The Office of Public Works (OPW) is to develop a new conservation and management plan for the historic Oldbridge House and Estate.
Since it was refurbished and opened to the public in 2008 the estate has been a hugely popular amenity both for locals and visitors.
The 500 acres of parklands surrounding the house, with its canal and river walks, walled gardens, sunken garden, peach house picnic areas and tea rooms were an instant success when first introduced and have become even more popular since the opening of the Boyne Trail and boardwalk. It now attracts over 400,000 visitors per year.
The Battle of the Boyne interpretative centre with its exhibition of authentic 17th century armaments and audio-visual presentations attracts over 30,000 visitors a year.
Prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, a further 20,000 came to the site to attend events run by OPW such as military re-enactments, performances by local arts groups, Harvest, Halloween and Christmas Festivals featuring local small food producers and enterprises from the Boyne region.
The OPW now intends to develop an updated Conservation Management Plan to plan for how best to develop and manage the estate in the future.
One of the key issues for consideration in any plan is the conservation and potential use of the historically significant farmyard buildings and the refurbishment of the upper floors of the house.
“The Conservation Management Plan will seek to strike a balance between meeting the needs of the ever-increasing numbers of visitors and sustainable tourism” Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform, Michael McGrath told the Dáil this week in response to a question from local TD Fergus O’Dowd.
“It will set out how future development at Oldbridge Estate will ensure the conservation and protection of this unique historic site as well as supporting the site to continue to contribute to the tourism and economic agenda for Meath and south Louth” he continued.
“Oldbridge is also an important site for biodiversity with a variety of habitats including grasslands, waterways and woodlands and the plan will ensure it continues to support the Government’s objectives in respect of climate change mitigation and biodiversity conservation.
“I can confirm that officials are engaged in a procurement process to contract consultants to develop this plan and that consultants will be appointed in the coming weeks.”
