Sean Mulryan says his €5 billion masterplan for Athlone must be fully supported by the government to succeed. The developer and Ballymore have presented plans for Athlone to become Ireland’s first green city by 2040 to Roscommon Councillors this afternoon. Sean Mulryan along with a delegation from the Athlone 2040 steering group presented their ambitious plans to councillors in Roscommon this afternoon. A number of points were included in the presentation. Under the plans, the Technological University of the Shannon student population is set to increase from 6,000 to 25,000. A new Eco-friendly student village would also be developed to cater for 5,000 students.
Sean Mulryan confirmed in his speech that he has met with various Government representatives over the plans including Taoiseach Michael Martin. Mulryan says the process first started 8 years ago and met the then Taoiseach 6 years ago to discuss the proposal. He says he visited Copenhagen to learn more about how a Green City could be developed. He also says he has received huge encouragement from Government and says it must be fully supported for it to succeed. Mulryan says if they want to meet the 2040 target work needs to start now.
In the presentation, Ballymore say the project delivers regionally balanced growth, it implements the green transition and also supports the programme for Government. They also mentioned the importance of affordable housing and a high quality of life. Ballymore say the energy needed for the city would be created in the city itself. On the transport front, they say there would be improved intercity trains and a journey to Dublin would be less than 60 mins. Finally, they say there would be a Network of driverless buses, existing and new roads tailored for Electric Vehicles and over 100km of dedicated cycleways.
