Tipperary Sinn Féin TD Martin Browne has been told of further delays and rising costs in the consideration of the Palmers Hill site for Cashel’s Community Nursing Unit, with no guarantee that this will be the last site to be considered. The Cashel based TD today release a reply from the HSE Estates office which manages property for the organisation.
The HSE says it will be making on submission on the development of the Cashel Local Area Plan(LAP) – before making a decision the Palmers Hill site which is owned by the HSE. Tipperary County Council is yet to commence the process of producing a new Cashel Local Area Development Plan. A decision on purchasing adjacent land at Palmers Hill is not expected until the LAP process is concluded – expected in 2025. The HSE has been engaging with Tipperary County Council on a number of factors, including access to the site, the possible purchase of adjacent land, as well as the current zoning of the location.
Deputy Browne is again calling on the HSE to focus on delivering the Community Nursing Unit in town centre rather than at the Palmers Hill site on the north east side of the town. The TD is also concerned that an architect has been hired to “progress the option” of developing on the Palmers Hill site while the HSE is also considering other sites. The HSE response says it is a priority to deliver a 60 bed unit for Cashel and commits only to selecting a site by the end of year. The planning application for the Unit was originally to be submitted in 2019 for development on land at St Patrick’s hospital.
