Athlone's Railway Field Road project finally goes to planning stage

Less than a month after members of Athlone Moate Municipal District vented their fury at yet more delays to the long-awaited Railway Field Road project, Westmeath County Council has finally submitted an application to An Bord Pleanala seeking approval for the proposed town centre development.

The Athlone Link Road Phase 2 – as the Railway Field project is officially known – proposes the construction of a new link road between the Crescent Junction (R915) and Coosan Point Road/Southern Station Road Junction.

Segregated cycling facilities are among the 'active travel' elements due to be incorporated into the new road.

The plans will also see a new two-way segregated facility on the west side of Southern Station Road and a three-metre-wide shared surface from the Crescent Junction to Athlone Train/Bus Station.

The Athlone Bus Éireann depot yard is also earmarked for works as part of the Athlone Link Road Phase 2 project, with the facility due to be reconfigured and extended, including boundary works, signage, drainage and all associated ancillary works.

An Ecological Impact Assessment report and a Natura Impact Statement have already been prepared in respect of the proposed development, and the planning notice states that an Environmental Impact Assessment Screening Report had concluded that there is "no likelihood" the planned works will have significant effects on the environment, and therefore, an Environmental Impact Assessment Report will not be required.

Plans for the proposed Athlone Link Road Phase 2 project can be inspected by members of the public at the civic offices of Athlone Moate Municipal District on Church Street; the Tranportation Department of Westmeath County Council in Áras an Chontae, Mullingar and in the offices of An Bord Pleanala (An Coimisiún Pleanála) in Dublin from Friday next, July 11, to August 29.

Submissions and observations may be made, in writing, to An Coimisiún Pleanála (with an address of 64 Marlborough St, Rotunda, Dublin 1, D01V902) during the same time period.

Director of Services with Athlone Moate Municipal District Jackie Finney told the June 9 meeting of the district that a "a full planning pack" which consisted of "detailed drawings, plans, environmental reports and other documents," had been finalised for the proposed new road.

She added, however, that a "a pre-planning meeting” had been requested with the planning section, which is a requirement before the project goes to An Bord Pleanála.”

That meeting was due to take place “in the coming weeks”, she clarified.

There was uproar in the council chamber at the latest delay, with Cllr Frankie Keena declaring that the so-called Railway Field was “a joke at this stage” and other councillors querying the local authority's commitment to the project.

"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 Aengus O'Rourke.

The Railway Field project, which is designed to alleviate severe traffic congestion in Athlone, has been subjected to over two decades of delays since it was first granted planning approval in 2004.

With a planning application finally lodged, the hope now is that one of the longest-running sagas on the agenda of the local municipal district may - at last - be drawing to a close.