A long-awaited north Drogheda community hub has cleared a major hurdle after local councillors gave the green light to Part 8 planning for the project.
The proposal for the Moneymore Townland Community Hub was approved at September’s meeting of Drogheda Borough District, a significant milestone for the centre which has been in the pipeline since 2019 and is being hailed by campaigners as a potential “game-changer” for the town’s north side.
Louth County Council officials described the facility as a key focal point for the expanding north Drogheda area, providing a permanent base for a range of community, family and youth services.
The approved two-storey building, measuring 1,365 square metres, will include a community hall and café, alongside dedicated service wings for Connect Family Resource Centre, the Foróige Cable Youth Diversion Project, an after-school club and a youth hub.
Plans also provide for flexible community meeting rooms, counselling facilities, educational spaces and health and wellbeing hubs, allowing local services to expand in line with growing demand.
Cllr. Kevin Callan proposed the approval for part 8 planning and was seconded by Cllr. Michelle Hall who said reaching this stage followed a “very long journey” for local campaigners who had been “great advocates” for a new community hub.
Cllr Hall said the multi-purpose facility would play an important role in supporting families across the area, particularly through the services provided by Connect Family Resource Centre and other organisations that work with vulnerable children and young people.
She noted recent reports showing Louth has one of the highest rates of children in care – in comparison to other counties – and said family resource centres often “do a lot of the heavy lifting” in delivering early intervention and support services.
Welcoming the support from councillors, the chairperson of the Board of Moneymore Townland Community Hub CLG said: “This facility will be transformative. It means existing services like Connect FRC, Foroige Cable Youth Diversion, and an expanded after-school care service at Moneymore Community Crèche will finally have the much-needed space to meet the growing needs of families, children and young people.”
“The population growth of Drogheda generally, and Northside Drogheda specifically, has outpaced all government projections,” said the chairperson.
“The Northern Environs plan envisages the construction of approximately 20,000 new housing units. Already the catchment area for these vital existing services extends far beyond the location of the building in Moneymore.”
The next step for the project will see an application for capital funding in 2027.
“Securing Part 8 planning is a massive step towards this,” the chairperson added.
“The Board would like to extend our thanks to Louth County Council, our strategic lead on the project, as well as Louth Local Development, the Drogheda Implementation Board and everyone who has sent letters of support over the years.
We would also like to thank the local businesses who continue to so generously support our fundraising activities.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme