The beautiful Mount Congreve Gardens in County Waterford are set to close on October 10th to allow development works to begin.
Plans are in place to redevelop Mount Congreve House and Gardens into a world-class tourism destination with an enhanced visitor experience.
The 70 acre gardens will open again in time for summer 2022.
Funding of €3,726,000 has been approved under the Rural Regeneration Development Fund with additional funding from Failte Ireland and Waterford City & County Council for the visitor attraction, which is home to one of the largest private collections of plants in the world.
The redevelopment and restoration of the Estate is set to provide enhanced visitor amenities including the repair of the historic greenhouse, improved access to grounds and pathways, and provision of family-friendly facilities, car parking and visitor centre with a cafe and retail offering.
The project is planned for completion in 2022 and will create a new visitor centre featuring retail, food and beverage facilities, kitchens, toilets, and a ticket desk while also opening up new areas of the estate to the public including parts of the main house which has never been accessible to the public before.
Estate Manager Ray Sinnott says there are exciting times ahead for the historic estate:
"We are very much looking forward to working on and unveiling the new visitor experience in 2022. Unfortunately for now, in order to facilitate the redevelopment of Mount Congreve House and Gardens, we will be closed for a number of months.
"This is to facilitate a number of restorative and construction works in the different areas of the gardens and at the main house. We apologise for any inconvenience and look forward to welcoming all of our visitors old and new when we reopen next year.”
