Ballymote Garda Station, Co Sligo

The new Garda District Headquarters at Ballymote was constructed on the site of the original town bakery and replaced the existing nearby station which was an older building and not suitable for the delivery of a modern policing service.

The new building, which is built over two floors, provides a substantially larger facility than the old building, reflecting its function as a busy District HQ serving a large catchment area of rural Co Sligo. The contents of the old bakery, which are of considerable local historical interest and capture a slice of industrial and social history from a previous era, were handed over on permanent loan to the Ballymote Enterprise Company for public display in the Transport Museum in the town.

Construction commenced on site on 10 March 2008 with the building subsequently being occupied by An Garda Siochana on 30 September 2009.

The accommodation comprises a modern two-storey building with ancillary garage, Divisional Property Store, an ESB substation, a telecommunications mast, a fenced compound and carparking via a gated tree-lined driveway.

The building was designed as a two-storey structure reflecting the scale of the adjoining structures and the building line/roof line of the existing town streetscape. Materials, including the slate roof, were selected to be sympathetic to the building context, which is that of a traditional market town, but expressed in a modern idiom. Other materials used include hardwood cladding, blue/black engineering brick and powder-coated aluminium.

The building was well received by An Garda Siochana and the local community and provides a good central focus for this important civic service within the centre of the town.

Architects:

• Coady Partnership Architects, Mount Pleasant Business Centre, Upper Mount Pleasant Ave, Ranelagh, Dublin 6
• OPW Architectural Services

Mechanical and Electrical Engineers:

• Kyne and Clyne Engineering Consultants Ltd, Calbro Court, Tuam Rd, Galway

Quantity Surveyor:

• McCauls Chartered QS, 45 Wine St, Sligo

Structural Engineer:

• Denis O’Leary and Partners, 12 Rockville Drive, Blackrock, Co Dublin

OPW Services:

• Architectural Services
• Furniture Division
• Property Maintenance Services
• Project Management Services
• Property Management Services

Main Contractor:

• PJ Treacy and Sons Ltd, Tempo Rd, Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, BT 746 HR

Sub-Contractors:

• Mechanical: James Likely Ltd.
• Electrical: Precision Electric (Ireland) Ltd
• Lift: Ennis Lifts