Major Athlone capital projects to proceed despite downturn

Recession? What recession? That was the question prompted by Athlone Town Council"s annual budget meeting last Friday, as the local authority outlined plans to proceed with a number of ambitious infrastructural projects in 2009. A revamp of Athlone Castle, a new art gallery at the Father Mathew Hall, the development of the Railway Field Road, a new Westside regeneration at Main Street, and the upgrade of Church Street were listed among the council"s key priorities for the coming year. Town Clerk John Walsh indicated that the Athlone Castle project 'could cost a couple of million' when all is said and done. He stated that a top design team was in the process of completing a feasibility study on the castle"s redevelopment, and this study would be available in March. 'We want to make the castle a state-of-the-art-facility,' Mr Walsh said. He added that the council hoped start work on the town"s new €3.2m art gallery in 2009. Detailed drawings for the part 8 planning process are almost complete and will be advertised at the beginning of January. The council stated that grant aid of €1.3m is anticipated from the Department of Art, Sport and Tourism for the project, with the remainder coming from the internal capital resources and the revenue account. In addition to the gallery, workshops for artists are to be developed at the Old Fire Station on Abbey Road and 'should be completed in 2009.' A regeneration project at Main Street, costing over €834,000 is set to begin early in the new year. According to the Council, the new streetscape at Main Street will 'establish standards for design and quality that will be extended throughout the area in the coming years,' and it will be funded by a combination of grant and development levy funds. Meanwhile, Church Street is 'tired and in need of an upgrade,' according to Mr Walsh. A design team has been directed to prepare design and tender documents for the upgrading of the Civic Square and the section of road from Dublingate Street to the Prince of Wales Hotel, including the access routes to the square on either side of the Church of Ireland. The council said it regretted that funding from the gateway innovation fund has not been made available for this purpose to date but it had decided to allocate funding of €170,000 for the design costs in the new year. The council also said it was 'making progress with regard to a price' for the Railway Field site, which is owned by CIE and is seen as a vital for the development of a road which would alleviate congestion caused by the reintroduction of a one-way system. Mr Walsh said discussions in relation to the Railway Field site had been much more productive following a recent meeting between Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and the managements of CIE and the council.