Council keen for public to have say on town plan

Last week Westmeath County Council launched a public consultation phase of the proposed variation of the County Development Plan. This variation will incorporate a Settlement Area Plan for Mullingar and integrate up-to-date planning policy requirements.

Orla McGann, a senior executive planner with the local authority, told the Examiner about the latest stage in planning the future of Mullingar: “We have produced a settlement plan for the Mullingar area up to 2031. We’ve identified a framework for the development of Mullingar in that timeframe. We now want people to engage with the plan.”

The plan focuses on key economic, social and environmental issues affecting Mullingar. It also includes tailored and site specific objectives and actions to enable the town to fulfil its development potential.

The local authority hosted a public information drop-in session in Mullingar Library to provide members of the public and interested groups an opportunity to engage with the team behind the proposed variation.

This public consultation is to stimulate feedback on the plan. The proposed variation will provide a detailed framework to guide “sustainable growth and development” of the county town.

The latest stage invites interested parties or individuals to meet face to face with members of the design team. Those who attended were encouraged to make written or electronic submissions about the variation. Ms McGann said public engagement is vital for the plan to be successful. “The plan is available on the consultation portal on the Westmeath County Council website. We’d love people to review it and give us their comments on it, if they’re happy with it, or if they want to make suggestions. We want people who live here, who visit here for shopping, or people who work here to engage in the plan.”

The settlement area plan covers a lot of ground: “It deals with subjects like housing, economic development, regeneration of the town centre, transport, built heritage, natural heritage, archaeology, all the different facets of life in Mullingar. So there’s something there for everyone.

“We’re trying to promote the existing assets of the town. We’ve two beautiful lakes, with the town sandwiched between them, and the beautiful Royal Canal. We need to maximise those assets,” Orla told the Examiner.

Among the ambitious targets is a commitment to provide zoned land to accommodate the housing target of 2,330 units by 2031 and 3,670 by 2035. Climate action, with a commitment to meeting the obligations as a designated decarbonising zone, is another focus of the plan.

Under the heading sustainable community Mullingar’s increasing diversity and vibrancy are highlighted. Quality of life, wellbeing and creating conditions where social, natural and economic needs are met are identified in the plan as key goals. This section identifies education, healthcare, childcare and community development as specific areas of interest.

“We’ve identified a site for a primary school. We’ve also identified a number of areas for planned parks, which would be great for everybody to engage in. Obviously they’ll be contingent upon funding, but the fact is we’ve embedded them in policy, which gives them a better chance of getting funding across the lifetime of the plan.”

The event in the library brought members of the public face to face with council staff and that opened dialogue on areas of concern. The public are encouraged to continue to further engage with the process.

“We’re inviting the public to make submissions on the plan up until August 13 next. The plans are there, the zoning maps are available. People can view every aspect of it. Hopefully they’ll find something that resonates with them, and engage in the process,” Ms McGann concluded.

Any submission or observation may be made until 5pm on August 13, 2025 and will be taken into consideration before the making of the proposed variation. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Submissions or observations should be in one medium only, either online or a hard copy.

Further information is available on the WCC Consultation Portal at consult.westmeathcoco.ie.