Public meeting tonight on new Athlone housing development

A public meeting will take place in Athlone this evening (Thursday) on the planned 576-unit Plovers Wood housing development in the Lissywollen area, construction work on which is expected to get underway shortly.

The informal meeting will take place in the Scoil na gCeithre Máistrí gaelscoil, next to the development site, from 7pm. It's expected to continue for at least an hour.

It will follow a similar format to a previous gathering in March, where people can call in to view the plans and put questions to representatives of Alanna Homes, the company behind the project.

Thomas Freeman of Alanna Homes said he would be joined at the meeting by two colleagues who would be there to answer queries people have about the development.

He said this morning that the commencement notice for work to start on site had still not been signed, but that it was "very imminent".

The planned housing is due to be built in phases over the course of several years.

The project also includes the construction of a link road, described in planning documents as 'Lissywollen Avenue', which will create a new route between the Ballymahon Road roundabout and the Garrycastle area.