Age-friendly apartments planned for historic Tipperary building

Planning permission is being sought in Roscrea to transform the Bridewll Gaol and Temperance Hall into 11 age-friendly apartments, which are to be a mix of one-bed and two-bedroom apartments.

Two new balconies are also planned for the building, which is a protected structure, as well as a communal garden space in the existing ‘secret garden’.

Consultants for the developer say that the conversion into apartments would “provide a sustainable use for a long-term vacant building”, as well as provide much-needed housing for older people. The claim was made that this could also free up larger houses for younger families, that the building has been empty for over 20 years, “and its vacancy detracts from the amenity of the area”.

No parking provisions are included, as planning files note that there is sufficient on-street parking in the area already, as well as the fact that Tidy Towns have planters which prevents the existing layout from being altered.

Architects’ comments in the planning files judged that “the proposed re-purposing of the buildings is respectful of the protected structures and their formats”.

The population of Roscrea is about 5,500, with about 13% of the population aged over 65.

St. Cronan's Parochial Hall (the Temperance Hall) was built around 1815, and 200 years after it was built, in 2015 planning was granted for offices and a microbrewery at the building, but this development never went ahead.

The current planning permission was lodged with the council on August 27, and is at an early stage of.