Bawnboy Station edges towards reopening
The reopening of Bawnboy Garda Station has moved another step closer with contracts to carry out necessary works to be awarded imminently.
The update comes as the Office of Public Works (OPW) prepares to submit the necessary Part 9 planning application to Cavan County Council regarding the development.
A spokesperson for the OPW informed The Anglo-Celt this week: “OPW is to notify Cavan County Council that it intends to proceed with the planned works at Bawnboy Garda Station to facilitate its reopening as required under Part 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001, and contract award is imminent.”
The works will take around three months to complete after the contract is formally awarded and it could cost up to €250,000 to bring the station back into use.
It had been hoped the station would have reopened by the middle of 2020, but this was put back after “technical surveys” identified the need to remove asbestos from one portion of the building.
Bawnboy station was one of six recommended for reopening as part of a pilot programme nationally in November 2017, having been shut initially in 2013 as part of cost-cutting measures introduced by then Minister for Justice Alan Shatter.Along with Bawnboy other stations locally to close were Redhills, Clontibret, Newbliss, Corrinshigagh and Smithborough.
Bboro garda HQ
Meanwhile, tenders for the main construction work for the new Bailieborough Garda Station headquarters were received on Friday, March 26.
“They are currently being evaluated to identify the most economically advantageous tender, which then allows OPW to proceed with and finalise the Reserved Specialist Tender process for the mechanical and electrical contractors,” an OPW spokesperson told the Celt.
It was previously stated that Bailieborough Garda Station would be open for operation by Summer 2021, but again the deadline was pushed back on redeveloping the former National Irish Bank building with a new four-storey extension built to the rear of the premises.