Two new schools on Penn site

The Department of Education is set to build two new schools on the old Penn site on the Lynn Road in Mullingar.

The Westmeath Examiner has learned that the department have held a number of pre-planning meetings with officials from Westmeath County Council in recent months about the multi-million project, which it is believed will see two local schools relocate to a state-of-the-art educational campus on the outskirts of Mullingar.

The site on the Lynn road was originally purchased by the department for the relocation of its headquarters as part of Bertie Ahern's ambitious but ill-fated decentralisation plans.

Preparations for the project began recently with work on the roundabout at Lynn Road. At the July meeting of Mullingar Municipal District, council official Martin Murray revealed that a new road is set to be constructed from the roundabout at the site entrance to the roundabout outside Expert Electrical in the Clonmore industrial estate

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Cllr Ken Glynn, who lives in the Clonmore area, welcomed the news. The Fianna Fail man said that the Clonmore and Lynn areas have been rejuvenated in recent years and the new schools will be a positive addition.

For a number of years Cllr Glynn has called on the council to improve safety at the roundabout in front of the Expert store. He says that the news that a signal light system will be installed when the road linking the roundabout to the Lynn Road is completed should make the busy intersection safer for motorists.

“The new schools are big news for the area. It will be good to have two new schools on this side of town. The new road from the Lynn Road to Clonmore should also help traffic flow in the area.”