People deserve update on €53m event centre, says ex-brewery chief

The former head of Beamish and Crawford has become the latest person to voice public fears about the future of the stalled €53m Cork event centre project on the former brewery site.

Business consultant Alf Smiddy, who was chairman and managing director of Beamish and Crawford plc from 1998 and 2008, said he fears the ongoing delays and uncertainty could threaten the availability of some €20m in state aid to get the project off the ground.

And he said it was “high time” that the owners of the historic South Main St site, in conjunction with the Government, make a “full statement about where things stand on the development”.

“The brewery site and South Main St generally are absolutely steeped in history, and I know that our citizens and public representatives are deeply frustrated with the continued delay and what appears as general obfuscation on plans to develop the site,” he said.

His comments come two weeks after the second anniversary of the sanctioning of some €20m of public funding — €12m from government and €8m from Cork City Council. Next month marks the first anniversary of the high-profile sod-turning on the site by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

While demolition has taken place on a portion of the site, construction work on the event centre has yet to start. It is a key element of the overall €150m Brewery Quarter regeneration of the site.

The project’s main partners — developers BAM, site owners Heineken, and event centre operators Live Nation — won a competitive tender for the public funding over rival Owen O’Callaghan’s event centre plan on Albert Quay. They have repeatedly insisted that the event centre project is on track, with work ongoing on detailed internal designs.

However, it has been dogged by delays, with criticism mounting over the ongoing uncertainty.

Alf Smiddy: Fears delays could threaten funding

Mr Smiddy said the people of Cork deserved to know what was going on: “Given that the Government has committed to pump €20m of taxpayers’ money into the development of this private investment, can the people of Cork and Munster for once and for all get a full update by way of a statement from the owners on where things stand, and particularly what the critical timelines are from now to the completion of the project.

“I know that our people are beginning to seriously wonder if the right decision was made here, with a view being continually expressed that the convention centre for Cork would have been well built by now if the alternative site was chosen.”

Mr Smiddy said, given his 20-year association with Beamish brewery and his deep interest in the site and its brewing history, which dates to 1602, he is asked regularly about the project.

“And I actually don’t have a clue, and like everyone else we are all weary of the general speculation and obfuscation, and deeply frustrated that the full plans have not been announced. I fear that the Government — and our local and national government representatives — will, given the monumental pressures on state resources, soon wake up and begin to ask serious questions as to whether such taxpayers’ and state resources would be better invested elsewhere —for example in social housing in Cork, upgrading our city and county road infrastructure, clearing up dereliction in the city, tourism initiatives.

“The great philanthropist brewers, Messrs William Beamish and William Crawford, who invested so much private resource in supporting Cork and our citizens over the centuries, are probably looking down on us totally mystified and appalled with everything.”

City Hall has given the developers until January 31 to finish the internal designs, finalise the costings, and brief councillors on a definitive timeline.