A FORMER Dundrum pub, which has lain derelict since it was blown up by the IRA 50 years ago, is to be redeveloped.
Dundrum Development Association has purchased the site of the former Castle Vaults bar, at the junction of Main Street and Manse Road, and plans to develop it to create two retail outlets, several apartments and car parking.
After the explosion in 1972 part of the bar was demolished but the former lounge bar was retained, and opened briefly some years later before closing permanently. Now the remains of the building are to be demolished to make way for the new community development.
The condition of the building has been causing concern locally in recent years and there has been evidence of young people gaining access to the derelict building.
A wooden hoarding has been erected around the site before a planning application is made for the new development.
The purchase of the site is a major step for Dundrum Development Association which has been keen to address the problem of dereliction in the village, particularly along the Main Street.
Dr Paddy McComiskey, the chairman of Dundrum Development Association, said the purchase is an important one for the Association and for the village community.
Money to purchase the property comes from the proceeds of the sale of the eight Murlough Holiday Cottages and the Round Tower restaurant which were developed by the Association when it was first established in the early 1990s.
“When we made the decision to sell the holiday homes and the restaurant, and to further develop other homes on the site, it was to provide us with the money to invest back into the community for the benefit of our residents,” said Dr McComiskey.
“We have been able to support our schools, sports clubs and community organisations in the village in recent years but the purchase of the former Castle Vaults sites is a major investment in a site of dereliction which has been a blight on the village for 50 years,” he added.
“It is a statement of our intent to tackle the problem of dereliction in the village and we hope that this will be the catalyst for the development or other sites in the village which have seen better days.”
