Council bid for former Percy French Hotel
Cavan County Council is understood to be in negotiations to purchase the former Percy French Hotel, a landmark property in the town of Ballyjamesduff.
Only last year the local authority served a derelict site notice on the property warning the owner of the need to better manage the site. Subsequently the hotel was put up for sale, listed online as having “excellent investment potential”. In need of massive refurbishment both internally and externally having remained empty for several years, the site is seen as crucial to the implementation of the Ballyjamesduff town centre regeneration plan.
To date the plan has received €90,000 under the Rural Regeneration and Development Fund.
Director of Services Brendan Jennings confirmed toThe Anglo-Celtthat the Council “are working on” the prospect of buying the building.
“It’s not acquired yet, it’d be wrong to say it was, but we’re in the process of negotiations. As for our long-term objectives for the town of Ballyjamesduff, we’ve not hidden from the fact that we want to invest in regenerating the town centre.
The [Percy French] is seen as a central objective of that, it occupies a prominent location in the town, and ideally what we would hope is, further down the line, to be able to access funding that would allow us transform the building into a project of scale that would benefit the local area.”
The move to try and purchase the building has been welcomed by local area councillor, Fine Gael’s Trevor Smith.
“I’m delighted to see something being done, and that the Council has taken the initiative to address what had been an identifiable problem in the town for some time. The hotel has changed hands over the years and fell into disrepair, which is unfortunate.
“Our regeneration plan is a big ambitious plan. It will take some time to implement, but it is a very positive step forward for the town, but the plan itself and the move by the Council to buy the former hotel building as well and not see it once again fall into the hands of private developers.”
Courthouse revamp
Cllr Smith also welcomed news that work has resumed on revamping the former Ballyjamesduff Courthouse building. The Community Council in the town had previously spent upwards of €250,000 refurbishing and restoring the building, with a further €50,000 now to be spent transforming the building to accommodate community meeting space.
“It’ll be available as meeting rooms, the Frolics will use it for rehearsals. We’re on the last stage of it now, the builders started back again, so we’re looking forward to the investment being fully realised in a short amount of time.”