Athlone and Mullingar account for 41% of county's population

The number of people living in the towns of Athlone and Mullingar now accounts for over 41% of the total population of Westmeath, it's emerged in the new draft Westmeath County Development Plan. The document, which came before public representatives last Monday in Athlone, is a blueprint for the future development of the Lake county, covering the years 2014-2020. It reveals that the greatest proportion of the urban population of the county resides in the two gateway towns of Athlone and Mullingar, and in 2011, the latest statistics available, this represented 41.6%. Meanwhile, the urban/rural divide in Westmeath is narrowing according to the latest information provided by the CSO in the Census 2011 results. The draft county development plan, due to go out to out for public comment in February, reports that the urban population comes in at 48.54% and those living in rural areas of Westmeath account for 51.46% of the total population. Urban areas cover places with a population of 1,500 and over. Over the five year period between 2006 and 2011 the urban population in Westmeath grew by 11.2%, while the rural areas had a lesser rise of 6.2%