The decision by Cork County Council to grant planning permission for Doneraile Court, which is a state-protected structure, has been welcomed by Minister for Research and Innovation Seán Sherlock T.D.
Permission has been granted for the change of use from vacant residential on the upper ground floor to exhibition rooms and associated facilities for public use.
“There has been over €500,000 spent on the park over the past two and half years since the Government took office. I have been working closely with my ministerial colleague Brian Hayes and this is a signal of further commitment to the Doneraile region,” the minister stated.
The planning permission sought to include new disabled parking spaces and the provision of a new entrance door.
Conditions to the planning permission include an archaeological and architectural record of the house, including masonry, joinery fixtures and fittings. Once the works are complete, a final report on the building will be prepared and submitted to Cork County Council and the National Monuments Service of the Department of Arts, Heritage and Gaeltacht for inclusion in the overall building record.
Ministers Sherlock and Hayes recently opened the newly renovated Triumphal Arch at the entrance to the park in the latest instalment of the OPW restoration plan.