Permission granted for new link road in Trim

Planning permission has been granted for a new road connecting the Athboy Road and Navan Road at Blackfriary and Peterstown, Trim, that will open up the area for future development. Meath County Council granted planning permission to Blackfriary Services Co Ltd to construct the link road, which is approximately 1.54km in length and 17.8m in width, containing two traffic lanes with grass margins, footpaths, cycle tracks and junctions, including roundabouts. The 70-hectares site is subject of a framework plan and the road is designed to open up these lands for development. The future mixed-use development will include residential units, a neighbourhood centre and a site for a new school. The new link road granted permission connects the Athboy Road (R154) with the Navan Road (R161) and the line of the road is broadly east of the Athboy Road and west of the Navan Road, in the townlands of Blackfriary and Peterstown. The development also provides for foul and surface water drainage and water mains to accommodate future development of the adjacent lands and includes the replacement of the Newtown foul pumping station with a new foul pumping station, storage facility and control building and an extension to the existing pumping station site at Newtown Road, Trim. The framework plan, extending to an area of 70.8 hectares, also accompanied the planning application and the framework plan, though not forming part of the planning application, provides guidance on issues such as land use distribution, urban design, and provision of social, recreational, and community provision in accordance with the requirements of the planning authority. Trim area councillor Jimmy Fegan has welcomed the granting of permission for the road and said that it would enable a start on the development. He said that start would be subject to the Meath County Development Plan which restricts the number of houses but added that, given the economic downturn, he felt the allocation for year one is sufficient and he would 'love to see it go ahead'. Cllr Fegan said that the new road network would take the pressure off the existing roads in Trim and would also enable the council to engage with the developer in funding improvements to the Navan Road out of Trim which, he said, is in 'a poor condition'. According to Cllr Fegan, the land has been zoned since 2000 and he added it was unfortunate that the framework plan had taken so long to bring to fruition. He said Meath County Council 'had no role in that and had to sit back and wait'. Cllr Fegan went on: 'It is a pity it didn"t happen earlier in better economic times, but I would still like to see it happen.'