Call for review of outdoor pool location in Athlone

The proposed location of the planned Athlone outdoor swimming pool has come under scrutiny from local councillors.

At the October meeting of the Athlone-Moate Municipal District on Monday, Cllr Frankie Keena called for the project to be stalled, pending a detailed examination of the proposed location at the rear of the Friary on The Strand.

Westmeath County Council indicated its preferred option of the riverfront area at the former Franciscan Friary residence and garden at a public consultation event in May.

Design and planning work have been progressing since. Preliminary plans show the pool being 31.75 metres x 25 metres in size. At the time the council said a planning application was expected to be submitted during the third quarter of this year.

The location of the proposed outdoor swimming pool has previously been the subject of much debate at council level.

That continued in the council chamber on Monday when Cllr Keena tabled a motion called for the council to “discuss the proposed location”. He stated that he was not happy with the location as proposed at the public consultation, stating that it "essential" that all parties get the "decision right" given the size of the project.

"There are still a lot of outstanding issues which must be addressed before a final decision can be taken on a project of this size," Cllr Keena said.

Although he lauded the "fantastic concept", which he described as being "important for Athlone's river tourism, Cllr Keena said there was a need to "further explore" the proposed location of the outdoor swimming pool.

He welcomed the recent allocation of €7.5 million from the Towns and Cities Regeneration Investment Fund programme towards two town centre riverside regeneration projects (proposed outdoor swimming pool and boardwalk) but said the funding should not result in the council "rushing the decision" on the pool's location.

"Yes, the funding is very much welcome, and the amenity will be transformative for our town and the Midlands region, but we need to get this big project right at the first time of asking," Cllr Keena said.

Cllr Keena expressed his concerns that the local authority was "moving too quickly" towards a Part 8 planning application, a process used by the local authority to carry out its own development projects.

With the proposed new boardwalk, extending from the Radisson Blu Hotel, due to interconnect with the outdoor swimming pool, Cllr Keena said the swimming pool should be located at "either end of this amenity" not in its centre.

"This would give cause for the intersection of the boardwalk and swimming pool to become cluttered particularly during times of peak use," Cllr Keena said.

Cllr Keena stated the proposed location of the swimming pool in close proximity to the funeral parlour did not sit well with him and expressed concerns about a layer of slime which sits on the water at The Strand in "times of hot weather and when the "river is at a low level".

He stated that "strong currents" in the vicinity of the proposed swimming pool location could "potentially result in people being swept underneath the pool structure towards the Weir wall", while also querying if the "historic vista" of Athlone from the Burgess Park would be detrimentally impacted by the installation of the swimming pool to the rear of the Friary.

"There are a lot more issues which have to be brought to the table in my opinion before we can move forward with this project," Cllr Keena added.

Lending his support to Cllr Keena, Cllr Paul Hogan acknowledged that there had been issues with a number of proposed locations for the outdoor swimming pool.

"Burgess Park was ruled out in terms of water depth, while additional locations at Hanley's Cash & Carry, Jim's Field and Ranelagh Way were also suggested but to no avail. It is vital that we tie down a location and one that is agreeable to all," Cllr Hogan added.

Cllr Hogan stated that the boardwalk and swimming pool projects should be treated as separate developments and considered through independent Part 8 processes, a view echoed later by Cllr Keena.

While welcoming the funding for town centre riverside regeneration work in Athlone, which is expected to include work on the outdoor swimming pool and the new River Shannon boardwalk, Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, said a project "of this magnitude" necessitates "continuous examination".

Responding to the concerns raised by members, Director of Services Jackie Finney said a meeting is expected to take place later this month involving elected members, the consultants and the council executive to consider the next stage of the project.

It was the executive's hope, she said, to proceed to planning for the project in November of this year. That timeframe gave cause for concern with Cllr Keena, who reiterated his call for the proposed location to be "stalled" and for "alternative sites" to be "fully examined" before the project proceeds to the Part 8 planning process.

He said that pressing ahead with the current proposal, without resolving the concerns raised, would create difficulties during the Part 8 planning process for the elected members.

"We have to ensure that this amenity is located in a position that works for the town, its residents, visitors, river users and the surrounding heritage setting," Cllr Keena concluded.

Westmeath County Council identified eight potential options for the location of the pool as part of an initial feasibility study. This was then narrowed down to four, The Strand car park, Friary, Wolfe Tone Terrace and Burgess Park.

The council said, in May, that a detailed appraisal process had identified the Friary area as the preferred location.

“This option achieved the highest overall performance across a comprehensive range of criteria, including accessibility, safety, environmental considerations, and integration with Athlone’s public realm and regeneration objectives,” the council said.

The selection was informed by extensive technical assessment and a robust public consultation process, which included stakeholder engagement, an online survey with over 220 respondents, and feedback on key issues such as safety, accessibility, and environmental impact.

Of four options put to the public as part of the survey process, the Burgess Park option had by far the largest support, with 47% of the 220 respondents favouring this location, followed by 19% choosing The Strand car park area.

The Friary option had only the third highest support of the four options, at 11%, just ahead of Wolfe Tone Terrace location at 10%. Some 17% of those responding opted for either another unspecified location or no location.

Despite the popularity of the Burgess Park location among respondents, it was decided that the water was "too shallow beyond the weir" to accommodate the pool.

The outdoor pool is being developed along with a boardwalk, which is designed to be a floating structure, approximately 450 metres in length.

It is to have a minimum width of three metres to accommodate both pedestrians and cyclists, and potentially up to five metres wide in part.

It is intended to run along the east bank of the River Shannon from the bottom of Methodist Church Street (behind the AIB Bank) to The Strand at The Friary.