€50m Thurles college plans outlined in TUS masterplan
The €50m masterplan includes ambitions for a Regional Sports Campus, lab extensions, and an indoor tennis area, as well as an Apprentice Expansion to address the 'significant shortfall of apprentices' in Ireland.
Ambitious plans for the Thurles campus of TUS (Technological University of the Shannon), estimated at €50 million, have been laid out by TUS in their first Campus Development Masterplan, covering the next 15 years of the entire campus.
In Thurles, this includes ambitions for a Regional Sports Campus, lab extensions, and an indoor tennis area. two-storey facilities and refurbish 730sqm of existing space.
There are also plans for an Apprentice Expansion in Thurles to address the ‘significant shortfall of apprentices’ in Ireland, and leverage the central location of the town in a national context.
The aims were announced in TUS’ Masterplan Blueprint, a report that outlines the organisation’s ambitions for all its campuses including the two in Tipperary, Clonmel and Thurles. Admitting that the Masterplan is ‘ambitious but necessary’, the University says that the plan will “strengthen the university’s ability to secure the resources needed”.
In Thurles, a Regional Sports Campus is envisioned in partnership with Tennis Ireland, Tipperary GAA, and Tipperary County Council, on vacant land at the campus near Semple Stadium.
A design has already been made, and planning permission granted in 2023 for the 9.8 hectare site adjacent to the racecourse, including a two-storey spectator stand for 1,000 people.
Three full-size GAA pitches were included with that planning, and a three-metre walking track around the perimeter. Plans are also for six covered clay courts, an all-weather pitch, a sand-carpet pitch, and an extension to the strength and conditioning facility on site.
CLONMEL
The estimated costs of the TUS plans for the Clonmel campus are about €67 million. Located at the regenerated Kickham Barracks, the development will have about 90 staff and 1,300 students.
This development, if it goes ahead, will be done in partnerships with Tipperary ETB.
The Barracks project is a long-running one, and in July it was confirmed that 3.5 acres had been formally transferred to Tipperary ETB.
Between the TUS and Tipperary ETB, the lands will be turned into the ‘College of the Future’, the country’s very first higher education campus where students can get a Lever 1 up to Level 10 NFQ in one place.