St Brigid’s to go on sale in autumn

SURPLUS lands and buildings on the former St Brigid's Mental Hospital site in Ballinasloe are due to be put on the market by the end of September.

A meeting of the Regional Health Forum West heard last week that work is underway to determine the extent of lands that will be retained for use by the HSE while the remainder will be put up for sale.

Cleanup and maintenance work on some of the buildings is continuing in a bid to protect them from deteriorating any further. Local Cllr Alan Harney raised concerns that people had gained access to the site and had posted on social media. He called for security measures to be "tackled without delay" as people were posting that they had broken into the building.

The Fine Gael councillor reiterated his call for a map to be provided outlining the areas that are to be sold. “I can’t figure out how those maps could be regarded as commercially sensitive,” questioned Cllr Harney. He believes that access to the maps is important for community stakeholders to allow them sufficient tome to plan for what they can do with those lands.

Assistant National Director for Capital and Estates at HSE, Niall Colleary said that the maps would only be released after the lands are put on the open market.

The HSE has earmarked parts of the campus to develop an ambulance base and enhanced primary care hub for Ballinasloe. Mr Colleary said that it is a priority project and will be progressed soon, but “it’s very early days” to give an accurate timeline.