Arts Centre project moves to next stage

The signing of design contracts for Tullamore's Community Arts Centre, which took place last Thursday week, means a shift in pace for the project and a progression to planning stage within weeks according to the chairperson of the Arts Centre board Desmond Doyle. The arts centre project for Offaly's county town moved to its next stage on January 26, with both board members and architects from A2 Architects on hand to sign the dotted line. "Signing the contracts represents a significant shift in pace now, and will allow the project to progress to planning phase within a matter of weeks," Mr Doyle said after the signing had been completed. "People may have wondered why this process took a number of months," he continued, "but this is a complicated procedure and we wanted to be sure that we are entering into a watertight agreement to protect the finance been generated by the community and the public funding we have been allocated. Nobody would have thanked us for rushing into this without serious deliberation to all aspects of the design team and delivery, fee and health and safety considerations." The next step for the project includes topographical site surveys and the planning process. All going smoothly it's expected the tender process for the construction of the project will be advertised in the summer. Meanwhile a fundraising draw that was originally looking to raise €200,000 for the project is in its final stage and now is expected to raise just short of that target at €160,000. Anyone thinking of buying a ticket is being encouraged to do so during February, as the draw will be closed at that point. The Arts Centre board acknowledged the mammoth effort that has already gone into this project last week, particularly by those selling tickets for the local fundraising draw. Meanwhile any suggestions for additional fundraising events and activities that may be held over the course of the rest of this year should be emailed to support@tullamorecommunityartscentre.ie. Progress on the project can be followed at www.tullamorecommunityartscentre.ie or on Facebook.