€7.5m boost for Blackhall swimming pool project
Eilís Ryan
A major boost has come this week towards development of the Mullingar Regional Sports Centre - particularly the swimming pool element, which is poised to go into a site at Blackhall, in Mullingar Town Centre, with a hoped-for opening date of 2030.
The government has announced a grant of €7.5m - the maximum available - for enabling works and public realm construction at Blackhall place.
That is intended to help bring the development to shovel-ready stage, a phase that is anticipated to cost approximately €12m.
Westmeath County Council will need to come up with the remaining €4.5m from other sources. To that end, the council has applied for €2.6M EU Just Transition SMART funding for site rehabilitation works at Blackhall. If approved, this will form part of that matched funding required to deliver this phase.
The allocation follows a previous government grant of €2m secured to progress the design and planning of the state of the art multi-purpose facility, which is to comprise an eight-lane 25m swimming pool with spectator seating, a 20m teaching pool and splash; a 12-court multi-use sports hall, a sym and studio, meeting rooms and changing rooms.
In total, Westmeath is to receive €15.3m from this round of Town and City Regenration Investment Funding (TCRIF), announced by Housing Minister, James Browne. As well as the €7.5 for the Blackhall development, the council has received a further €150,000 for Mullingar, intended for the Mullingar Southwestern Quadrant Regeneration Framework; as well as €7.5m for the Athlone Riverside Cultural and Public Realm Regeneration project and €150,000 for the Athlone Tourism and Cultural Quarter.
The announcements have been welcomed by Ministers Peter Burke and Robert Troy.
Ministeri Troy said: “The future of sport in Mullingar is about to change.”
The investment represented, he said, "a major step forward" for the regional sports complex.
Minister Burke said that this was a "hugely positive development" for Mullingar, an exactly yhe kind of investment that can unlock a mjaor project of the scale planned.
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"I have consistently supported the Blackhall project at Cabinet level because I believe it can make a transformative difference to sporting, recreational and community facilities in Mullingar and across the region," he said.
Minister Troy, stated that the plans for the centre would transform an underused site in the heart of Mullingar into an incredible community and sporting facility.
Both men extended praise to the Mullingar Pool Action Group: "They and their members have been the driving force behind this project, campaigning tirelessly, meeting with Ministers and keeping the project firmly on the agenda," said Minister Troy, while Minister Burke paid tribute to them for their continued campaigning and commitment to seeing a new swimming pool delivered for Mullingar.
"Their persistence has helped keep this issue firmly on the agenda," he said.
The two also acknowledged the work of Westmeath County Council.
A second portion of the Midland Regional Sports Centre is to be developed on a separate site, at Robinstown. It is to consist of three all-purpose, all-weather pitches, 4 padel courts and 1 outdoor basketball court, a walking trail and a playground. The Robinson site will also include a pavilion building comprising 3 dedicated indoor training spaces, changing rooms, toilets and ancillary facilities.