Work underway on new council chamber

Work has recently commenced on providing a new council chamber within Meath County Council's headquarters at Buvinda House with works expected to be completed in the first quarter of next year.

Ambitious plans for a large 3,200 sqm extension to provide a new council chamber and additional office space which were granted planning permission two years ago, have been scaled back due to cost and instead the project has been divided into two phases.

The first will see modifications within the existing headquarters building to provide a new council chamber, while the second phase will provide for a smaller extension for additional office space.

Director of Services Dara McGowan explained that the need for additional office space has arisen due to the council's office-based workforce increasing significantly, growing from around 400 staff when the council moved into Buvinda House to more than 750 last year.

"To accommodate this growth, the Council originally planned an extension to Buvinda House that included additional office accommodation and a purpose-built Council Chamber. While planning permission was secured for the development, inflationary pressures have led to a revised approach, with the project now being delivered in two separate phases," he said. Mr McGowan outlined that the first phase focuses on the provision of a new council chamber within the existing footprint of Buvinda House. This will involve reconfiguring part of the open-plan office area, including the removal of a number of workstations, to create a modern chamber designed to meet the Council's long-term needs.

The new facility will provide enhanced capacity and accessibility along with the audiovisual technology required to support in-person, remote and hybrid meetings.

In recent weeks, staff from that section of the building have been relocated to facilitate the project and the contractor has moved on site with works expected to be completed in quarter one of 2027. The second phase relates to the additional office accommodation required to support the significant increase in staff numbers in recent years, as well as the staff displaced as part of the Council Chamber development. Design work on this element has commenced, and it is anticipated that a planning application will be submitted during 2027.