Clubhouse Redevelopment Project Update

Gaeilge
Tá borradh le brath leis an tionscadal don clubtheach nua.

An tseachtain seo caite d’eisíomar an tairiscint leis an foirgneamh a thógáil. Tá rialacha dochta maidir le soláthar poiblí á leanúint chun a chinntiú go bhfaighimid an praghas is fearr faoi phróiseas atá cóir agus láidir.

Tá sé dearbhaithe againn go ndeonófar deimhnithe sábháilteachta dóiteáin agus rochtana do dhaoine faoi mhíchumas don fhoirgneamh.

Táimid ar aon intinn maidir le príomhthéarmaí an léasa; beidh an foirgneamh faoi chúram Cuala saor ó chíos ar feadh téarma 99 bliain. Tá sé deimhnithe ag foireann bhainistíochta feidhmiúcháin Dhún Laoghaire-Ráth an Dúin go mbeidh siad ag moladh na dtéarmaí seo agus iad ag lorg cead na gComhairleoirí Áitiúla sna míonna beaga amach romhainn.

Tá neart oibre le déanamh sa chéad tréimhse eile, agus tá go leor páirtithe gníomhach (Cuala agus ár ndlíodóirí, Dalkey United agus a gcuid dlíodóirí, DLRCoCo agus a roinn dlí, Comhairleoirí Áitiúla, an Roinn Spóirt, Oifig na nObreacha Poiblí mar chomhairleoirí tógála na Roinne Spóirt, Oifig an Phríomh Aturnae an Stáit, an Fhoireann Deartha d’ailtirí agus d’innealtóirí agus de shuirbhéirí cainníochta, srl.). Dá bharr sin, tá sé an-deacair tabhairt faoi am-chlár go muiníneach.

Agus é sin san áireamh, tá súil againn conradh tógála a shíniú an samhradh seo, bogadh amach as an gclubtheach ag an am sin, an tógáil a thosú go déanach sa samhradh nó go luath san fhómhar, agus an clubtheach nua a oscailt go luath sa bhliain 2028.

English
Momentum is building on the project to construct a new clubhouse.

Last week we issued the tender for construction. Strict public procurement rules are being followed to ensure we get the best price under a fair and robust process.

We have had confirmation that fire and disability access certificates will be granted to the building.

The main terms of the lease have been agreed; Cuala will have the right to operate the building rent-free for a term of 99 years. The DLRCoCo executive management team has confirmed that they will be recommending these terms in seeking Councillors’ approval over the coming short few months.

There is a lot of work to do in the next stage of the project, and there are a lot of parties involved (Cuala and our lawyers, Dalkey United and their lawyers, DLRCoCo and its legal department, Local Councillors, Department of Sports, the OPW as the Dept of Sports construction advisors, the Chief State Solicitor’s Office, the Design Team of architects and engineers and quantity surveyors, etc.). This makes timing of key milestones very difficult to predict with confidence.

With this in mind, and subject to receiving all the required approvals, including from Cuala members at an SGM, we hope to be signing a construction contract in the summer, moving out of the existing clubhouse at that time, construction starting in late summer or early autumn, and the opening of the new clubhouse in the early part of 2028.

Hyde Park Sports Centre Project Tender Update

Gaeilge
An tseachtain seo caite chuir muid in iúl do bhaill go raibh Bord Rialachais Tionscadail Chomhairle Contae Dhún Laoghaire-Ráth an Dúin (CCDLR) tar éis cead a thabhairt dul ar aghaidh chuig tairiscint, ach go raibh ceadú ón Roinn Spóirt ag teastáil freisin don chéim seo.

Ó shin i leith, chuir an Roinn in iúl dúinn nach bhfuil an ceadú sonrach a bhí ag teastáil uathu roimh an tairiscint riachtanach a thuilleadh do thionscadail faoi bhun €20m, mar atá inár gcás féin. Ciallaíonn sé seo go bhfuil gach ceadú foirmiúil riachtanach againn anois.

Tá obair le déanamh fós againn, ach táimid ag súil go mbeimid in ann tairiscint a sheoladh amach do thógáil an fhoirgnimh go luath sa Bhliain Nua.

Beidh ceadú ó gach páirtí de dhíth, ar ndóigh, baill Cuala san áireamh, tar éis na tairisceana agus sula síneofar conradh nó go dtosófar ar an tógáil. Tá maoiniú iomlán faighte agus ní bheidh aon fhiacha ón tionscadal.

English
The Hyde Park  Sports Centre Project will provide state of the art facilities, a new ‘Home4Cuala’, in Hyde Park, Dalkey.

Last week we let members know that DLRCC Project Governance Board had approved proceeding to tender, but that Department of Sports approval was also required for this step.

Since then the Department has informed us that the specific approval they had required prior to tender is no longer necessary for projects under €20m, such as ours. This means that we now have all the formal approvals required. We still have some work to do, but expect to be in a position to tender the construction of the new clubhouse early in the New Year.

We will of course require approval of all parties, including Cuala members, following the tender and prior to a contract being signed and construction starting. The project is fully funded and there will be no debt arising from its completion.

Find out more about the Hyde Park Sports Centre and Home4Cuala project here: Hyde Park Sports Centre Project – Cuala GAC – Official Website

Clubhouse Design Specification

Over the last few months, the Clubhouse Redevelopment Subcommittee has been working on the detailed design specification for the new clubhouse. The design specification consists of two stages. The first involves agreeing (or ‘freezing’) the layout, with the second requiring decisions on the internal fitout (such as flooring, finishes etc).

For the first stage (the layout), there are many great ideas on how best to use the limited space available in the new clubhouse. Unfortunately not everything can be accommodated. Hence, to aid in the decision making process, design principles were adopted to help guide between the many competing demands on the space. These principles are:

1. Intensity of use: Serve players of all standards, users of all ages, and enjoyed by many.
2. Flexibility: In design to best use space available.
3. Belong: Members feel they belong
4. Welcoming and inclusive
5. Focus on uses and users: Priority is sports, focus on the need of most members, and acknowledge that social aspects build a strong club
6. Environmentally sustainable
7. Commercial: Ensure the building delivers value for money in capital expenditure and operational costs
8. Safeguarding

In addition to the design principles, a wide consultation across the club was held. This included meetings with the An Coiste, Cuala staff, the Coaching Forum, as well as engagement with the wider membership at the Design Specification Open Day on January 25th. We also continue to receive advice and guidance from the architects and the rest of the professional design team. There are also laws in relation to fire safety, disability access, environmental, planning, and other regulations with which we must comply in the layout design.

Following this consultation and decision making process, the layout has now been agreed. The key changes made to the original layout are:

1. The physio room has been moved downstairs to the Changing Area (Design Principles: Intensity of use, focus on uses and users: Priority is sports, commercial, safeguarding).
2. The room upstairs that was previously allocated as a Physio Room is to be an office to accommodate staff (Focus on uses and users)
3. Sports hall will have 1 larger storage room, rather than 2 – reducing the number of doors and increasing the flat wall space in the sports hall: (Intensity of use)
4. A social room has been provided off the café (Belong, social aspects build a strong club, safeguarding)
5. The wall between the Fitness Studio and the Performance Analysis Room will be solid to provide storage space and wall space (Focus on uses and users).

The next stage of the design specification will be agreeing the internal fitout (such as flooring, lighting, materials, etc.). We will continue to communicate with members and keep you up to date on this and all other important aspects of the project as it progresses.

View the finalised ground floor layout here and the upper floor layout here.

Clubhouse Redevelopment SGM Thursday 12th December

In light of the recent announcement of grant funding, the Home4Cuala clubhouse redevelopment project is now at a very important stage. A Special General Meeting (SGM) will take place next Thursday 12th December at 8pm in the Royal Marine Hotel where members are going to decide on whether to progress to the next stage of the project, or not.
The next (penultimate) phase will essentially be the final due diligence phase of (i) settling the detail of the final design spec (ii) tendering the contracts (iii) settling the terms of our new lease and the terms of the construction contracts. This next phase is essential and requires your support. Please see your member email for full details of the motion. There will subsequently be a final approval motion for members to consider later next year before the construction contracts are actually signed.
It is a very important decision for the club and a major investment in the future. It will be a short meeting with one item on the agenda and prescribed amount of time for contributions. Expect it to be over in less than 1 hour.
A quorum is required for the SGM to proceed next Thursday.  Irrespective of your opinion on the project, we would ask members to attend the SGM if it is at all possible for you to do so.
Míle buíochas,
An Coiste, Cuala.

Please note the following information regarding SGM, quorum and voting rights:

  •  The rules are as per the GAA Club Constitution and are therefore not those from Cuala or An Coiste, Cuala.
  • We are bound by the GAA Club Constitution. We as a Club signed up to this a few years back.
  •  Only Full paid-up members are entitled to vote. For the year we are in, these members must have paid their club membership by 31 March 2024. Within ‘Family Memberships’ a parent(s)/guardian(s) that has paid the Full Membership (Ordinary) fee will be entitled to vote. Any family member over 18 (from 1 January 2024) that is included in that ‘Family Membership’ and has paid the Full Membership fee by 31 March 2024 will be entitled to vote.
  • “Only Full Members, whose membership fees are paid up to date in accordance with Code 8, and who are not suspended or disqualified under this Constitution, Rules or the Official Guide and Codes, shall be eligible to vote at a General Meeting. The onus shall be on the member to prove that the member has paid their subscription.”
  • Social Members, Temp. Members and Youth/Juvenile Members do not have a vote.
  • There is no voting by proxy. Voting should be in person and the count based on those present and entitled to vote.
  • A quorum is required for an AGM and SGM. “No business shall be transacted at any General Meeting unless a quorum of members is present at the time when the meeting proceeds to business. Save as herein otherwise provided, fifteen per cent of Full Members eligible to vote shall be a quorum at a General Meeting, subject to a minimum of 15 members being present.”
  • “A Special General Meeting may be called by the Executive Committee at any time, provided ten days clear notice, in writing, shall be given to the members, specifying the purpose of such Special General Meeting.”
  • “If within half an hour after the time appointed for a General Meeting, a quorum of members is not present, the meeting if convened on the requisition of members shall be dissolved; in any other case it shall stand adjourned and be rearranged at a date and time to be decided by the Executive Committee, provided the reconvened meeting takes place within 14 days of the original meeting; and if at the reconvened meeting a quorum of members is not present within half an hour after the time appointed for the meeting, the members then present shall be a quorum.”

€4.6million for Hyde Park Community Sports Centre

Cuala GAA is delighted to have been informed that the Hyde Park Community Sports Centre Project has been granted €4.6m towards the construction cost through the Government’s Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund (LSSIF). In addition to club fundraising to date and funds committed by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council the project budget is now fully funded.  

Completion of this project will help to address the sports infrastructure deficit in the area and provide enhanced indoor sports and social facilities for Cuala members and project partners Dalkey United and St. John of God’s Adult Services. 

We would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank our members, our neighbours, donors, the project Ambassadors and subcommittee for its hard work, local council representatives, Ossian Smyth TD (Minister of State at the Department of Public Expenditure, National Development Plan Delivery and Reform and at the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications), Jennifer Carroll MacNeill TD (Minister for European Affairs & Defence), Cormac Devlin TD, Richard Boyd Barrett TD,  and the wider community for their vital support.  

We would also like to thank the partners in the project for their collaboration and positive approach; Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, Dalkey United, and St. John of God Adult Services (Dublin South East). We would specifically like to express our gratitude to the officials and management team in DLR Co. Co.  

We also wish to thank officials in the Dept. of Sports, the Minister of State for Sport, Thomas Byrne T.D., the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin T.D., and the government for providing vital funds for the upgrading of critical sports facilities across the country, including this project.