Mullinavat businessman, Seamus Walsh, says the delays involved in developing the former Ard Ri site are not his fault.
Speaking on Deise Today, he says an ongoing case involving the Ard Ri has held the site up since plans for a 150 room hotel were announced in 2017.
Around the time he was bidding on the property, a dispute arose involving third parties which has since been before the court of appeal. It is this dispute and the ensuing legal argument which has paused development on the site.
Decisions regarding the dispute are still before the courts and while Seamus Walsh remains the owner of the site, he says his hands are tied currently.
The Mullinavat man rejects a statement made by Waterford Council in recent years which laid blame for development delays on the site with him. He says Waterford Council were aware of the dispute before the courts and the need to pause any development plans and says he has since spoken to Council Executives on the matter.
He is committed to developing the plot of land which sits within the Kilkenny border to build a 3-star apartment hotel with 132 rooms as part of a €350 million investment into Waterford and the South East. The investment is planned over the next five to ten years.
Investment
Among the proposed developments are a 3-star apart-hotel development to be located on the Kilkenny plot of land near the former Ard Ri, a five acre eco-park overlooking the city of Waterford, 455 residential units of houses and apartments, and a neighbourhood centre incorporating shops, a creche, and a medical centre.
Having just bought an 8 acre site in New Ross with his son, Finn, the Mullinavat business man is turning his eye back to Waterford. The New Ross site is situated along the South side of the river in New Ross, with a pricetag of more than €2.2 million understood to have been agreed.
