News
€150,000 granted to draft masterplan for St Finan’s site
Kerry County Council has been awarded €150,000 in government funding to progress a Masterplan and Infrastructure Delivery Plan for the St Finan’s Hospital landbank.
The money forms part of a broader regeneration package announced by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage under Category 1A of the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund, which targets longer-term projects for delivery in the later years of the National Development Plan.
The funding will allow Kerry County Council to establish a long-term development roadmap for the 30-acre state-owned property, which has remained largely vacant since the psychiatric hospital closed its doors in 2012.
The masterplan will evaluate access roads, water capacity, and core utility infrastructure needed to unlock the site. It will also establish a formal framework between Kerry County Council, the HSE as property owners, and the Land Development Agency to prepare the location for future statutory consents and funding applications.
Research into the site shows the property is divided into distinct challenges. Land Development Agency reports identified the overall campus as public land capable of delivering between 330 and 460 affordable homes on surrounding open ground at an estimated cost of up to €174 million.
However, the main Victorian building is a protected structure. Upgrading or converting the historic facility alone is estimated to cost upwards of €100 million.
Because of these high refurbishment costs, recent state assessments proposed splitting the site, with the Land Development Agency focusing on developing 6.6 hectares of open land while leaving the HSE to find alternative uses for the main hospital building.
The HSE has previously expressed a preference to dispose of the entire campus as a single unit.
The new €150,000 allocation will directly fund the technical, design, and structural assessments required to align these state bodies and clear a path for future housing and community infrastructure on the site.
GoSafe cameras live at Farranfore level crossing next week
Automated speed cameras at the Farranfore rail level crossing will become fully operational next Wednesday, September 30, as part of a national push to improve safety at railway intersections.
The GoSafe system at crossing XT 131 will monitor passing traffic and automatically log speed violations. Under the enforcement rules, motorists caught exceeding the speed limit through the crossing face an automatic €160 fine and three penalty points. Drivers who break the red warning lights face an €80 fine and three penalty points.
The installation follows an initial announcement in June by Iarnród Éireann, An Garda Síochána, and the Road Safety Authority to mark International Level Crossing Awareness Day.
The automated infrastructure was previously piloted at the Merrion Gates in Dublin to deter dangerous driving and protect rail barriers.
A similar camera system planned for the Minish level crossing outside Killarney is expected to go live shortly after the Farranfore setup is up and running.
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€150,000 granted to draft masterplan for St Finan’s site
Kerry County Council has been awarded €150,000 in government funding to progress a Masterplan and Infrastructure Delivery Plan for the...
GoSafe cameras live at Farranfore level crossing next week
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