Public has its say on riverside plan

Proposals contained in a plan for the future of Athlone's riverside areas were queried by members of the public at a meeting organised by the local Chamber of Commerce last week. The draft Athlone Waterfront Study was published in October. It highlights the potential for riverside developments including a pedestrian bridge linking the Strand and Left Bank areas; the creation of a 'Strand Square'; a new exhibition centre and entertainment venue at Burgess Park; and a new boathouse at the existing Athlone Boat Club. The document also proposes a major facelift of the Ranelagh/ 'Golden Mile' area, north of the railway bridge on the western side of the Shannon. Laura Courtney of the National Building Agency, which prepared the waterfront study on behalf of Athlone Town Council, addressed a meeting about the study in the Radisson Hotel on Tuesday, November 23. Approximately 40 people attended the meeting and some raised questions the viability of projects outlined in the plan. Former Government Minister Paddy Cooney queried the proposed location of a new large-scale exhibition, event and entertainment venue at Burgess Park. “Did you get any briefing as to the quality of the soil down there? I think you should, because it's highly contaminated. It was the town dump for many, many years and I think there are deposits of methane gas there as well,†said Mr Cooney. “That will have to be looked at, and if that's the case, it will have to be cleared with the Environmental Protection Agency,†replied Ms Courtney. Referring to the proposed bridge between the Strand and Left Bank, Mr Cooney said the structure would need to be of a height that would allow for the passage of boats underneath. “If it has to have that height it will require that height its entire length, which would mean access to the bridge from east and west would have to be by long ramps or the like. If the access to the bridge is going to require ramps its going to destroy the possibility of the development of the Strand Square. There's not room for both,†he said. Ms Courtney stated that the specific engineering requirements of the proposed bridge hadn't been identified at this stage. Local resident Pat Morrissey commented that the plan proposed “a Samuel Beckett style bridge,†citing the one in Dublin which opened last year. He asked, “Why not use the existing facility, the Weir, going across to the lock? To my mind you have the base for a relatively simple footbridge going across there without having any impact on navigation.†Ms Courtney responded by saying, “Anything to do with the bridge would have to be worked out by engineers but we were in talks with Waterways Ireland and there might be issues with the state of the Weir. That would need to be looked at in detail.†Retreat Road resident Flan Barnwell said that the River Shannon was suffering from “study fatigue†spanning decades. Mr Barnwell didn't know what the council's thinking was on the proposed new bridge. He said it had been included in the local authority's 2002-2008 Development Plan, but was dropped from the next Development Plan, despite a submission he made which asked for it to be retained. He stated that Waterways Ireland had sold off four and a half acres of the Shannon, near Wansboro Park, to private developers a few years ago. “In my view that was the biggest scandal that has affected that river in the lifetime of most of the people here. I think the Chamber should make a very forceful submission to ensure that it never happens again,†he said. Shay Hamilton asked why Athlone's canal was not examined in the plan and Ms Courtney replied that it was outside the remit provided to the National Building Agency by the town council. Cllr Frankie Keena described the waterfront plan as “very innovative and excitingâ€. He asked if any priority had been given to the proposed developments it contains. Ms Courtney said no specific priority had been allocated to the proposals but given the state of the economy some aims, such as the revamp of the Ranelagh/ 'Golden Mile' area, would be long-term. She said other objectives, such as a new boardwalk at The Strand, could be completed in the short-term. Additional boat mooring facilities were not included in the waterfront study but Pat Morrissey suggested that they should be installed around the Burgess Park area. Left Bank resident Lucinda Hewitt agreed. She said having a marina by Burgess Park “would be a great facility for boat users and tourists to pull in and use the shopping, cinema, and restaurants nearbyâ€. Ms Courtney encouraged people with suggestions of this kind to put them in writing to the council before the closing date for public submissions on the plan (last Friday). Athlone Boat Club captain Mark Egan noted that the plan proposed a new Boathouse for the club which would be a two-storey building. “The club's building at the moment has outlived its usefulness to us in the sense that we do need more capacity,†said Mr Egan. “It's nice to see you talk about a two-storey structure, but this is a small club. If we decide to do something will we be restricted to this type of structure?†Ms Courtney said she wasn't in a position to comment on that, but she suggested that maybe other parties could come on board to support the club in developing its new building. Damien Brennan, of Fáilte Ireland said: “This is a preliminary document. It's about vision, and in the times we're in, it's the kind of vision we need. The town council and John Walsh are to be congratulated for having this vision for this town and it's one that Failte Ireland shares.†The waterfront strategy would take many years to implement in full and would be dependent on funding. Mr Brennan said Failte Ireland had some development funds available to it and suggested that it should be able to provide some financial support to the council in implementing aspects of the plan. “Public realm and tourism infrastructure is absolutely supportable and we expect to be able to support the local authority in this,†he said. “There are issues (to be ironed out) but nothing we do will come in the way of navigation or angling or the local interest. Anything we do will be for the good of the town.†John McGrath of Athlone Chamber said that body would be making a submission to the council on the waterfront strategy before last Friday's deadline.