Major new plan for key part of Athlone town centre
Tríona Doherty
Plans to regenerate a part of Athlone town to unlock potential development worth €100m have been revealed.
The major urban regeneration scheme for the Loughanaskin area of Athlone moved a step closer, with the news that the council is ready to appoint a design consultant for the project.
The proposed ‘Loughanaskin Urban Quarter’ includes the old St Mel’s Terrace area, including the former council depot and business area opposite and extending into St Mary’s Place, and will be “a regenerated niche town centre business and living quarter”.
What a revamped old council depot and adjacent industrial estate on Gracepark Road might look like under the scheme, according to council documents.
The proposed project is described as “a mixed use scheme to support the commercial core of the town centre”, to include a residential scheme with supporting services and facilities, an attractive streetscape, and bespoke town centre office spaces designed as an alternative to the out-of-town IDA business park models.
Documents from the council refer to the possibility of a project worth €100m and involving some 400 residential units and five large office complexes.
The council has secured Government funding to draw up plans for the project and is hoping to secure the necessary land and draw up a blueprint for the future use of the area.
“The urban regeneration of Loughanaskin presents an unparalleled opportunity to regenerate a unique and strategically located land reserve which has the potential to be developed into a highly sustainable and integrated new urban quarter adjoining the town centre of Athlone,” according to the council.
“It represents a rare opportunity to attract significant private investment in a regenerated town centre neighbourhood that has the ability to create a positive catalyst for change having regard to its strategic and enviable location in proximity to the town centre and public transport nodes.”
The project has been on the cards since 2007, when the Loughanaskin Masterplan was adopted and the council began to rehouse the residents of St Mel’s Terrace and later to demolish those houses. At that time, the area was identified as a key priority area for urban renewal following prolonged degradation despite its prime central location in proximity to services and amenities.
An overall vision of the general area produced for Westmeath County Council.
As part of the proposed project, Westmeath County Council aims to acquire the derelict properties at number 8, 9, 10 and 11 St Mary’s Place for demolition.
While situated beside a terrace of Protected Structures (numbers 1-7 St Mary's Place), the council says these properties are “in an advanced state of disrepair making for an unsightly street presence… [they] have also suffered the ill effects of anti-social behaviour and squatting and are registered in Westmeath County Council's Derelict Sites register.” Demolishing them, it says, would facilitate the redevelopment of the sites for appropriate housing to complement the “historical and architecturally pleasing setting of the area”. The council has already vacated the maintenance depot it operated within the area.
The council set the ball rolling on the long-awaited project recently by advertising for “Urban Design, Economic and Masterplanning Consultancy Services” for the regeneration and development of the lands at Loughanaskin. The closing date for tenders is April 21. In November 2018, the Loughanaskin Urban Quarter was one of three major urban regeneration projects approved for funding under the Government’s Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF); the others were Athlone Tourism Cultural Quarter and Athlone Town Centre Regeneration and Enhancement.