Castlesaunderson site plan sought

Cavan County Council is being urged to explore funding avenues to enhance Castlesaunderson as an amenity site.

Cllr John Paul Feeley (FF) made the proposal at the recent meeting of the Cavan-Belturbet Municipal District and called for an “overall development plan” to be developed in conjunction with all stakeholders.

Beyond the International Scout Centre on the ground being used to facilitate Covid testing, he said that, outside of those hours, the grounds were “not very accessible” for parking, and suggested the council work with Coillte to install an electronic gate similar to the one at Cavan Burren Park.

Cllr Feeley went on to say that there is immense “potential” within the near 180-hectare grounds and it was important the council works to “maximise” such assets.

The motion was seconded by Cllrs Brendan Fay (Ind), Patricia Walsh (FF), Madeleine Argue (FG) and Fine Gael’s Peter McVitty who paid tribute to former County Manager Jack Keyes, under whose management, the site was improved.

Cllr Sean Smith (FF) said Castlesaunderson had “everything going for it”.

Senior Engineer for the area, Paul Mulligan, noted that it would “take millions” to do anything substantive with the castle building itself, but there are other ways the amenities could be enhanced. “We’ll look at where works can be done, and enhance what’s already there,” he said.