ABC Council has accepted a £10,000 grant offer from HED’s Historic Environment Fund, towards a conservation management plan designed to safeguard the future structural viability of Armagh Gaol as a valuable asset within the borough.
The money will also be used to review and update the archaeological impact assessment at the site, and associated archaeological mitigation strategy and programme of works.
The matter was mentioned at a recent Economic Development & Regeneration Committee meeting of Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council.
The relevant agenda item states: “The regeneration of Armagh Gaol has been identified as a key priority. The projects aim to find new, sustainable usages for the facility, to prevent its further deterioration and to act as a catalyst for the wider regeneration of the city.
“The preservation of Armagh Gaol’s archaeological site and its setting is of the utmost importance to council and its stakeholders, and the archaeological impact assessment will include a site evaluation to assess the potential of the site for new archaeological discoveries and archaeological constraints.”
The grant funding will be matched with £5,000 from within the existing Tourism, Arts & Culture budgets.
The recommendation to accept the grant funding was proposed by Cllr Thomas O’Hanlon (SDLP, Armagh DEA) and seconded by Alderman Stephen Moutray (DUP, Lurgan DEA).
