Bower outdoor sports project gets green light

The recent planning lists had some good news for Our Lady's Bower in Athlone, which got the green light to press ahead with a major outdoor sports project.

What are earmarked for the all-girls secondary school are new "outdoor sports, recreational and wellbeing facilities" on land beside its home on the Retreat Road, to include two artificial grass pitches, a synthetic sprint track and changing rooms.

Westmeath County Council rubberstamped the plans on February 9 last, subject to compliance to nine different planning conditions. It's unclear what the content of those conditions is because, at the time of going to press, the documents had not been uploaded on the council website.

At the end of October last year, the school submitted the ambitious plans to Westmeath County Council, seeking approval to develop new facilities, which would include a new building to provide changing rooms and storage facilities, as well as two artificial grass multi-sport playing surfaces with fencing and lighting.

In addition, the project is proposed to include a synthetic sprint track with lighting, recreational facilities, and outdoor exercise equipment, walkways, boundary fencing, a nature trail and seating.

Setting out the background and the “urgent need” for the project, principal Anne Beades said in a letter lodged in support of the plans last year that back in 2008 they completed a “significant school building project” but it did not include exterior sports facilities and without them, they cannot offer PE as a Leaving Cert subject.

Then in 2014, the La Sainte Union trustees closed the former convent/boarding school and sold the building and grounds which included a tennis court, basketball court, and a gravel hockey pitch.

“Since the sale of the convent grounds, the delivery of PE and extra-curricular activities has been limited predominantly to the indoors due to the absence of external sporting facilities,” the principal continued. “Combined with this, the absence of external sporting facilities has meant that we are not in a position to consider the introduction of Leaving Certificate Physical Education as an exam subject despite the huge interest and requests from our PE teachers, student cohort and parents,” the secondary school principal added, saying they currently lease external sports facilities and rely on the goodwill of other sporting agencies to access their facilities for their almost 700 students.

Since the sale of the convent grounds, the school has been working alongside the trustees “to establish the potential to develop trustee owned lands” on the school side of the railway line.

"The trustees have given us permission for the proposed project understanding that it meets the needs of the school; they have agreed that the development will take place on their lands next to the school building,” the principal further stated in the letter.

Last December, the local authority requested more information in relation to the layout and drainage before a final decision could be made. That was supplied in January before it was finally approved last week.