Wicklow charity seeks five-year extension as major disability services campus falls behind schedule
The Wicklow PeopleSt Catherine’s Association has asked Wicklow County Council for five more years to finish its new disability services campus in Kilcoole, after confirming that only part of the project will be completed before the current planning permission runs out in 2027.
In June, Tánaiste Simon Harris laid the first block of the new facility, but on July 16 the charity submitted an extension request, which te council acknowledged the following day, saying the application “is receiving attention”.
The development, planned for lands associated with the old Holy Faith Convent in Kilcoole, was approved in 2021 and upheld by An Bord Pleanála.
It includes an administration building, an adult day centre, a gym, a respite centre with four accommodation units, a wastewater pumping station, car parking and a new access road from the R761 opposite Lott Lane. It is one of the largest disability‑services projects underway in Wicklow.
In the documents lodged with the council, St. Catherine’s says the adult day centre will reach practical completion by the end of August 2027.
However, the other two main buildings, the respite centre and the administration block, will only have started construction by then. The charity now expects the entire project to be finished in 2032, five years later than originally planned.
The application, signed by CEO Michael Ward, says the project has been slowed by funding allocation issues, the complexity of the design brief and lengthy public procurement processes.
These factors, it says, have pushed the timeline well beyond the original window allowed under the 2021 permission. The organisation confirms it owns the lands and is seeking the extension under Section 42 of the Planning and Development Acts.
Tánaiste Simon Harris and Adam Coffey lay a block for the new St Catherine's Adult Day Centre, Kilcoole. © Leigh Anderson
Architect Colum Ó Broin, acting as agent for St Catherine’s, wrote to the council on July 14 enclosing the completed application and noting that no fee is payable because the organisation is a registered charity. The council’s reply on July 17 restates the full scope of the development and confirms that the application is now being processed.
The Section 42 form outlines that the adult day centre is the only building expected to be substantially completed before the permission expires.
The respite and administration buildings, along with the gym and site works, will be delivered during the extended period if the council grants the request.
St Catherine’s also indicates that additional information may be submitted, including environmental screening details required under planning regulations.
The delay means the full campus, including the new access road from the R761, will not be finished until the early 2030s.
On the same site, St Catherine’s is also building a new special school to cater for 158 pupils and replace the 10 classes it runs from Killmullen Lane in Newcastle, and five classes it operates from the admin section of Newcastle Hospital.
The sod was turned on the new school last November, with 25 classrooms planned.
The council will now decide whether the criteria for extending the permission have been met.
If it is refused, the charity would have to submit a fresh application, potentially reopening issues already settled during the original planning process and appeal.