Transport museum for Mullingar still on track

Locating a transport museum in the county town is still part of the Mullingar Settlement Area Plan, despite the fact its proposed location will not be rezoned.

Railway Terrace, the eight derelict two-storey former railway workers’ houses on Clonmore Road, Mullingar will not be rezoned as part of the Mullingar Settlement Area Plan.

At a recent special meeting of Westmeath County Council to discuss proposed variations to the Mullingar Settlement Area Plan (SAP) 2025-2031, local authority members heard it would be “really valuable to see it renovated”.

The houses, originally built around 1855, are all unoccupied. The matter was dealt with under the heading of Town Centre and Regeneration, where Railway Terrace was identified as a “Strategic Opportunity Site”.

The site has been the subject of a number of proposals over the years. The most recent restoration suggestion is that the former railway cottages could provide housing and a location for a transport museum.

The property is owned by Iarnród Éireann, a subsidiary company of the semi-state body Córas Iompair Éireann (CIÉ). Councillors were informed the site owner supports the identification of six “opportunity sites” in Mullingar for sustainable urban regeneration, including Railway Terrace.

The executive said proposals to rezone them would not change the status of the site. A document issued to the elected representatives stated: “Having regard to the restricted nature of the subject site, the limited access to the site, existing road network constraints and the lack of green space in this built up area, it is submitted that the remainder of the site should be zoned open space rather than mixed use.”

The document said on the issue for the provision of low density dwellings at Railway Terrace, “this matter is best addressed at development management stage having consideration to a comprehensive design proposal for the site”.

The executive said that the requests for rezoning of part of the subject lands from mixed use to open space would be noted.

Explaining the council’s stance, Cathaldus Hartin, senior planner with Westmeath County Council, told a meeting that the mixed-use zoning “gives the council flexibility regarding a development proposal that might be viable on the site”.

“If we’re dealing with the terrace in isolation as a site that has to be renovated and rehabilitated the cost of that will be enormous,” he told members. “Our recommendation is that we zone the mixed-use in order that we can prepare a master plan that will be subject to consultation with yourselves and the public, and that that masterplan then would describe the future development of the site, including the renovation of Railway Terrace.”

Mr Hartin said the local authority recognises the importance of the site: “It is a valuable historic site in town. It has been there for many, many years. It’s a protected terrace, and it would be really valuable to see it renovated.”

A request by the Westmeath Examiner to ascertain if Railway Terrace was on the derelict sites and whether Derelict Sites Levies were issued to the owners was not answered by the council.