Enfield parish hall project back on track with €500,000 boost

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Plans to renovate Enfield’s former parish hall into a multi-purpose community center are back on track, with €500,000 of funding announced for the project last week.

Rural and Community Development Minister Heather Humphreys last week approved 81 projects nationwide to receive funding under the Town and Country Regeneration Program 2024, with four Meath projects benefiting, including Enfield.

While the first phase of work on the former St. Patrick’s Hall to replace windows and paint the building continued, tenders for the second major phase, which would include major mechanical and electrical upgrades, came back well over available funding and the project stalled . Enfield Development Group and Meath Co Council worked together to find a solution.

This involved Meath Co Council purchasing the hall from Enfield Development Group, with the proceeds of the sale being reinvested in the refurbishment, along with a new application for more funding under the Town and Country Regeneration Programme.

The 500,000 euros announced last week should bring the long-awaited project to completion. The next stage will be the launch of a new tender which is expected to take place in the coming weeks and once the tender process is complete a time frame will become clearer when work will start and when the new community facility will be operational.

Angela Smith from Enfield Development Group said they were “delighted” with this funding award from the Department for Rural and Community Development.

“Since the formation of EDG in 2016, our main focus has always been to provide community amenities and facilities for Enfield. Although we secured funding for the hall two years ago, the huge increase in construction inflation meant that funds were no longer sufficient to complete the renovation.

“We are extremely grateful to Meath Co Council who have worked with us to find a solution and who have fully supported our application for this increased funding. We are confident that we finally have enough funds to complete the renovation and create a much needed, multi A functional shared facility for the city Our wonderful architect, Patrick Gilsenan of PG Architects, is now finalizing the tender documents and we expect to go to tender in the coming weeks.

Angela said it took a huge amount of work from the EDG committee, both past and present, to get to this point.

“We have always been very fortunate to have the guidance and support of our local councilors in Trim MD and TD Meath West, in particular Damien English, who was instrumental in securing a meeting with Minister Heather Humphreys where EDG and Meath representatives co. The council could directly justify funding the hall. Thanks everyone for your help.

“Finally, we would like to thank our fantastic local community and local businesses for their continued support. Without them, none of this would be possible. Now, with this funding award, we’ve taken a giant step closer to being able to welcome them all. at a newly renovated Enfield community hall in the not-too-distant future.”