Hopes old Headford Courthouse can be put to community use
Councillors in Headford are hopeful of seeing some progress on a new licence which could see Headford Courthouse reopening for use as a public space.
A survey of the premises, which has been left unoccupied for many years, was recently completed. The report was sent to Galway County Council just before Christmas.
Councillors Mary Hoade and Andrew Reddington are hoping this report will lead to an update from the executive on what their plans are for the building.
“I know the local community have made a request to look at taking over the premises as it is very hard to get anywhere in Headford to do anything at the minute,” stated Cllr Hoade during the January meeting of the Tuam Municipal District Council.
Over 40 voluntary or community groups are currently active in the Headford area. They range from sports clubs to interest groups, historical and heritage groups, an amateur theatre society, as well as four community choirs.
Cllr Reddington, through his role with the Headford and District Association, has been working on getting a licence to turn the town’s courthouse into a community facility for the past few years.
He hopes they can obtain a ten-year lease for the site, as they endeavour to meet the needs of as many voluntary groups as possible.
“The courthouse in Headford is not in that bad of shape. All we need to do is take up the carpet and replace it and fix the leak in the roof. Around €30,000 would sort the whole thing out,” added Reddington.
“At this stage all we are looking for is some form of an update on the future of this building, as the process of finding out anything has been extremely slow. If the executive say we cannot use that building, at least we can stop working on it and finally move on.”
The Director of Services for the Tuam Region Micheal Owens confirmed that a report on the Headford Courthouse had been received.
He noted that the future use of the building was still under consideration, but he was happy to come back to councillors with an update on their plans at their February meeting.