New Buncrana Leisure Centre plans expected to progress next week

Sinn Féin Councillor, Jack Murray, was speaking as he welcomed confirmation that Part 8 planning approval for Buncrana Leisure Centre is to come before the plenary sitting of Donegal County Council on Monday.

Speaking in advance of the meeting, Colr. Murray described this development as “a critical, and long-awaited juncture”- in the “painfully long saga to get our new leisure centre constructed”.

“There have been many false dawns over the years but now that designs and plans are agreed, and planning is to be approved – which I expect it will – then we will have taken a massive step forward,” he said.

Councillors have previously been told that the design team have ‘very exciting proposals for the site and layout of the Leisure centre’, but there have been concerns over the length of time it is taking for the project to be realised.

“Last year, I moved a motion which was unanimously backed by all councillors, asking the council to expand the Repowering Buncrana Project to include the leisure centre. This application is now expanded to seek over €20million - by far the largest amount of public investment in the history of the town. Since then, a huge amount of work has been carried out by the council and the leisure centre committee so I am hopeful that this application will be successful, and that funding will be secured,” Colr. Murray said.

“Nonetheless, this couldn’t move forward without planning approval in place. And I have no doubt this will be approved, given the previous backing of all councillors throughout Donegal in the past.

“I know that the leisure centre remains one of the big demands for the people of Inishowen so it’s essential that all of us keep working together until we have the top-class facility that our community deserves.”