New outdoor structure planned for Duckett’s Grove

CARLOW Co Council will build a covered ‘outdoor amenities structure’ in the grounds of Duckett’s Grove, Carlow Municipal District meeting heard last week. The new structure will be built on the site of an existing agricultural shed that was deemed no longer fit for purpose following a review.

The council was awarded funding for the structure under the Participation Nation Outdoor Fund. The fund is a Sports Ireland initiative that provides grants to local sports partnerships for permanent, accessible and community-based sports infrastructure.

Barry Knowles, senior executive officer with Carlow Co Council, revealed that the council had not received the full amount of funding that it had wished for but that it was going to press ahead with building the structure.

Mr Knowles said that with the funding the council had received, “there will still be plenty of space and shelter for an outdoor events space. This can be used for community events”.

The council has decided on a “tensile pathway structure”, which Mr Knowles assured members of the council would “complement the historic structure of Duckett’s Grove”.

Work on the structure should start soon and Mr Knowles said: “We’re currently just going to go to tender for the tensile structure and the contractors will start on the events space in the next two to three weeks.” Duckett’s Grove has hosted a number of sporting events over the past few years.