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 on Monday, December 1.

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.