Planned completion date for Athlone student housing given as extension sought

The developer behind plans for a massive student accommodation project near Garrycastle has applied to Westmeath County Council for an extension of planning permission.

Avenir Homes Ltd had been granted permission for the development, billed as 'The Green Quarter', totalling up to 168 residential units, in June 2022.

The proposal comprises a mixed-use residential development of 60 houses, 62 residential apartments, and 46 student apartments that would include 283 student bed spaces. The proposed student apartment blocks would rise to heights of up to five, six and seven stories.

The development is being proposed on a site that takes in parts of the townlands of Cartrontroy, Kilnafaddoge, Lissywollen and Ardnaglug, and which is located beside the Old Rail Trail Greenway and close to the ESB facility in Garrycastle.

The applicant, Avenir Homes Ltd, had sought planning permission directly from An Bord Pleanála through the Strategic Housing Development mechanism, which permits proposals that consist of more than 100 residential units bypass the local authority planning application stage. It was granted permission in June 2022, with the current planning permission due to expire on June 19, 2027.

Avenir Homes Ltd has now applied to Westmeath County Council to extend this planning permission by three years and 45 days, extending the permission to August 23, 2030.

In documentation submitted to the council on September 16, Avenir Homes Ltd said the development will commence on July 1, 2026, and is expected to be completed by May 1, 2030.

In its letter to the council, Avenir Homes Ltd pointed out that Section 28 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025 (Act of 2025) inserts new provisions into section 42 of the Act of 2000 which allows for extensions of duration of uncommenced permissions for the development of one or more houses.

It points out that under new subsection (1A) of section 42, the planning authority can extend permission in the case of developments that have not commenced for a period it considers necessary to enable completion, not exceeding three years.

The letter outlines that this application for extension of duration is being made not earlier than two years before the expiry of permission, and not later than six months after the commencement of section 28 of the Planning and Development (Amendment) Act 2025 (i.e. from August 1, 2025).

"It follows that all qualifying criteria have been met," the letter states.

It further states that a 2009 High Court decision means that all time limits and periods referred to in the Planning and Development Acts 2000 are to disregard the nine-day period annually between December 24 and January 1, and so the application seeks an extension of three years and 45 days, from June 19, 2027, to August 23, 2030.

In its grant of permission in June 2022, An Bord Pleanála said it was satisfied that the development would not seriously injure the residential or visual amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity and would be acceptable in terms of pedestrian and traffic safety.

It said it coming to this decision, it had regard to a series of factors including the location of the site at the edge of the built up area in Athlone, the policies and objectives of the various development plans, including the Athlone Town Development Plan 2014-2020 incorporating the Lissywollen South Framework Plan 2018-2024, and the reports by its own planning inspector and the Chief Executive of Westmeath County Council.

The board accepted that a grant of planning permission could contravene the residential density and building height and design objectives of the Athlone Town Development Plan.

However, the planning board utilised powers given to it under the Planning and Development (Housing) and Residential Tenancies Act to grant permission in material contravention of development plans in certain circumstances. It cited, among other reasons, the potential of the project to contribute to the achievement of Government policy to increase the delivery of housing.

A condition attached to the grant of planning permission directed that two of the apartment blocks closest to the greenway should be relocated three metres further from it in order to protect "residential and visual amenities" and to preserve "existing trees and hedgerow" at the greenway.

There had been opposition to the plans from some nearby residents due to concerns about the scale and density of the housing units and the heights of the buildings, while some Athlone councillors also voiced reservations about these aspects of the development.

However, An Bord Pleanála concluded that the project should be given the green light as it was of "strategic and national importance" in helping to address the current under-supply of housing.

A decision from Westmeath County Council on the application for an extension of duration of planning permission is due by November 10.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme