"It's a joke at this stage": Councillors' fury at yet another delay to Athlone road project

The Railway Field Road project in Athlone - which must be the most talked-about unbuilt development in the town's history - has run into yet another delay.

Earlier this year it was indicated that a fresh planning application for the new road, between the Crescent junction and St Vincent's Care Centre, was expected to be lodged with An Bord Pléanala by the end of March.

However, this month's meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District heard that, not only had the planning application not been submitted, Westmeath County Council still had to convene a pre-planning meeting that needs to take place before the bid for planning approval can be lodged.

This latest news, coming against a backdrop of more than 20 years of delays and planning setbacks for the project, was met with deep frustration by local councillors.

"It's a joke at this stage," commented Cllr Frankie Keena, while Cllr Aengus O'Rourke described the seemingly endless series of delays to the project as "infuriating".

"When you come from the private sector, it's always hard to get your head around how the public sector does business," Cllr John Dolan remarked.

"The Railway Field is a perfect example of that. If this was in the world of commerce, it would be built and paid for at this stage."

The update the councillors were given, by Director of Services Jackie Finney, stated that "a full planning pack" which consisted of "detailed drawings, plans, environmental reports and other documents," had been finalised for the new town centre road.

She added that, "a pre-planning meeting has been requested with the planning section, and this is required before going to An Bord Pleanála... it should take place in the coming weeks".

Ms Finney said it was now expected to be "quarter three" of this year - sometime between July and September - before the planning application would be submitted.

The road, which was heralded as a means of easing traffic congestion in Athlone, was originally granted planning approval as far back as 2004, but a land dispute and other issues meant it was never built, and, in 2021, it emerged that a fresh planning bid would be required.

At the meeting this month, the question of the council's commitment to the road project was raised by local representatives.

"This needs to be expedited; there's an urgency to this, and to think that we're sitting on it absolutely boils my blood," said Cllr O'Rourke.

Cllr Keena asked: "Do the (council) executive feel that this Railway Field Road project is actually necessary? And, if so, what are they doing about trying to get it over the line? That's a straight-up question."

Ms Finney said she had raised that question herself with colleagues in the council's transportation section.

"I have had that conversation, because we are years (on from the original plans) and we're talking about active travel and cycle routes... but I'm advised by all of the engineers, and people with a lot more technical knowledge than me, that it is necessary, that it is a priority, and it will be progressed.

"It will not only improve the traffic circulation but will also improve the railway station and the operation of that, and cycling and pedestrian access around that area."

In response to the councillors' frustration, she said: "Nobody is sitting on (the project). I know it feels like it's going backwards, but it's not going backwards.

"It's not moving forward as quickly as you'd like, but it is moving forward."

Cllr John Dolan noted that, even if planning permission is secured for the road, funding to build it will still need to be obtained, meaning the start of any construction work is still a considerable distance away.

"Even if we do get planning on this, which is going to be in six months' time if we're lucky, we then have to go looking for money, which will be another six months to a year, if we're lucky," he said.

"We will be lucky if we have a plan in place for that road to be built by the end of this council term (in 2029). That's the reality of it."