A planning hearing into a proposed bridge across the river Shannon in Athlone has ended after just half a day.
The Bord Pleanála oral hearing into the pedestrian and cycleway bridge between the Radisson Blu Hotel and the Luan Gallery had been expected to last two days.
But The Irish Times reports that the Department of Heritage, which had expressed concerns in a submission, failed to attend the hearing yesterday.
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Westmeath County Council is seeking permission to build the 104-metre bridge as an extension to the Dublin-Galway cycle route.
An Bord Pleanála is expected to give its decision by the end of October on the project which if given the go-ahead will take two years to complete.
