Council signs €5m contract for new Curraghmore school

Westmeath County Council has signed a contract with PJ McLoughlin and Sons Ltd of Longford to construct a new 16-classroom school national school with special needs unit on the Ardmore Road, Mullingar for the value of €5m.

The delivery of this school, as the new home for Curraghmore NS, has been devolved to Westmeath County Council from the Department of Education and Skills through a Service Level Agreement.

The provision for a school development on the Ardmore Road was included in the Ardmore/ Marlinstown Local Area Plan 2009-2023 and is currently included in the Mullingar Local Area 2014-2020. 

The need for a new school to replace the existing eight-classroom Curraghmore NS on the east side of Mullingar was identified by the Department of Education and Skills and a budget to provide same was included in its Capital Building Programme. 

This new school development consists of a two-storey, 16-classroom school and two-classroom base special needs unit including general purpose hall, special education teaching rooms and resource rooms, all with the latest technology and wired for WiFi internet connection. 

The development also includes staff car park, parent set-down facility, two ball-courts, junior playground, external shed, open green space, Special Needs Unit play area, landscaping and boundary wall and railing.

This development is designed for out-of-hours use of the general purpose hall providing facilities for the wider community.

It is currently envisaged for this development to be completed in 2018 when Curraghmore NS will move in and fill up the school over the following six years.

Works will commence in early 2018 on the upgrade of footpaths and cycleways along the Ardmore Road between the Dublin Road and the school site to be completed in advance of the opening of the new school development. This work will be carried out by Westmeath County Council.