Almost €0.5 million is being sought by Westmeath County Council to improve lakeside amenities in the Athlone area.
A number of desired improvements have been identified for five separate lakeside sites in the Athlone area, with a total of €486,600 in funding being sought to carry out the works. According to director of services George Lambden, who addressed councillors at Wednesday’s Athlone area meeting, funding is being sought from a number of different sources, including the Westmeath County Development Fund and Failte Ireland.
The sites which have been identified are Coosan Point, Port na Neena, Portlick, Kileenmore, and Muckanagh, all popular sites for visitors to Lough Ree, with councillors deciding on Coosan Point and Portlick as the most immediately in need of attention.
The most elaborate works are planned for Coosan Point, at a cost of €390,000. The majority of this money, €240,000, would be used to demolish and replace the existing toilet block and upgrade with a new treatment system. Other suggested works include replacing bollards, providing disabled access to the lakeshore, new CCTV system, and children’s playground, and the upgrade of signage and landscaping.
The budget for Port na Neena is €34,000, which would be used to upgrade the car park, and provide a picnic area, bicycle stands, and additional landscaping.
Proposed developments at Portlick, at a total of €18,500, include improvements to access such as improving stone piers, removing concrete barriers and height barriers at the south entrance, and providing better access for pedestrians.
A sum of €26,500 is budgeted for Killeenmore, to include improvements to car parking areas, boundaries, and boat moorings, and the provision of information signage and life saving rings.
At Muckanagh, the most northerly access point on Lough Ree, €17,600 is being sought to improve the access road and boat slipway, provide information signage, and construct car parking bays.
The total potential expenditure on improvements to lakeside amenities across Westmeath is over €1.4 million, with €752,000 of this to be allocated for the Mullingar area and €173,500 for the Coole area.
