Tipperary County Council Civic Offices in Clonmel to undergo €1.5m energy retrofit

Pictured above at the signing of the contract for the design of the energy retrofit of Tipperary County Council’s Clonmel Civic Offices were back row: Eamonn O’Donovan, Tipperary Energy Agency; Siona Daly, Tipperary County Council; Steven Roycroft and Cian O’Riordan, Powertherm Solutions; Michael Moroney and John Walsh, Tipperary County Council. Front: Clare Lee, Paul Morris and Director of Services Eamon Lonergan of Tipperary County Council, Lorenzo Cammoranesi, Butler Cammoranesi Architects and Andrew Carroll, Tipperary County Council.

A €1.5m energy retrofit of Tipperary County Council’s Civic Offices in Clonmel is set to get underway next summer to improve the building’s energy efficiency and cut greenhouse emissions following the signing of the contract for the project’s design.

It will be the first of the council’s buildings to undergo this revamp and will act as a pilot project for future energy retrofit projects in other council buildings around the county.

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The contract for the project’s design was signed in the last week of October. The design team comprises Powertherm Solutions, Butler Cammoranesi Architects and Spentide Limited.

The Council says the project will involve reducing reliance on fossil fuels to heat the building and transitioning to more efficient low carbon electrified systems.

“The project will also focus on improving overall energy performance through efficiency upgrades and, where appropriate, minor fabric improvements to ensure the building operates as efficiently as possible.”

The local authority estimates the design and retrofitting works will involve an investment of approximately €1.5m including VAT.

The project is being funded through the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) Pathfinder Programme grant support, the Climate Action Fund and Tipperary County Council’s internal funding.

Significant relocations of staff based in its Clonmel Civic Offices while the retrofit works take place are not expected.
The council says the works will be “carefully phased and managed” to minimise disruption and ensure continuity of services throughout the construction stage. The council says the duration of the project will be confirmed once the design and procurement are complete but it’s not anticipated the works will extend beyond six months.

The local authority has drawn up a schedule of its buildings and facilities to undergo energy retrofitting upgrades over the next five years to meet the target of a 51% reduction in its carbon emissions and 50% improvement in energy efficiency set out in its 2024 to 2029 Climate Action Plan.

Civic offices, arts centres and leisure centres have been identified as the “most significant energy users” in the council’s property stock and carrying out retrofit upgrades on them will have the highest impact in terms of achieving energy efficiency and decarbonisation targets.

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