Boardwalk and Outdoor Urban Swimming Pool for Athlone takes a step forward

Westmeath County Council is welcoming funding to progress the detailed design and planning of a Boardwalk and Outdoor Urban Swimming Pool in Athlone.

Fáilte Ireland have announced funding approval of €561,803 for the detailed design and planning of a Boardwalk and Outdoor Urban Swimming Pool in Athlone, under the Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme, part of the EU Just Transition Fund.

Westmeath County Council is undertaking the detailed design and planning of Boardwalk and Outdoor Urban Swimming Pool in Athlone. The project has been awarded €561,803 through Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme, co-funded by the EU and the Government of Ireland under the EU Just Transition fund.

Concept proposals for this new river-side attraction were included in the Athlone Urban Design & Regeneration Framework Plan alongside additional public realm pipeline projects, to continue the successful regeneration of Athlone as a destination of choice. The new detailed designs will feature a new c. 450 metre boardwalk alongside the east bank of the River Shannon, linking the Old Rail Trail and new Greenway bridge to Custume Place and Burgess Park, playground and amenities. The project also includes the design of an iconic outdoor urban swimming pool on the Shannon, which will be accessible from the boardwalk.

Athlone Town Core and its public realm has been considerably transformed in recent years, including ongoing streetscape enhancements, the restoration and expansion of some of Athlone’s key heritage assets – Athlone Castle and Luan Gallery and the development of the Old Rail Trail through the town, part of the emerging Dublin to Galway Greenway, with the addition of a new River Shannon Cycleway Bridge in 2023.

Fáilte Ireland’s Regenerative Tourism and Placemaking Scheme aims to transform tourism across 8 counties in Ireland’s Hidden Heartlands and Ireland’s Ancient East by diversifying the local economy and providing new employment opportunities for workers and communities that were heavily dependent on peat. The scheme will develop the midlands into a leading regenerative tourism destination, creating more reasons for domestic and international tourists to visit the Midlands while also sustaining jobs, businesses and local communities in the region. It will also support the transition of the Midlands to a carbon neutral destination through funding of sustainable tourism projects that are designed to have significant regenerative impacts on local communities and peatlands.

*Artists impression of the pool and boardwalk*

Information on the EU Just Transition Fund

The EU Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a fund created to support the regions and communities in Europe that are most negatively affected by the transition to climate neutrality and to promote socio-economic transition, ensuring that no one is left behind.

The EU JTF aims to address employment, economic, social and environmental impacts that come with the shift away from carbon-intense activities. The funding programme in Ireland will support the areas in the wider Midlands where communities have been negatively affected by the closure of peat production and peat-fired energy generation facilities.  
Ireland is set to receive up to €84.5 million from the EU Just Transition Fund over the period to 2027. With the Government of Ireland’s match funding using Exchequer resources, up to €169 million will be available in the period up to 2027. 

Investment through the EU Just Transition Fund programme will be targeted to support the diversification of local economies and the creation of new opportunities that complement the assets of the territory. The fund will also restore degraded peatlands and regenerate industrial heritage assets, as well as invest in smart and sustainable local mobility so that local communities are able to benefit from the economic opportunities and amenities.  

For full details on the programme and its strategic priorities can be found at https://emra.ie/eu-jtf/, the EU Funds website www.eufunds.ie and https://www.failteireland.ie/Identify-Available-Funding/Just-Transition-Fund/About-EU-JTF.aspx