THRIVE – The Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme

THRIVE – The Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme

THRIVE is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union under the Northern and Western Regional Programme 2021-27.

‘REVIVAL OF THE COURTHOUSE’ PROJECT LETTERKENNY

September 2025: THRIVE Strand 2 Announcement: €7 Million Government & EU Co-funding Awarded for the Revival of the Courthouse Project, Letterkenny.

Following the notification by the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Mr James Browne, on 17 September 2025, Donegal County Council has been awarded up to €7 million following a successful application under Strand 2 of the Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme (THRIVE) for the redevelopment of Former Letterkenny Courthouse.

THRIVE is part of the Northern and Western Regional Programme which is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union.

Following a successful THRIVE Strand 1 Award in March 2024, Donegal County Council was awarded €199,969k to progress plans and to support a subsequent Strand 2 funding application. Through the Strand 1 Award, Donegal County Council appointed a heritage/architectural-led, multi-disciplinary design team (Robin Lee Architecture) to plan and project develop the imaginative re-adaptative reuse of the former courthouse building, to develop a shovel-ready capital investment project.  

Following a series of successful stakeholder engagement events including public consultation inside the Old Courthouse Building, including collaborative workshops with stakeholders such as ATU and Letterkenny CDP, the Council met with many individuals and community groups to explore a series of design options and potential end uses for the building. This was subsequently shaped by the publication and subsequent approval by Donegal County Council of a Part 8 planning proposal in May 2025.

The delivery of this Part 8 Project, facilitated by THRIVE Strand 1 and secured through the recent THRIVE Strand 2 Award of €7million now seeks to:

1. Retain, retrofit, adapt and extend this vacant and protected heritage building using a heritage-led approach.

2. Transform the building to provide flexible space with multi-functional capacity to include:

1. An immersive and interactive visitor attraction and an integrated (relocated) Tourism Information Point.
2. Creating space for interpretation, exhibition, conferences, edu-tainment, education & learning.
3. Support multi-purpose space for civic, cultural and community uses.
4. Provide an ancillary café and retail space (including gift shop).
5. Provide for ancillary office space, storage, public convenience (incorporating a ‘Changing Places’ venue).

3. Associated public realm, landscaping improvements and ancillary works including connection to utilities and services, new public lighting, green roof system, signage and public art.

This Town Centre First Heritage Revival Scheme targets towns and regional growth centres seeking to transform publicly owned vacant or derelict heritage buildings within those town centres through renovation, renewal, and adaptive reuse. In County Donegal, Letterkenny is the only eligible town that qualifies for this fund and the former courthouse building in Letterkenny is the only vacant, historic and publicly owned building.

This ‘Revival at the Courthouse’ Project forms one of 15 regeneration projects identified for delivery within the already completed Integrated Urban Regeneration Strategy for Letterkenny, entitled the ‘Letterkenny 2040’ Regeneration Strategy (LKY 2040).  Over the past 18 months, Donegal County Council has worked with Letterkenny communities to strengthen and expand citizen and stakeholder engagement which informed and co-designed the production of the collaborative Letterkenny 2040 Strategy in 2022. The Strategy identifies the building for a tourism led end use to meet the needs of visitors and the local community across themes of culture, place, environment, climate and learning. Citizen engagement to date has explored the building’s potential for ancillary/dual use of spaces for community/cultural activities. In implementing this THRIVE project, Donegal County Council has embraced the values and working principles of the New European Bauhaus, an initiative of the European Union, which aims to ensure strategies and projects are sustainable, aesthetically pleasing, inclusive and accessible.

Following the Strand 2 Award of €7million in September 2025, the Council will now progress plans to develop the project, through the appointment of an Integrated Design Team to take the project through detailed design construction delivery on the ground. This process will build on previous engagement and collaboration to date with citizens, communities and stakeholders to ensure the viable and sustainable development of this publicly owned historic and vacant building in Donegal’s strategic settlement.

• For more information on the Letterkenny 2040 Regeneration Strategy and Masterplan, please visit: https://www.letterkenny2040.ie/
• For more information on THRIVE in the North West Region, please visit: https://www.nwra.ie/thrive/
• For more information on the Revival of the Courthouse Project, please contact: regeneration@donegalcoco.ie

See attached Press Release from the Northern and Western Regional Assembly:   https://www.nwra.ie/massive-tourism-boost-as-nwra-announces-e7m-funding-for-letterkenny-courthouse-revival-project/