Public views sought on €30m Hodson Bay Waterfront project
Members of the public are to be given the first opportunity to have their say on a hugely-ambitious tourism project in the Hodson Bay area (pictured) which, if it came to fruition, would see the area being transformed into one of of the leading centres for water-based tourism in Ireland.
Roscommon County Council is to host the first public consultation event for the €30 million Hodson Bay Waterfront Park project on Thursday, October 23, next with a special drop-in information session in the Hodson Bay Hotel from 2pm to 7pm.
This event marks the beginning of the community engagement process to gather feedback from residents, stakeholders and visitors on the design options being considered for one of the most ambitious tourism developments ever to take place in the Midlands region.
The Hodson Bay Waterfront Park project, which is being delivered in partnership with Waterways Ireland, has already received initial funding from Fáilte Ireland under the EU Just Transition Fund to take the proposed plan through the design and environmental evaluation and statutory consent stages, along with the completion of a Tourism and Economic Benefit Report.
Feeback from members of the public can be relayed back to Roscommon County Council in three ways: in person at the public consultation event; by completing an online community survey or by email to: regeneration@roscommoncoco.ie
The state-of-the-art waterfront park at Hodson Bay would see the construction of a continuous promenade along the length of the Hodson Bay shoreline, an extension of the Waterways Ireland marina to provide up to 50 new berths for cruisers and visiting craft and the creation of a new immersive water experience.
Also forming part of the plans is a detailed access, parking and transport strategy which is designed to enable a safe environment for non-motorised users and will include a link to the proposed new Mid-Shannon Wilderness Park Greenway.
In order to facilitate car users, this element of the plan would see the re-development of new car parking facilities at a number of locations in the area – a move which would necessitate the acquisition of lands.
A report which was commissioned by Roscommon County Council in 2023 identified a number of key issues hampering the development of the Hodson Bay area as a flagship tourism amenity, including capacity issues at the Waterways Ireland marina; limited access to the area with an over-reliance on the private car park; poorly developed visitor experiences along the waterfront and a lack of supporting services such as accommodation, food and drink, with the exception of the existing hotel.
As a result of the issues identified in the report, the local authority devised their ambitious plans for the Hodson Bay Waterfront Park. Civic Engineers Ltd., were appointed as the lead consultants for the project in May of this year.
While funding of €1.39 million has already been secured for the tourism project, this funding will only be capable of bringing the multi-faceted development up as far as the planning consent phase, with the bulk of the monies needed to bring the project to the construction phase yet to be sourced.