Where’s best to build stuff?  How much should it cost?  And where does the money come from?

Waterford is Ireland’s Oldest City and the county is considered one of the most attractive in the country – combining beautiful coastline, high-end manufacturing, quality jobs, pharma, mountains, good farming and a welcoming people.

The city has long been in need of major investment across many different areas.  One of the big projects in planning and now construction for the past decade is what’s known as ‘the North Quays Project’, on the northside or Ferrybank side of the River Suir.

A new document shows that the project has seen an increase of 115% in costs since it was originally announced.

The North Quays project in Waterford city is now expected to cost at least €237m.

The increased figures mean that Waterford council will have to take out loans for at least thirty million euros over the next three years to help pay for this and other building projects.

The figures are revealed in the Draft Capital Plan 2025 to 2028 for Waterford Council, seen by WLR.

It states the Council needs to spend another eight million euros – on top of what they have spent already – on the North Quays Project.

The draft capital plan is ONLY a draft and has not yet been agreed upon by councillors, who will be discussing various aspects of it this week and over the next few weeks.

It’s part of a Draft Capital Plan for the next three to four years, which outlines details of many more projects.

Here are some of the main points.

• It’s not specified where the money from a lot of the projects is coming from, for example, much might and will be coming from central government or EU related funding or grants or schemes.
• The overall figure states that €177m have been spent so far on the capital projects mentioned in the report, with another €670m required; €10m is expected to be recouped with the expected proceeds of sales relating to the projects; and overall €78m is the additional Waterford council funding required.

BIG ITEMS

Under strategic or development projects, it states that nearly six million has been spent to date on URDF city centre priority projects 1 and 2, but another €64m of additional spend will be needed, of which 5 million will be from the council.

Spending on the Digital hub, Mercyhurst and Court house in Dungarvan is coming in at €28m, of which only €2.3m has been spent so far – the additional Waterford Council funding required will be €6.3m.

Around €7.5m is going to be spent on the RRDF Cappoquin Regeneration Project.

On the airport, the document states that €3.2m has been spent on already, with a further €1.6m required, with this additional funding to be coming from the council coffers.

The cost of Portlaw regeneration projects enabling fund comes in at around one and a quarter million euros, with another five million to be spent on doing up the courthouse, of which one and a quarter million will come from the council.

There are also plans to develop a Museum of Childhood in Waterford city centre – a building has been identified, but major works will be needed to it before it’s ready.

Nothing has been spent so far on the capital aspects of it, but €10m will be needed, of which €1.1m will come from the council.

Heading west and nearly €5m is due to be spent on the Ardmore Town Centre Regeneration construction phase, and another €1.6m on the Ardmore Water and Activity Centre.

Back in the city and nearly €4m has been spent so far on the KRM Michael Street site, with no more funding required, but the council says it expects to get all this four million back with the proceeds of the expected sale of the site.

A new building at the Lafcadio Hearn gardens will cost the council another quarter of a million, half a million is earmarked on the so-called Guardian Project on the quays – we don’t have any more details at present on what exactly is planned.

Four million has been spent to date on acquiring derelict sites around the county and another €3m will be needed.

To Tramore and €5m has been spent on part one of the town’s Development Phase, with another one and a quarter million needed; €1.4m has been spent on the Tramore Water Activity Centre, and €300,000 more is needed.

€1.5m has been spent in Dunmore on regeneration (from the last plan) with €300k more needed.

A quarter of a million is being looked for to do a strategic assessment report on a third bridge across the River Suir in the city area; and €20k on a feasibility study for a swimming pool in Dungarvan.

UPGRADES AND CLIMATE

In terms of infrastructural upgrades, €4.5m more will be needed from the council to do public lights, €1.5m for remedial works on landfill; €2.1m has being spent on Kilmacthomas fire station; €6.3m on what are referred to as other fire service projects; €2.mtwo and a half million on west Waterford stormwater projects; there are plans to spend €4m on footpaths; €1.2m more on piers.

And €3.6m has been spent so far on upgrades to the RSC, with another €1.6m now being sought.

A major figure comes in under the Climate Action active travel sections: but it appears all this money is coming from central government – it states that under active travel projects which include four new greenway routes – 100m will be spent on this….but no extra funding from the council is required.  Yes, 100m.

€3.2m has been spent so far on what’s called a pathfinder upgrade to Splashworld in Tramore.

Under housing, €280m has been spent so far on social housing projects, all coming from central government, while fifteen million has been spent so far on cost rental target – 60 units over four years – and 15m more is needed.

Of the 78m needed by the council, there are various funding steams, but two loans of €15m each are pencilled in – so this plan suggests the council will have to borrow €30m to help pay for everything in the plan.

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