Massive blueprint for Lissywollen South approved

The Local Area Plan for Lissywollen South was unanimously passed by members of Athlone Town Council at Monday"s October meeting after a number of concerns were discussed, particularly in relation to any additional houses planned for Sarsfield Square. However, County Manager Danny McLoughlin allayed their fears, explaining that any development in Sarsfield Square, community or otherwise, would be carried out in consultation with the residents. The draft plan was also revised to alter plans to develop up to 100 houses around the open space green area in Sarsfield Square. And although housing is still planned there, it would appear to be of smaller scale, as the council has instead opted to change the open space into a new community park. However, plans which theoretically facilitate up to 600 additional housing units in Brawny East remain unchanged. Mr McLoughlin had compiled a report on the 122 submissions made by the public on the plan and made recommendations based on these submissions. Many of the submissions covered the same matters and the main ones were discussed by the councillors on Monday. In relation to the open space at Sarsfield Square the county manager has recommended the development of a new community park, which will be integrated into the surrounding development and provide recreational and community facilities to meet the needs of the residents. The plan will consider proposals to develop new housing on the edge of the open space to improve safety and security for park users, but the scale of the housing would respect the existing scale of housing at Sarsfield Square. 'An appropriate design proposal will be developed within the first two years of the adoption of this Local Area Plan, based on close consultation with the community,' the manager"s report states. Submissions also raised concerns about the enlargement of the community by residents in Brawny, close to where up to 600 additional units could be accommodated with the proposed zoning density. However, Mr McLoughlin said the number of additional houses in the Brawny area itself would result in a relatively small neighbourhood centre, which would be akin to a neighbourhood hub in scale. Lissywollen Avenue, the proposed road linking the Retreat Road with the Brawny/Lissywollen area, was also queried, in a submission by Senator Nicky McFadden who asked for its omission. However, the manager said it was essential to provide connections between the communities. The principal aim of the route would be to prioritise local safe access with priority for pedestrians, cyclists and bus services, he said. Athlone GAA asked the council to explore the feasibility of creating a pedestrian priority route through Páirc Chiaráin from the Ballymahon Road entrance to the Regional Sports Centre and also sought a secondary vehicular access linking Páirc Chiaráin to Lissywollen Avenue by upgrading a section of the pedestrian jogging route. In response the manager altered the plan to include the pedestrian route from the GAA club to the sports centre, but said vehicular access at this location was not suitable and no change was made. A number of submission were also made in relation to Garrycastle GAA Club, requesting that some of the landlocked lands between FÁS Centre, the Athlone relief road and the club should be rezoned as "sporting/recreation". The manager"s report pointed out that the area had been designated for a new business quarter, but said another area of the land, immediately joining Garrycastle GAA Club would be designated for sports and recreational purposes and recommended no changes to the draft plan in this regard. Cllr Kevin "Boxer" Moran said he had never agreed with developing houses on the green space in Sarsfield Square and still wouldn"t stand over it. Cllr Moran also welcomed the height reduction in houses in the plan. Cllr Paul Hogan agreed with Cllr Moran in relation to Sarsfield Square and said while the plan map indicated there could be community housing in Sarsfield Square he hoped this could be omitted. He asked how much land would be zoned for sport and recreational use at Garrycastle. Cllr Mick O"Connell welcomed the idea of reducing the houses in Sarsfield Square from 100 to a few, but asked if houses were needed at all and said perhaps trees around the green area would be better. Cllr John Butler said he was not in support of any additional houses for Sarsfield Square. County Manager Danny McLoughlin told the councillors that there was no proposal to build any additional houses in Sarsfield Square, but said something had to be done to redefine the open space in the area and incorporate it into the community as it had no definition at the moment. He said any proposals for the area would be carried out in consultation with the community over the next two years. In relation to the land at Garrycastle, he said whatever reservations the councillors had about the NRA if they didn"t provide land for them the improvement works would never happen. Cllr Mark Cooney said he thought Sarsfield Square had been dealt with fairly and said the report talked about consultation and said while the residents didn"t want additional houses the area was going to be a community amenity. He also asked that any plans for community areas in Sarsfield and Brawny should come before the councillors and the public again and not just before the council executive. Cllr Kieran Molloy said the plan was a detailed one and there was no reason why the executive couldn"t give an idea of what it planned to do with the open space in Sarsfield Square. In relation to Garrycastle, Mayor Egbert Moran said there was a problem at the junction in Garrycastle and while nobody would like to the see the GAA club get the land more than he would, he wouldn"t like to see the council giving away land that it might need. Director of Services Barry Kehoe said he had had a number of meetings with the NRA and the GAA in relation to the lands and said they would soon be able to get at least a preliminary design to find out how much land was needed for road improvements in the area. He added, however, that sufficient land had been left aside for Garrycastle GAA. Cllr John Butler proposed the adoption of the plan, but Cllr Kevin "Boxer" Moran wanted the plans for the open space at Sarsfield Square with additional houses taken out of the plan. Cllr Cooney asked what would happen to the lands if they took this out of the plan. Mr McLoughlin said there would be consultation with the residents in Sarsfield Square and said there was no proposal to build additional houses. He added that the land couldn"t be left as it was and something had to be done about it. Cllr "Boxer" Moran said based on what he had been told he would withdraw his proposal to have the plans for the open space taken out, but said he would not give way to houses in the green area. The plan was passed unanimously by the councillors.