Hopes high of positive news on hospital plan
The local company behind plans to bring a new hospital to Tullamore is engaged in high level weekly talks with a major international healthcare provider, and is hoping to be in a position to make a positive announcement on the long-awaited project before the end of the year.
Dominic Doheny, Joint Managing Director of John Flanagan Developments, confirmed to the Offaly Independent this week that the new hospital will include “a mix of specialities” and added that “a lot of time and expertise” is currently being invested in refining the suite of health specialities to be provided on the 20-acre Wellwood site, just off the N52 bypass at Arden/Puttaghan. The project received planning approval in February of this year.
Meanwhile, Offaly County Council has also granted planning permission to John Flanagan Developments in recent days for a large-scale housing scheme on a portion of the same 20-acre Wellwood site consisting of 90 houses, 20 apartments and 38 age-friendly assisted living units.
While he stresses that the housing development is “not dependent” on the proposed new hospital, Dominic Doheny admitted that the provision of housing on the same Wellwood site “will complement” the overall project.
“One of the first questions any potential investor will ask is ‘what is the accommodation like?’ and we would hope that the new housing development at Wellwood will be a major positive, not just for the proposed hospital project, but for the overall infrastructural offering in Tullamore.”
Mr Doheny said it is anticipated that the new healthcare facility on the Wellwood site will have “around 250 staff” many of whom will need to find accommodation in the town. He also pointed to the “already existing need” for housing in Tullamore and said the new housing development will help to serve that need.
The granting of planning permission for the large scale housing development at Wellwood has 26 conditions attached, one of which states that “no construction traffic related to the proposed development shall traverse Arden Vale”, and also stipulating that that access to the pumping station through Arden Vale should only be for maintenance after upgrades are constructed. This is in the interest of residential amenity.
The issue of access for construction traffic through the Arden Vale residential area was raised in a submission from the local residents association in which they expressed concerns about the plan for a proposed “temporary entrance” to the existing pump station in the estate and also raised concerns about the layout of the Wellwood development.
Dominic Doheny said that, while his company had met with many of the residents associations in the vicinity of the Wellwood housing development, it is their intention to meet with them again in an effort to address any concerns they may still have.
“We take it as a very positive sign that we have got over the first hurdle, but we appreciate that there are still concerns out there and we will do our best to address each of these concerns as they arise” he said.
The project also makes provision for a creche facility on the site; surface car parking; bicycle parking; public and private open space, and all ancillary works including the provision of communal and administrative facilities associated with the assisted living units.