Sod turning event marks start of work on Athlone's largest housing project

A turning of the sod to mark the start of construction work on Athlone's largest ever housing development will take place in early December.

The event was initially scheduled for Monday, December 1, but has now been rescheduled to Friday, December 5.

Work has commenced on the 576-unit Plovers Wood development in the Lissywollen area and when complete, it will deliver a mix of social, affordable and private homes and two creches.

The development will be built over a number of phases, with the first phase of the project containing 103 housing units.

The first phase of the project will also involve the construction of a controversial 30km per hour link road, described in planning documents as Lissywollen Avenue, which would traverse the housing development and create a new route from the Ballymahon Road to Garrycastle.

After a series of delays over recent years, an agreement was finally concluded in December 2024 between Westmeath County Council and developer Alanna Homes in relation to the development of the 576-unit estate.

The overall project is expected to take over five years to complete.