Granard Enterprise Centre hopes reach a crucial stage
Talks over a new enterprise centre being set up in one of north Longford's busiest towns hinge on whether almost €250,000 in funding can be approved by central government, it has emerged.
Cllr PJ Reilly said in the course of a recent conversation with the County Manager, Tim Caffrey, he was told that Enterprise Ireland had approved half of the expected purchase of a building with the remaining 50 percent coming from Longford County Council.
That would mean the local authority having to contribute €240,000, an outlay that could not be endorsed without the Department of Environment and Local Government's approval.
"I met the Tim Caffrey Co Manager last week and I can say the building of an enterprise centre is off because of the cost of €960,000," he simply outlined. "Enterprise Ireland would give a commitment of €300,000 towards it but another €660,000 would have to be generated which is not possible to raise. What they (Enterprise Board) are talking of is a figure of €480,000 to €500,000 to complete the units. Enterprise Ireland will give €240,000 of that and the other €240,000 is to come from Longford County Council.
"The difficulty he (Mr Caffrey) has is that to sanction the €240,000, he has to go to the department for special concession because of the financial times we are living in at the moment and that's where it stands at the moment."
Granard Town Manager, Ciaran Murphy said the site in question for the new centre was in the ownership of the Office of Public Works and that consensus had yet to be reached as to its financial implications.
Town Mayor, Cllr Tommy Stokes gave his support to the talks in what he said was a timely boost to the town's economic future.
"I know the building and where it is and I have to say I would be delighted to see Enterprise Ireland taking it over and getting it for us. What's happened is Teemore (Industrial Estate) is not ready and the grant won't be there," he pointed out.
In response, Cllr Reilly said the hope amongst board members of Longford County Enterprise Board was that the money invested by Longford County Council would be repaid in full from tenancy agreements connected to the new centre.
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Weather for Longford, Ireland
Sunday 05 February 2012
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