Council vetoes major Golden Island shopping project

The future of a huge retail project in the Golden Island area with the potential to create hundreds of new jobs is uncertain this week after Athlone Town Council gave the thumbs down to the plans. Back in January, Tiane Ltd submitted ambitious proposals for a massive mixed-use development at the junction of the Golden Island Road and the Carrickobrien Road which would be larger in scale than Golden Island Shopping Centre. The decision is a blow for the developers who will decide over the next few weeks whether to lodge an appeal to An Bord Pleanála in a bid to overturn the verdict, or resubmit their plans altogether. Among the reasons cited by the local authority for turning down the plans were the high flood risk associated with the site, the significant impacts to the water quality of the River Al and habitats, along with the fact part of the site is unzoned. The council stated in the ruling that the project would harm the vibrancy of the "retail core" of Athlone, while they also expressed concerns about the scale, size and design of the proposals. The project would involve a mixed use development encompassing a 6,000 square-metre retail anchor store, office space and ten retail units. * See full story in this week's Westmeath Independent.