Ballymore Group says Athlone can be ‘new engine for balanced national development’

Roscommon County Council has called on the government to endorse a plan in its entirety to develop Athlone as Ireland’s first green city, with unanimous support from councillors.

The plan would create a new engine for balanced national development, yesterday’s council meeting was told. Following an invitation from the local authority, company CEO Sean Mulryan and several of his colleagues gave a presentation to councillors on the ambitious project for the midlands.

Ballymore’s blueprint for Athlone is to develop a new, sustainable city designed to accommodate a population of 100,000 by the year 2040. Under this proposal, there would be a major expansion of the Technological University of the Shannon, described as a core part of the plan, from 6,000 to 25,000 students, with a 5,000-bed student eco-village. The city would be powered by 90% renewable energy and be a full 15-minute city model with extensive green mobility networks. It would also have a large scale nature restoration across 5,000 hectares of wetlands, a huge component to the plan, the meeting was told.

Cathaoirleach Liam Callaghan said it was a great honour for the council to invite Ballymore CEO, Sean Mulryan, “a proud Oran man”, very prominent and successful businessman, and generous sponsor of Roscommon GAA, to address the chamber.

Thanking the council for its invitation, Mr Mulryan said the idea for the project started eight years ago, with congestion in Dublin being a key prompt for it. He said that he had received “huge encouragement” from senior government figures, including the Taoiseach and Tánaiste, who told him this is absolutely what Ireland should be doing.

For Roscommon and the Northwest, he said the economic impact and the jobs potential for young people would be enormous. He added that this was a government plan rather than a Ballymore plan. When asked about costing, Mr Mulryan said the costs are at a very early stage, but added that he told the Taoiseach it will be a billion euro commitment a year for the first five years but added that Ireland “does have the money”.

“The payback will be enormous,” he said and he called for it to be done as soon as possible. The company said the presentation to the council was a “key step” of this major national initiative.

“Roscommon is a strategic stakeholder due to its proximity to Athlone and strong social, economic and commuting links,” it said. “Across Government and the region, there is clear recognition of the opportunity to deliver a transformational, climate-aligned city that can act as a new engine for balanced national development.” Ballymore said over the past number of months, a programme of engagement has been undertaken to present the Athlone Green City Vision to government ministers, senior officials, district councils and key regional stakeholders.

“Feedback has been consistently positive and strongly supportive with widespread recognition of the need for a bold, integrated approach to regional growth,” the company said.

*Published under the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme