Council goes to tender on €28m Athlone housing project

Having recently secured planning approval for a development of 94 homes next to Cornamagh cemetery in Athlone, Westmeath County Council has now advertised for a private developer to deliver the new housing estate.

On the Government's eTenders website, the council is inviting bids from prospective developers to handle the design, construction, delivery and sale of the development, which is due to incorporate a mixture of social (30%), affordable (20%) and private (50%) housing.

According to the tender documents, the estimated value of the contract would be in the region of €28 million, excluding VAT.

In May, An Coimisiún Pleanála awarded planning approval for the 86 houses and eight apartments on a 5.66 hectare site around 150 metres north of the N55 (Ballymahon Road), some two kilometres from Athlone town.

The 94 homes are to be bounded by Cornamagh Cemetery to the west, the Drumaconn housing estate to the south east, and the proposed Glenveagh ‘Esker’ development in Cornamaddy to the east.

The tender documents state that the council is looking for a "suitably qualified and experienced development partner" who would "deliver the proposed development in its entirety".

The potential developer would be required to have a minimum annual turnover of €15m per annum, and also must show that they have delivered at least two projects "of similar scale and complexity" within the last decade.

The tender documents state that although the site for the new housing is "outside the typical walking distance to the town's main convenience shopping," there is "a well-established neighbourhood centre" situated less than 500 metres from the site.

"This centre includes a SuperValu, pharmacy, optician and a Costa Coffee," the tender documents state. "In addition, the Fernhill Garden Centre and restaurant, providing high quality dining, is located approximately 300 metres away.

"A petrol filling station with an associated convenience shop is also located within 250 metres of the site," the council added.

The development contract would be 30 months in duration. Developers interested in delivering the housing must submit their bids by the end of July, with the contract due to be awarded by the end of November.

Planning approval for the housing was granted by An Coimisiún Pleanála in May, subject to nine conditions.

The conditions included that that all works on site should be supervised "by an on-site Ecological Clerk of Works" who would report on compliance with environmental mitigation measures.

The council was also directed to ensure that a qualified archaeologist was appointed to carry out "pre-development archaeological testing" at the site and to prepare an Archaeological Impact Assessment Report.