Plans being progressed for showcase Mayo urban regeneration project

Plans for an €11 million investment on a number of projects in the Mall area of Castlebar are being progressed.

Elected members and officials of Castlebar Municipal District held a workshop to further consider the proposals.

The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage approved funding last month for works on the former Imperial Hotel at the Mall, the old Post Office at Mountain View and the Military Barracks at Rock Square in the town.

The former Imperial Hotel, where the Land League was founded in 1879, is to become an innovation hub while the old post office nearby is to be repurposed as a community youth resource centre.

Work is also set to start on transforming the military barracks site which is now in the ownership of the council.

What is being referred to as the Castlebar Historic Core Reactivation Initiative will fund a strategic renewal from the barracks at Rock Square, through the Mall and onto Ellison Street/Mountain View.

It will also address the issue to dereliction in the vicinity.

The council is to take the opportunity of this investment to carry out a number of other improvements at the Mall, including the creation of a performance arena for local arts and culture organisations.

The workshop also discussed the proposals to extend the greenway through the town centre, for which an addition €2.5 million was recently allocated.

Our splendid image by Jack Walsh Drone Photography provides an overview of the general Mall area.