Progress has been made to bring the council owned Dan Breen House in Tipperary town back into use. An online pre planning consultation has opened today and will run until November 2nd. Dan Breen House is a two-storey detached building with a basement and two mezzanine levels located on Davis street . The main building is listed as a Protected Structure.
The building is to be repurposed as a modern Youth and Further Education Training Centre. Youth Work Ireland Tipperary and Tipperary Education and Training Board will be the main tenants and users of the building. The project will encompass the refurbishment of the existing main building, demolition of the old library extension, design of a new extension matching the builder users’ requirements, design of ancillaries such as outbuildings to be repurposed as workshop / training areas and landscape design. The consultation is available to view on the www.tipperarycoco.ie website.
The development proposed will:
- provide a fit-for-purpose youth space and education and training facilities with appropriate access for members of the public and staff
- provide a quality location for provision of youth services in the town
- deliver an essential, high-quality teaching and learning space for further education and training provision in Tipperary.
- provide appropriate study and collaboration space for learners and youth providing access to key supports and learning resources, support staff and dedicated digital supports.
- offer a safe and secure environment that acts as a base for collaboration, innovation and best practice across services within the town.
- provide for greater visibility of services in Tipperary Town offering a recognised central location.
- provide access to a specialised training space to the rear that can be used to develop pre-apprenticeship or specific skills training in areas such as horticulture, animal care, woodcraft, engineering etc.
- create a social enterprise – to support young people unemployed in Tipperary Town to gain training and experience through being employed at a locally based youth café.
Daniel Breen, who was 75 when he died in December 1969, was a volunteer in the Irish Republican Army during the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War – he later served as TD for Tipperary for almost 40 years.
