Mitchelstown Leisure committee revealed their new plan for the canon’s field this week after the proposed swimming pool for the site were abandoned earlier this year.

All those who had made submissions to the committee, including business, community and private individuals from the town and surrounding areas, attended the meeting.

While there will be no swimming pool at the site, chairman Ben Lynch said that the plans will include enough land at the canon’s field that if, in the future, a swimming pool can be provided, then there will be enough room at the site.

“We have completed an intense phase of consultation with sports clubs, community organisations and members of the public over the last few months to get feedback on the facilities needed for the town. We are delighted with both the number of submissions we received and also the range of suggestions. Those involved with the town’s youth, voluntary and sporting organisations know what facilities are needed most urgently for Mitchelstown and we hope to be able to play our part in providing those facilities,” Mr Lynch told The Avondhu on Tuesday.

While the proposed community centre will include space for a much-needed Youth Cafe, an enlarged Day Care facility for the elderly and meeting rooms for local organisations.

There will also be an indoor multi-purpose hall capable of accommodating sports like badminton, basketball, indoor football and even a climbing wall. It is also hoped that the hall will be adaptable for concerts if needs be.

An outdoor all-weather pitch, floodlit to maximise use over the long winter months when many clubs cannot use their own facilities, could also be available to the schools located nearby. It is also envisaged that Mitchelstown Lawn Tennis Club would re-locate to the new complex from George’s Street.

“While it is early days yet, the very positive response from all involved is very encouraging. It is our intention to move as quickly as possible while keeping all interested parties aware of what is happening. Obviously, building costs are very competitive at this stage and we want to ensure that Mitchelstown benefits from this”, Mr Lynch said.

With almost €2 million available to the leisure committee, other groups in the town have also indicated an interest. The Mitchelstown Forum have made a submission to locate a 10,000 sq ft enterprise centre alongside the community centre with which it could share some of the facilities such as meeting rooms, cafe and car parking.

“The leisure group has cash available of about €1,850,000 at present. The Enterprise Ireland grant of €450,000 for the enterprise centre will go a long way towards that part of the development and they are confident of securing more funding”, Mr Lynch said.

Chairman of the Forum, Tom Whelton is very positive about the future for the community centre in Mitchelstown.

“We at the Forum welcome the proposed plans for the canon’s field. It’s a great opportunity to bring these much needed facilities to the people and especially the youth of Mitchelstown”, Mr Whelton told The Avondhu.

As for the next step in the development of the community leisure centre, Ben Lynch said: “We have responded to the submissions by giving feedback on what we feel is a feasible development but we know there is still a lot of work to be done. Our immediate priority is to appoint a professional to examine all the submissions, assess the facilities and services already catered for in the town and arrive at a development brief for the site”.

It is hoped that a consultant’s report will be completed by the end of September