Vets bank on new site

A CITY veterinary practice that is almost 90 years in business has made a €1 million-plus move to a brand new site — having knocked a bank branch to build anew.

The new hospital for Abbeyville Veterinary is at Clash Road in Cork’s Togher, near Lidl, on the site of a former permanent TSB bank branch which it bought three years ago via DTZ, for a price in the mid-€300,000s.

Now, in place of bank tellers and vaults and cash are cats and vets and surgeries, in a 4,700 sq ft two-storey building. The practice originated in the old Conway’s Yard off the city centre’s Oliver Plunkett Street, and has served all animals callings for decades — including funeral directors’ hearse horses, among other trades depending on single horse power transport.

“Farm animals were also commonly treated in places such as Douglas, Blackrock, Bishopstown and Ballyphehane,” recounts Abbeyville vet Richard Lane, “there was a place too in the early years for the ‘companion animal,’ with plenty of references to sick dogs, bitches whelping and cats fighting in places such as Boreenmanna Road, Tivoli and the Western Road!”

Abbeyville moved in 1982 to a two-storey house in Togher, mixing large animal practice around the city on farms, and small animals in the building, and now has a purpose-built facilities in a building designed by Kiosk Architects, as well as a second office in Carrigaline. Also involved were DL Group Consulting Engineers, and contractors were Dennehy Builders, from Cattlemarket Street in Cork City.

“The business has expanded and we have more staff and we had traffic and parking issues at Togher Road. We have a strong desire to keep abreast of modern medical and surgical developments, so we made the decision to move to this new purpose-built facility at Clashduv Road,” adds Mr Lane. “The contemporary design and building is definitely an improvement on the disused bank building it replaced, and will have more than adequate parking and access with purpose built consult rooms, surgeries, kennels, cattery, grooming facilities and offices.”

The original bank building dated to the 1970s, to a then-contemporary design, and had c 1,800 sq ft on a quarter acre site by Vicars Road.

Details: DTZ Sherry FitzGerald 021-4275454