Plans for long-awaited rural Wicklow remote working hub stalled
The Wicklow PeopleA long-mooted community remote working hub for the village of Carnew has been dealt a blow after district councillors in Baltinglass were informed that funding wasn’t secured under the latest round of the Town and Village Enhancement Scheme.
Following the closure of the Carnew Bank of Ireland branch in 2021, as part of a broader cull of 88 BOI branches across the country, former councillor John Mullen and members of the WCC Community SPC, including director of services Michael Nicholson and Baltinglass MD administrator Liam Cullen, surveyed bank buildings in Tinahely and Carnew and decided the most suitable property to purchase for community and social enterprise purposes was the Carnew branch.
After WCC’s successful acquisition of the property and the allocation of €49,999 to its refurbishment in December 2022 under the Town and Village Enhancement Scheme, progress came to a standstill, with a tender acceptance date coming and going.
Then, having endured a prolonged wait since the local authority acquired the property in 2022 a public consultation (Part 8 process) opened for the project which closed for submissions in April 2025. WCC expressed their hope at the time that the project would “promote well-being, inclusion, and community cohesion”.
In a new update provide to district councillors at their January monthly meeting, district administrator Liam Cullen informed members that an application for funding under the Town and Village Renewal Scheme in 2025 had not been successful.
“The council is seeking feedback on why the application was rejected. The €50,000 previously secured allowed design works to be carried out. Town Regeneration officer Stephen Clarke is helping us to review what our next steps will be.”
In response Cllr Jason Mulhall encouraged council officials to seek clarity on what went wrong.
“I think it’s important to seek feedback on the application with a view to make a resubmission later this year when the scheme reopens for applications. It means all the applications submitted from Wicklow except Rathdrum failed which is disappointing.”
“The recently established town team in Carnew I hope will be included in these discissions going forward. I think it is important that they are included and kept in the loop as we look to move the project forward.” he added. €225,000 was awarded to allow the upgrading electrical and toilet facilities at Rathdrum Development Association Hall to enhance safety, accessibility, and sustainability of the town centre community hub for events and social engagement.
Meanwhile having taken up the baton to petition WCC to expedite the planning process, Cllr Peter Stapleton said it was important that other funding streams are looked at to progress the project.
Incorporating retrofitting and accessibility enhancements, the refurbishment works at the building will see the demolition of all existing internal partitions and stairs, along with the reconfiguration of internal walls at both levels, and the construction of new stairs and a passenger lift connecting the ground and first floors.
The ground floor of the existing building will be used for new offices and a canteen/coffee area, while the first floor will be similarly divided into more office accommodation and a meeting/break-out room.
A new, single-storey lean-to extension to the rear of the property will house sanitary accommodation (including a universally accessible WC and an open-plan office space) and will be connected to the existing building by a new pitched roof structure with a glazed entrance and enclosing the existing flat roofed vault.
The existing vault, which WCC said is “constructed very robustly and would be difficult and expensive to alter”, will be integrated as a generous storage area for the hub.
A new shopfront will be constructed with full-height double-glazed window systems and will be combined with a new decorative gate that will allow access via the refurbished side passage to the west of the property to a new paved and planted entrance courtyard to the rear of the existing building, created from the currently unused existing yard.
“The economic development strategy of the current development plan is to take advantage of the existing economic assets to stimulate employment within the area and increase the jobs ratio by 50pc by 2028. The current proposal for the Carnew remote working hub seeks to coordinate with and support this strategy.
“The layout of the Carnew remote working hub is simple and clear”, a WCC planner wrote.
“it comprises the existing building, on two levels, and a new extension to the rear. These are accessed via the existing external route to the west, leading through a new courtyard to a new building entrance at the junction of new and old.
“The new shopfront is intended to improve the building’s relationship with the street and the community, giving glimpses through the new full height glazing into the working spaces.
“The new entrance route along the western side of the site allows views of the internal courtyard, which remains, nonetheless, a secluded outdoor space for the building’s patrons to enjoy.”