Upgrade of facilities at Streamstown greenway stop proposed

The November meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District was told that an application for CLÁR funding for a small kitchen area at the Greenway stop in Streamstown was unsuccessful.

While Westmeath County Council is awaiting feedback on why its application was unsuccessful, the meeting heard that the local authority did manage to obtain funding for a number of improvements at the popular stop along the 'Old Rail Trail' Greenway, including the addition of adult exercise equipment in the playground.

Plans are also underway to regularise the car parking at the amenity, and space for camper vans is also being considered.

Details of the funding for the Streamstown Greenway stop were provided to last week's district meeting by way of a written answer in response to a motion from Cllr Tom Farrell, in which he called for facilities to be enhanced to meet the current demand. The motion described the car park, camper van parking and kitchen facilities at the Greenway stop as being “inadequate.”

Cllr Farrell, who received unanimous support for his motion from his fellow councillors, said the Streamstown stop on the Old Rail Trail could be “a showcase for the Greenway network in the Midlands” if facilities were improved.

In seconding the motion, Cllr John Dolan said Streamstown had “one of the best voluntary community groups” in Westmeath, and he called for the regularisation of camper van parking at the Greenway stop. “If the camper vans are coming there anyway, we should provide facilities for them as it is a growing market,” he said.

Cllr Liam McDaniel said Streamstown is “one of the only stops” on the Old Rail Trail and he said it was “essential” that facilities be improved in order to meet the demand.

The written answer provided by the council executive outlined details of a successful Town and Village project application which was notified to the local authority in May 2024, for the provision of “additional facilities” at Streamstown. While space for campervans is being considered as part of the upgrade, the council said these are “generally not facilitated in public carparks in the county”.

Procurement of exercise equipment “will be undertaken shortly” said the council, and all elements of the successful application are “due for delivery in 2025.” The full project cost is circa €240k.

In relation to the kitchen facilities, the council said it had sought CLÁR funding for the provision of “a small kitchen area to the northeast gable of the café to overcome present space limitations” but it had been unsuccessful. While awaiting feedback on why it had been turned down, the council added that it is exploring other avenues to finance for what is considered an essential element to the future success of the enterprise.

They also said they had been recently notified that the Streamstown site is eligible to progress to the next stage of the EV charging scheme.