Council queries IDA plans for second business park in Athlone

Plans for a major road network which would facilitate access to a second IDA business and technology park in Athlone have been put on hold by Westmeath County Council pending the receipt of further information on the proposed project.

The IDA sought planning permission in January of this year for a new access junction and internal road network on a 56 acre site of undeveloped land just off the N55 Ballymahon road, which it purchased in 2020 with a view to developing Athlone's second Business & Technology Park.

In a request for further information, Westmeath County Council planners asked the IDA to submit a revised site layout plan and masterplan proposals to address the urban design objective of the Curragh-Lissywoollen Local Area Plan. Among the objectives for the area are the creation of “a prominent entrance to Athlone”; the provision of a pedestrian/cyclist footbridge across the N6 By-pass; the provision of good quality pedestrian linkages, and the creation of a landscaped buffer between any new development in the plan area and the N6 By-pass.

The planners said the proposed layout and masterplan “fails to demonstrates” how the proposed development would provide for a strong urban form along the site frontage of the N55 road. They added that, having regard to the strategic location and prominence of the site signature buildings “should address the N55 and the overall layout of these lands should reflect the concept of placemaking".

The IDA was also requested to submit a revised masterplan to take account of the established biodiversity corridor in the Curragh-Lissywoollen Local Area Plan, which indicates the presence of significant trees and hedgerows. The planers said any proposed network “should not encroach upon these bands of mature vegetation” and particularly the band of trees at Lissywollen House which are subject to a Tree Preservation Order.

In relation to Active Travel, Westmeath County Council has requested the IDA to submit a revised masterplan layout showing pedestrian and cycling facilities which link the N55 with the proposed pedestrian bridge over the N6, and to also provide a revised layout for the signal controlled junction facilitating pedestrian and cycling movements on the N55 on both the east and west side of the proposed junction.

It also asked the developers to provide the rationale for the proposed roundabout on the internal access road.

In its planning application, which was lodged with Westmeath County Council on December 19 last, IDA Ireland sought permission for a new access junction at the IDA Business & Technology Park on the N55 (Ballymahon Road), including road markings to facilitate a right turn lane. The development would also consist of an internal access road of approximately 465m in length and with a 7m wide carriageway; an internal roundabout and priority junctions; the erection of totem signage at the entrance; landscaped verges; 1.8m wide footpaths; 2m wide cycle lanes and all associated site works.

The site which have been earmarked for a second Athlone business and technology park are located to the north of Athlone, just off the N55 Ballymahon Road, between Mayfield Grove and the State Examinations Commission. The site has the added benefit of a number of adjacent services as well as having frontage on both the N55 and N6 as it stretches from the Ballymahon Road to the Athlone relief road, opposite the Brawny housing development.

The internal access road for which planning permission is being sought would stretch all the way across from the N55 to the N6, making the proposed second Business & Technology Park in Athlone one of the most accessible locations in the country, it said.