Nearly €4million awarded to refurbish former Bank of Ireland building in Carlow

€90 million in funding has been awarded to local authorities across Ireland through THRIVE – the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme.

€3,900,000 has been awarded to Carlow County Council to refurbish the former Bank of Ireland building located on the Athy road. The building will be renovated into Councillor and local authority public meeting rooms and community meeting space.

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Co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union, THRIVE empowers local authorities to reimagine and adapt heritage buildings to create useful, vibrant and sustainable cultural and community hubs. THRIVE isn’t just about restoring buildings, it’s about nurturing a new design ethos in Irish town regeneration, combining Europe’s green vision with local energy and ambition.

THRIVE demonstrates how strategic investment can ignite local regeneration, bringing design, innovation and community vision together under the Government’s Town Centre First policy and supporting the New European Bauhaus approach.

Through a competitive funding call, local authorities demonstrated how citizen and community engagement determined the most beneficial end use for these buildings. 

Funded projects will include the transformation of disused libraries, barracks, halls, banks and more into spaces such as multi-functional community hubs, museums and event spaces, some of which even have roof gardens for the public to enjoy.

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Welcoming the funding awards, Minister Browne said:

“This funding is about bringing our heritage buildings into the 21st century – giving local authorities the support they need to preserve and protect these important assets, and ensure their sustainable re-use for future generations.

“These kind of regeneration projects add to the vibrancy of our towns and cities – revitalising our urban spaces and making them better places to live, work and visit.”