February 2008
Offaly Community Arts Centre Initiative (O.C.A.C.I.) was formed in 2000 . The main focus of the organization is to act as a lobby group which represents various arts groups and individuals. O.C.A.C.I. for several years, have been calling for the provision of a purpose built arts centre in Tullamore that would provide the people of Offaly access to visual and performing arts.
ACCESS 1
In 2000 The Government announced a new scheme of funding for the arts. called ACCESS 1. In this scheme 43M was allocated to qualifying arts projects. OCACI was formed at this stage to lobby the County Council to apply for part of this funding. The Council however were unable to apply at the time as they felt they had no suitable site in their ownership- part of the ACCESS 1 guidelines stated that the applicant must have a suitable site in their ownership. As a result no application for grant aid was made before the deadline of 31st October 2000.
ARTS STUDY
O.C.A.C.I. continued their pressure on the County Council over the next few years and many meetings were held to try and further an arts centre for the Town. The County Council commissioned an arts study to be carried out, and appointed consultants Susan Coughlan and associates in May 2002. O.C.A.C.I. made a significant submission to this study and as a result had a meeting with the consultants. In our submission O.C.A.C.I. proposed the Library site as the preferred site at the time, as (a) it was in County Council ownership, (b) redevelopment of the Library was planned and a Library plus Arts Centre seemed a mutually complimentary development and (c) its central and prominent position in O’Connor Square.
Over the years a small working group within OCACI has continued to meet. The issue was raised from time to time by Councillors. However, any further positive news of an arts centre seemed to be pushed to the back burner due to other demands on infrastructure and resources.
2006/ACCESS 2
In 2006, aware that a new round of funding for the arts, ACCESS 2 had been announced O.C.A.C.I. collected a petition of close to 1,000 signatures supporting the development of an Arts Centre and asking that Offaly County Council make application for funding under this programme. The County Council did apply for funding under this new ACCESS 2 programme for the Arts. In November 2006 Press headlines reported that the County Council had announced that Tullamore was to have a 20m. Library and Arts Centre located in O’Connor Square. However, to date no progress appears to happening on this site.
In April 2007, the County Council was approved for €2m for a Library and Arts Centre. This was part of an overall €32m. Government funding towards 67 projects under the ACCESS 2 scheme. To qualify, projects must be completed before the end of 2009.
Note: Tullamore was one of only three centres that qualified for €2m – the highest amount awarded under the scheme. The other two being Solas Picture House in Galway and Kilkenny Integrated Cultural Facility. Overall 155 applications were received totaling around €200m.
O.C.A.C.I. has sent a letter to Tullamore and County (Tullamore area) Councillors (copy attached) . We feel that the € 2m of grant aid is very significant, and if it is lost for any reason, we may never get a similar opportunity again.
In the County Council’s recently published Arts Plan 2007-2011 , no specific mention is made of the Library site, – or any site, as a location for an Arts centre. We believe the Library site is still being considered, but to date we have seen no plans. The only positive sign is that there is €2m available which was not there this time last year- but it has a time limit, and nine months have already gone by since the grant announcement.
It appears that some form of public/private partnership is the most likely outcome for an arts centre, given the demands on finances for a major project such as this. As well as the library site, there may be a number of possible new locations available now, that were not available some years ago. O.C.A.C.I. has been shown a presentation of one proposal recently, based around the Heritage centre. This is the first specific proposal our group has seen. There may be others being considered by the planning department and by the executive of Offaly County Council. However, a decision must be made shortly – within months, given the lead in time required for major building projects such as an arts centre. The time limit for the drawdown of grant is the end of 2009 for completed projects. If this money is lost for any reason, it would be an absolute crime.