Exciting plans to develop former pub in Dundrum

Exciting plans to develop former pub in Dundrum

13 September 2023

THE development of one of Dundrum’s biggest eyesores has taken a major step forward with the submission of a formal planning application.

The former Castle Vaults pub was blown up by the IRA 50 years ago and while it did reopen as a public house it never regained its former popularity and closed down over 20 years ago. 

Since then, it has become increasingly derelict and had become the location for some anti-social behaviour amid concerns that the condition of the building was a risk to public safety.

Last year the site was purchased by Dundrum Development Association (DDA) with the intention of developing the site and removing one of the most prominent derelict sites in the village.

Documents submitted along with the planning application show the intention is to restore the site as close as possible to how it looked before the bomb attack which will also fit in with the architecture of that part of the Dundrum Main Street.

Inside the building there are plans for two commercial units on the ground floor and four, two-bedroom apartments and car parking on the deceptively large site which extends over three stories.

There are also plans for a small public patio and seating area adjacent to the new development at the junction of Main Street and Manse Road.

Money to purchase the property came 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.

A spokesman for the DDA said when the decision was made to sell the holiday homes and restaurant it was to provide the money to invest back into the community.

“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.”