'No plan yet’ for traffic access to €30m visitor centre project

A planning application for a world-class visitor experience planned for the RTÉ site in Moydrum could be lodged by next Spring with the plan to have building work underway by 2030.

The Marconi Heritage Centre and Climate House project will cost some €30m and is intended to attract over 200,000 annual visitors, a community consultation event in Athlone also heard last week.

Some 80 people were in attendance at the information event in TUS on Thursday, at which locals expressed serious concerns over the lack of detail on access roads to the proposed centre.

Opening the event, Joe McKenna, Head of Partnerships Climate House Ireland, explained work to date had been spearheaded by University of Galway, which had been tasked with bringing the project to planning permission. At that stage, it would be succeeded by The Peatlands and People Foundation, a newly established not-for-profit foundation on behalf of and for the community, which would bring on the project.

He said the team had worked on two previous sites, in Offaly, and Laois, which had fallen through for various reasons.

However, he said they were now very excited about the elevated Moydrum site, close to the greenway, beside Crosswood Bog Special Area of Conservation and only four kilometres from Athlone.

The meeting heard that funding was in place for a design team, which is working on the project and that it was intended to return to the local community with proposed drawings in advance of a planning application.

The Climate House Ireland element of the centre involves three prongs: an encounter experience, an outdoor regenerative park and a futures hub.

Prof Christine Domegan cited examples of successful encounter experiences abroad including the Klimahuse in Germany and Eden Cornwall.

“We want to bring an Irish version here to Athlone to the RTÉ site along with the Marconi centre,” she said.

The Climate House Ireland project would represent a focal point for regenerative tourism, and a transformative space on climate and nature.

Describing it as “a flagship”, she said it was “a place you can go where you can see positive change for climate”, with the goal of sparking action in visitor’s individual lives.

The outdoor regenerative element of the project would focus on the existing Crosswood Bog, which Mr McKenna described as being in “relatively good order”.

The third element, the futures hub, is designed to include a demonstration hub to showcase solutions and innovations.

David Murphy of Erinn Innovation, partners in the project, said the futures hub would also include a conference centre for up to 250 delegates and a number of meeting rooms with a capacity ranging from 10 to 50.

He rejected suggestions that the inclusion of the conference centre elements indicated that the project was not sustainable without corporate events, instead arguing that the inclusion of the corporate element would help encourage climate action and change.

“Based on the integration of the experience, the outdoor park, and the futures hub, we think this initiative will wash its own face,” Mr Murphy said.

The funding plan for the project development is based on grants, long term strategic loans, philanthropy and sponsorship.

Mr McKenna earlier told the meeting that RTÉ had agreed to transfer the circa 10-acre site in Moydrum. “The understanding with RTÉ is that provided we use this site for the project for which it is intended they would be prepared to transfer the site to us.”

Troy Bannon, Head of Property with RTÉ, confirmed the support of the broadcaster, and also stoutly defended RTÉ’s custodianship of the historic transmitter equipment on the site.

The meeting heard the transmitter hall housed an original intact transmitter built and provided by the Marconi Wireless Telegraph company, as well as two subsequent replacement transmitters.

“We take the responsibility for the site very seriously,” Mr Bannon said. “But it is non-operational so from a pure cost basis it is always going to be a challenge to find resources.”

He said preserving the site wasn’t enough. It needed new life breathed into it, and to be accessible to new generations.

“This project certainly seems from the outset to tick all those boxes for us.”

As part of a question and answer sesssion, others questioned how the Marconi Heritage Centre fitted with the Climate House Ireland.

“Is the radio heritage not much more important than that?” asked Paul Mulvey, who wondered if RTÉ had explored more meaningful linkages with other technological heritage initiatives.

However, both Mr McKenna and Mr Bannon argued that previous attempts to develop a broadcasting-based heritage attraction had not stood up on their own.

“I have been looking at the Moydrum issue since I took over my current position in 2018, and this is the first time I have seen something viable and exciting,” Bannon said.

Alan Shaw said he could see lots of opportunities to blend RTÉ with the climate aspect of project.

He said this should involve investment from RTE, arguing that it would be important for the national broadcaster to “put their hands in their pockets” to ensure the project was sustainable operationally.

Cllr Frankie Keena was told the RTÉ site was not a protected structure and that any new building would be located on a natural fall of the site.

Asked by a number of local residents about how it was proposed the planned 200,000 visitors would access the site, given the existence of what was described as “a tiny road” in a quiet, rural location, Joe McKenna said he was not able to answer the question of access yet, as the project had just started.

“People like yourself we need to meet with you separately and we need to have that discussion,” he told one local resident.

He also said the general intention was to use the greenway and to create a “public-transport associated project”.

Stating that transport needs to be part of the climate story, he insisted: “We want a quiet attraction. We are not building Butlins, far from it.”

“With our planners at the moment, we are looking at the road access. That will involve our traffic people, Westmeath County Council and neighbours. There is no plan for that at the moment.”