Calls for review after Westmeath misses out on recreation grants

A sharp sense of disappointment was voiced at the November meeting of the Kinnegad Mullingar Municipal District as councillors complained that two key local projects had missed out on Outdoor Recreation Infrastructure Scheme funding.

Raising the issue, Cllr David Jones said Westmeath’s allocation of €196,200, for works in Ballymore, compared poorly with other counties and described the situation as deeply frustrating for communities that had long campaigned for amenities.

“I welcome the funding that did come to Westmeath, but compared to other counties, it’s way down,” he told the meeting. “Two very important projects, Collinstown Phase 3 to Lough Lene, and the one in Delvin, were unsuccessful, and that’s disappointing. The Lough Lene Phase 3 project, in particular, missed out badly.”

Cllr Jones urged the council to write directly to the minister responsible, calling for the establishment of an appeals process within the scheme.

He said Westmeath County Council should be in a position to submit further evidence and make the case for funding the Collinstown and Delvin developments.

“We should be looking within council budgets at alternative funding sources to secure the land for the next phase,” he said. “We’ve already been considering this for Mullingar and Castlepollard - why not for Lough Lene too?”

He added that the missed opportunity had been especially frustrating for the Delvin community. “I’ve been involved in that project for years, even before I was elected,” he said.

“This was a community-led effort from the start, not just my initiative.”

Council officers share sense of frustration

Director of services at the county council, Deirdre Reilly, acknowledged the councillor’s concerns. “I was very disappointed, from a national perspective, with the level of funding allocation Westmeath received,” she said.

“While colleagues in Athlone were fortunate in their applications, we had two worthy projects in our own district that failed to get support, which is disheartening.”

Ms Reilly added that the council had already sought feedback from the department, and there were plans to strengthen future applications. “Our plans for Lough Lene next year will involve putting in a much larger application, and ideally, we will have our Part 8 planning approval completed or at least ready by then,” she said.

She assured councillors that the council remained fully committed to the projects.

“We’re still 100% behind these initiatives,” she said. “Although we’re disappointed now, we will move forward.”

Cllr Alfie Devine also voiced concerns about the shortfall but cautioned against directing criticism toward individuals over the grant decisions.

“We’re all disappointed that funding didn’t come through for Collinstown,” he said.

“But, I think bashing and giving out about people, particularly online, I think is something that we should be careful of in relation to who we blame for the likes of this.”

He agreed that the Collinstown scheme had significant potential and should remain a priority.

“There’s massive room for improvement in Collinstown,” he said, adding that he would support Westmeath County Council “in any way, shape or form” to get the plans over the line.