Preferred design is unveiled for €30m Hodson Bay park

The preferred design for the planned €30m Hodson Bay Waterfront Park project in Athlone was unveiled at a public consultation event held in the Hodson Bay Hotel last week.

The waterfront park project, on the Lough Ree shore, is being led by Roscommon County Council with input from Fáilte Ireland and Waterways Ireland. It involves four elements, with the preferred design options for each revealed at last Wednesday’s consultation event.

The first element is a proposed new water sports pavilion, designed as a necklace of Crannóg-like buildings.

These would provide facilities for on-water activities such as boating and swimming, as well as showers, changing facilities, and a waterfont café that would have views over the water.

It is also proposed to redevelop the existing marina with a new jetty allowing for a total of 59 berths for cruisers and boats.

The third element of the waterfront park’s design involves a revamped public realm, central to which is a new marina designed as a ‘welcoming link’ between land and water.

There would be a new promenade with pedestrian routes and resting points, and an open square with a weather-protected canopy at its centre. This element of the project also includes access to a swimming area along the lakeshore, as well as public picnic and play areas.

Finally, the proposed development includes active travel improvements and the rearrangement of existing car parking spaces at the site.

The active travel measures include the retention and widening of all existing footways in the vicinity of the proposed development, with a three-metre shared path to be provided along the route to the waterfront park. Traffic calming measures to reduce speed on approach to the waterfront park have also been proposed.

Car parking would be scaled up as part of the development. Currently, there are 353 spaces in the existing parking layout at Hodson Bay, with a proposal to increase that to 488 upon completion of the proposed project.

The aim of the proposed waterfront park is to enhance public access to the lake and improve amenities for walking, cycling, and water-based activities. It also seeks to protect and celebrate the area’s natural and cultural heritage as well as supporting sustainable tourism and economic development.

The preferred design option for the four elements was outlined at the second and final non-statutory public consultation event on Wednesday.

Hosted by Roscommon County Council, the event followed an initial public consultation held last October, during which feedback was received from residents, community groups, stakeholders and visitors. This feedback then informed the selection of a preferred design option for the ambitious multi-million euro project.

Enda Mulryan, Project Manager and Senior Executive Engineer with Roscommon County Council, said the council hopes to apply to An Coimisiúin Pleanála for planning approval in late July and it is expected that elements of the project could be delivered within five years.

He encouraged members of the public to provide feedback on the final design for the proposed Waterfront Park before the closing date of May 6.

"The public's feedback will inform the design going forward, so it is vital that we receive their input to the project before the closing date so we can prepare our planning pack for submission to An Coimisiúin Pleanála," Mr Mulryan said.

Development‑stage funding of €1.39m has been approved to date for the design phase of the project, including €1m from Fáilte Ireland under the EU Just Transition Fund.

The project manager said, subject to planning permission, Roscommon County Council will be "looking at all funding opportunities" to develop the project further.

"There are quite a number of schemes available to help bring the various elements of this ambitious project to fruition,” he said.

He also said the council would assess whether there there would be synergies between the waterfront park and the proposed Lough Ree Greenway linking Athlone, Ballyleague/Lanesborough and Roscommon town.

Mr Mulryan said the immediate focus was to secure planning approval and then to seek funding streams.

"New funding schemes become available on a continuous basis and we will work in tandem with Failte Ireland and Waterways Ireland to ensure we make the best of all available resources," Mr Mulryan added.

The project manager described the waterfront park as a "hugely exciting" project which is intended to be delivered on a "phased" basis.

"Given the size of the proposed development this will be a phased delivery project, but I am optimistic that we will see some elements come to fruition within the next five years. Our aim is to deliver on the active travel and car parking elements of the plan initially, before moving on to the other elements of the design," Mr Mulryan said.

As part of the active travel design element of the project, Roscommon County Council would have to acquire land from Athlone Golf Club to incorporate into the proposed development. Mr Mulryan said a "series of engagements" had taken place with the golf club with a view to the parties coming to an agreement.

"We have engaged a golfing expert to assess the impacts that the proposed design will have on the operations of Athlone Golf Club, and suggested mitigation measures which we are going to review with the golf club," Mr Mulryan stated.

While negotiations between both parties remain ongoing, the project manager said he was hopeful the council and Athlone Golf Club would "come to an agreed solution" to "allow the lands be used for the scheme".

Water activities play a key role in the proposed development. Baysports currently operates a long-running water activities business on Lough Ree. The project manager said that, should planning be approved for the waterfront park, the operation of the water activities would be subject to a tendering process.

"If and when the tendering process opens, ten operators will be able to bid for the contract. You would imagine that Baysports, as the incumbent, would be at an advantage over other similar operators, but it will be an open and transparent competition," Mr Mulryan added.

Roscommon County Council is eager to adhere to a "timeline of July" for submission of the planning application to An Coimisiún Pleanála.

To that end, Mr Mulryan is encouraging the public to submit their feedback on the project prior to the closing date of Wednesday next, May 6.

“We will review the feedback post-May 6, with an aim of tailoring the design as a result of the public's views.

“Once the design process is complete we will freeze the design to draft an Environmental Impact Assessment Report before progressing to the planning stage of the project,” Mr Mulryan concluded.