (Q4 2027 to Q4 2029), to commence straight after, will see a new sports building added, as well as an athletics track, and two more sand mattress GAA fields.

To facilitate the development, the local authority sought a 10-year planning permission, having submitted that the proposal would considerably enhance Cavan as a destination for sport and recreation.

Approval was granted by the national planning authority with 28 conditions attached.

Included in the regional sports campus design are plans for a two-storey indoor sports building linked to a 6,000 sq m sports arena containing an eight-court sports hall with retractable bleachers, changing rooms, a gym, fitness studios, reception area, café, social spaces, storage, and additional facilities.

Plans

It also features eight sports pitches in total including a multi-sport 4G pitch, grass soccer pitch, a hockey field, an indoor synthetic pitch, and four GAA playing surfaces.

There will be three arenas, the largest located within the southwestern section of the campus. The covered spectator stand (circa 53 meters long) with a pitch inside can accommodate up to almost 600 people, along with providing a toilet block and car parking.

Access will be provided via a new junction, facilitated by the closure of the Park Lane (Roscolgan Lane L65072), and the relocation of the existing Breffni Park turnstiles.

The site was inspected by board inspectors back in August.

Several of the conditions refer specifically to the protection of nearby habitats.

The operating hours of the sports campus are also detailed in the conditions, from 7am to 10pm, seven days per week. During bat activity periods, floodlighting on the northern pitches shall be restricted to 9pm.

A third-party observation received by the board from the owners of an adjoining property regarding the cumulative impact of noise and visual impact of the proposed development on their property unless proper mitigation measures were implemented.

The board inspector, in their assessment, considered that the sports campus if developed as proposed would not have significant adverse effects on population and human health and that the mitigation measures as outlined “would be effective”.

“Overall, I consider the proposed development would yield substantial socio-economic and health benefits, enhancing the well-being of the local community.”