Lismore tourist site approved
Former Bank of Ireland site in Lismore. Photo: Google Maps
Provision for a new tourist accommodation facility in Lismore, at the old Bank of Ireland site, has been met with considerable support from Councillors in the area.
The site was acquired by Waterford City and County Council in 2022, and has been vacant for a number of years. The project proposes to install five glamping pods, each with their own parking space, in a new garden area at the rear of the building.
This will be phase one of the overall development, with future phases involving the regeneration of the building itself into a boutique tourism hotel.
Further detailing the site, Conor O’Neill, Senior Executive Engineer at Waterford Council said: “Currently you can see some stonework is getting discolored and the outside of the building is starting to look dilapidated. Some of the outbuildings to the rear of the building have also become dilapidated and there’s cracks on some of the walls and structures.
He added: “A garden to the site of the existing bank is hoped to become part of the existing development. There is five pods in a semi-circle at the back of the site. There’s an access road which carries traffic around a one way system, which will carry them up to each pod, and we’ll have a parking space for each pod. There’s also bicycle parking to the rear of the bank. The recommendation is to approve in accordance with a number of conditions.”
Councillor Declan Doocey, voiced his support for the development last week, saying: “This is a very ambitious project and it’s great to save the bank and make it available. It will be good for restaurants downtown and good for business, I welcome it and I am fully behind the plan."
A number of other councillors also showed their support to the development, while also calling for increased social housing in the area.
Cllr Conor McGuinness said: “When we were discussing this initially we were talking about its use for social housing, and there is a real need for that in Lismore."
Cllr John Pratt added: “I too completely support this initiative, and I’d like to commend everyone involved from the outset. It would be great if other accommodation could be found in the future and we still need social housing.”
