Second phase planned in massive Athlone housing development
By Rebekah O'Reilly
A new planning application has been lodged in Athlone for seventy-five homes, which will form part of the proposed overall 576-home Plovers Wood development in the Lissywollen area of the town.
Plovers Wood is a major housing project which, when complete, will deliver a mix of social, affordable, and private homes, as well as two creches. The development is being built in several phases.
The first phase, on which work is underway, will provide 103 housing units and the construction of Lissywollen Avenue, a thirty-kilometre-per-hour link road creating a route from the Ballymahon Road to Garrycastle.
The new planning application for the second stage of works was submitted on Monday, March 23. It will see the completion of a further 75 homes, including 58 two-storey 3- and 4-bedroom houses (semi-detached and terraced) and 17 apartments and duplexes.
Block E will contain 5 one-bedroom apartments, 1 two-bedroom apartment, and 3 three-bedroom duplexes, while Block F will have 4 two-bedroom apartments and 4 three-bedroom duplexes, both in three-storey buildings.
Plans for the development also include open spaces, landscaping, public lighting, car parking, bin and bicycle storage, and 1 ESB sub-station, with access via the Garrycastle roundabout (R916) along the new Lissywollen Avenue.
The overall 576-home scheme was originally approved by An Bord Pleanála in June 2021. That permission allowed for 285 houses, 291 apartments, two creches, a community hub, public open space, and all associated infrastructure across approximately 17.64 hectares.
A separate permission was granted in October 2025 for ninety-four homes on adjacent lands to the north of Lissywollen Avenue. That development includes houses, apartments, a creche, a community hub, and associated infrastructure across approximately 4.85 hectares.
After a series of delays, an agreement was concluded in December 2024 between Westmeath County Council and developer Alanna Homes regarding the completion of the 576-home estate. The overall project is expected to take more than five years to complete.
Planning documents submitted with the current application note that the principle of 576 homes on these zoned lands “has been established and deemed acceptable.”
The documents add that the new homes “will provide dwellings which will be highly sought after, support the most up-to-date national and regional planning policy, and be designed and constructed to modern Building Regulations and standards.”
A decision is due by Sunday, May 17.