Phoenix: What’s the Plan?

Very interesting to see a request for tender on the e-tenders website from our council for the refurbishment of 3 and 4 George’s Street. These are the two large 18th-century Georgian buildings, which once served as the presbyteries for the Roman Catholic Cathedral and St Patrick’s Roman Catholic church. Both are quite beautiful inside. Hopefully, the ad means that work will commence on the project fairly soon and that the result will be the restoration of another important piece of Waterford’s architectural heritage. 

It is not clear whether the demands of the North Quays development or a more general shortage of funds has delayed various council projects in the city, the Clock Tower being obvious. Anyone with any interest is aware that the lovely terrace of shops on Parade Quay has been indicated for redevelopment and restoration since at least 2014. The shop windows are all covered in bright posters indicating the extent of the proposed works, but nothing has happened. The shop operators, some like Beibhin, really top quality in a vital area near Reginald’s Tower, were decanted and still no work went ahead. This is self-harm in a city that vitally needs quality, independent retailers.

It always seemed clear that the North Quays should have been developed by a special purpose state company as was done with the Dublin Docklands Development. This would have meant a sequential programme of development, probably using different architects and different developers as happened in Dublin. 

Instead, we plumped for one company in the hope that the whole project could be done in one go. We are now in the hands of Harcourt Developments who have just received planning permission for their revised proposals. It remains to be seen when we might see action on their part on the site. My understanding is that a podium, an engineering term for a large platform, will be first constructed to link the new pedestrian bridge to the Dock Road in Ferrybank. Apparently BAM construction has been given the contract for the work but it is unclear how long that will take. 

Our council, with the best will in the world, simply did not have the financial or manpower resources to develop our North Quays with the result, still ongoing, that work in the historic city effectively ground to a halt.

At least 15 years ago our council indicated that new housing would be built in Summerland Square opposite the grotto there and in The Glen opposite the Tax Office. Neither project, which would offer housing in very desirable areas, has gone ahead. A proposed office development on the site of the old Munster Express offices in Hanover Street seems to have vanished without a trace. 

Proposed work on 18 Lady Lane as a Children’s Hub and on 22 Lady Lane as offices has not started. A great many good people in council are working on these projects but the question as ever is, why are they taking so long? 

Meanwhile, in the background some sort of Fáilte Ireland programme is ongoing to provide Waterford City with an “attraction of scale”. If such a thing is to happen, fair enough, as long as it’s not some consultant-driven “attraction” based on the usual “stakeholder interaction, community and public surveys” and the usual drivel PowerPoint from people with very little knowledge or real interest in the area. That eventually produces something like Celtworld, Tramore. That rubbish has passed its sell-by date. 

Before anything happens we need to refocus both public and private funds on the historic city centre. We need a root and branch examination of every street in the historic centre. “Simple” things like new footpaths, lamp standards, undergrounding of overhead services have to be tackled. The council used to have a rolling programme of such works, but that halted some years ago meaning that areas like Parnell Street, O’Connell Street and Catherine Street have lamp standards and wiring of the 1930s Shannon Scheme. To remake historic streetscapes we need to redevelop sites like the Café Nero one in Peter Street (30 years undeveloped), the surface carpark in Exchange street (30 years undeveloped), the old sorting office in Olaf Street (20 years undeveloped) and so on. The nice jeweller's shop at the corner of High Street and Conduit Lane had its upper floors stripped off some years ago. It destroyed the view of Arundel Square. This sort of thing would be tackled in most European countries. We just seem to let things lie.

Our wider problem is the terrible failure of the private sector to do anything. We can blame council all we like, they at least are trying, but the property hoarders, and there are several in Waterford, really need to step up to the plate. The surface car park owners in Exchange Street have applied yet again for another two-year extension to their permission for the site. It’s vacant 20 years and has had 20 different planning applications. It’s still empty. 

The site of the Sinnott’s Nightclub and pub complex on John Street is a story all unto itself. A one-page planning application was originally digitally submitted, which led to the council spending years unravelling it. It may have gone to An Bord Pleanála. Every time people thought that the matter had been solved, there was an application for planning to alter the permission already granted. It must be soul-destroying to deal with. At least the owners are being put under pressure, which is more than one can say for the owner of the Ardree Hotel, the shameful state of which undermines the efforts of the city.

It’s easy to sit and type and be prescriptive about what needs to happen in our city without acknowledging the difficulties attending every type of building construction or restoration project. But when it comes to the terrible state of New Street, Stephen Street, Browne’s Lane and Back Lane, it is my firm belief that every day we delay in tackling this festering sore, is a day in which the city status and general appeal of Waterford city as a place to live, study, work and do business is undermined. It can’t be allowed to go on.