Council looks to Denmark for inspiration on new boardwalk and Shannon pool

Open swimming baths, like the Islands Brygge in Copenhagen, are the ambition driving the provision of a new boardwalk and outdoor urban swimming pool along the Shannon in Athlone.

This aspiration emerged in a new council tender looking for consultants who determine a location, develop a design, and supervise the delivery of the new waterside 'Shannon Pool' amenity.

The proposed boardwalk is intended to extend from the quayside adjacent to the new greenway bridge, right up to Burgess Park on the east side of the River Shannon, and this boardwalk would incorporate an enclosed outdoor swimming area.

Passing under the current town bridge, it would be designed in accordance with current standards as a floating facility that would rise and fall with river levels.

It is intended as a pedestrian and cycling facility only and would be a “significant width,” which could be up to eight metres, to enable leisurely passage.

The successful contractor would be required to determine the “optimal design and location” for the new amenity, according to the tender documents published earlier this month, tailored to the environmental, hydrological, and architectural constraints present at the site.

The river through the town centre is located between two protected Natura sites, Lough Ree to the north, and the Shannon Callows, to the south.

“Given its central location, this amenity will need to be aesthetically pleasing and provide an eye-catching attraction for potential visitors to the area,” explained the project specifications in the newly published tender notice.

“Open swimming baths, such as that in Islands Brygge, Copenhagen effectively capture the aspirations driving this project.”

While Athlone is identified as having "significant potential" to attract domestic and international visitors, the river front through the town centre is "under-utilised" and "underdeveloped" with Athlone Marina the sole amenity on the water within the urban area.

Westmeath County Council, in the tender documents, pointed out that the overarching objective is to enable the delivery of a facility to “accommodate water-based leisure activity” along with walking, relaxing and open water swimming.

The boardwalk and swimming pool in the river have been mooted at various stages over the years, and some concerns were previously expressed about the proposals by residents in The Strand and Griffith Street areas.

While preliminary illustrative sketches have shown the pool located by The Strand, and close to Flynn's Funeral Home, it was felt at council meeting last year that the 'Shannon pool' concept would be better located down by Wolfe Tone Terrace or Burgess Park.

In stage one, the successful contractor would develop a preliminary design option within the constraints before moving to develop the preferred option and collate a preliminary design fit for public consultation in stage two.

According to the current tender documents, the third stage would involve bringing together detailed design drawing documents, specifications etc, with a view to managing a competitive tender competition to appoint a suitable contractor to deliver the project through the building project.

The remaining phases cover the successful contractor supervising the contract and construction programme with the firm chosen to bring the boardwalk and open swimming pool to fruition to the handover stage.

February 12 is the closing date for companies bidding to win the two-year contract.

Acting CEO of Westmeath County Council, Barry Kehoe, indicated last year that he hoped the local authority would be in a position to implement the project in 2024 or 2025.