Belvedere funding article described as ‘political’ at council meeting

A lead article in the Westmeath Examiner stating that Belvedere House and Gardens, Mullingar, has lost €4m since 2010 was described as “unhelpful” and “political” at a meeting of Westmeath County Council last week.

Cllr Ken Glynn was “taken aback by the headlines,” which he said “weren’t helpful”.

Cllr Mick Dollard “sensed there was an element of politics to it – which I didn’t like” – while the cathaoirleach, Cllr Aengus O’Rourke, remarked that the local elections of 2024 seem to be well under way in Mullingar.

The article featured a submission made by Mullingar Chamber of Commerce to the formation and development of the draft Tourism Strategy for 2023-2027. In it they called on the council to “plan for a strategic review of Belvedere in 2023 and 2024 at the very latest as part of this strategy to identify the best possible use of this asset going forward, as a public amenity”.

Jimmy Dalton, head of finance, said the council welcomed all submissions. This submission from Mullingar Chamber of Commerce was received on March 27 and was marked “private and confidential”.

“That submission will receive the very same attention that any submission receives and will be reviewed in a constructive way, but it was marked private and confidential,” he said.

Mr Dalton said a number of local authorities run facilities such as Belvedere, but the bulk of them are run by the Office of Public Works, and are government funded. This council was fortunate to have the opportunity and the ability to run facilities such as these, of which there are a number, he said.

Mr Dalton remarked that it was important to understand the nature and purpose of a facility such as Belvedere. It operates year round and brings significant funding benefits to the local and wider economy which do not form part of the council’s annual accounts. While the council seeks to minimise the nett funding requirement in running facilities such as Belvedere, the operation should not, and can not, be viewed solely in the context of nett funding requirement, he stated.

He went on to say that the submission recognises the importance of Belvedere, but there were a couple of points on which he wished to comment. The submission raised “a concern in terms of appropriate use of public funds”.

“It is important to state that we do not believe that the nett funding requirement for Belvedere is an inappropriate use of public funds,” he responded.

In relation to a comment that the situation would simply not be sustainable in the private sector, Mr Dalton said it is important to maintain a perspective. “One needs to be comparing like with like and have a fuller appreciation and understanding of the nature and role played by a facility such as Belvedere,” he said.

He also challenged “a comment about a total absence of amenities provided at Belvedere, a total absence!”.

“There is no activity that you would look at and say you could not make that better, but we don’t believe it is accurate to say there is almost a total absence of amenities,” Mr Dalton said.

In his remarks, Cllr Dollard stated: “It is not true to say there are not proactive activities out there. In fact, on a monthly basis the BLE use the grounds, and on an annual basis the Westmeath cross country athletics take place out there,” .

“I read it as a public representative and I felt there was politics involved in this submission that was made,” he added.

Cllr Denis Leonard said tourism and recreational sites, no more than transport, should not always be seen as a profit making venture, but rather as a public service.

Cllr Frank McDermott was baffled that a submission marked “private and confidential” should appear “all over our local media”.

“It wouldn’t impress me. There seems to be some other agenda mixed in there and I would prefer it didn’t happen like that,” he said.

Cllr Louise Heavin agreed that Belvedere brought an intangible benefit to the town and county. “You get serious bang for your buck by investing in heritage and that isn’t something that should be glossed over, but is something that should be appreciated, and more of it please.”

Cllr O’Rourke was surprised by the article, particularly as it came from a Mullingar voice about an asset in the town. “I trust that the local elections of 2024 seem to be well under way in Mullingar,” he commented.

Cllr Smyth said she echoed the comments made about Belvedere.