December 14th 2015

Since all the immediate previous entries have been about the County Council, asbestos, court orders and the Center Parcs project I really should describe what this project is all about and its implications for Ballymahon and South Longford. On September 7^th in this year of our Lord in Ballymahon, Center Parcs unveiled a full preview of its proposed plans for Center Parcs Longford Forest. The €250m development will be located on a 375 acre site at Newcastle Wood, five kilometres from Ballymahon. A detailed master plan, scale models of the lodges and the centre buildings – including the Subtropical Swimming Paradise - and an artist’s impressions of various aspects of the village were shared with the local community and residents.

This is the final in a series of community engagement days hosted by Center Parcs before the planning application is submitted later in the year. It is just an aside that when the original plan was brought to the Minister for Jobs and Enterprise, Mr. Richard Bruton he dismissed the project. Then again he didn’t believe that job creation was possible outside of the Pale. It is curious that when the project was formally launched in Cooney’s Hotel in Ballymahon Mr. Bruton was conspicuous by his absence despite the fact that the Taoiseach Enda Kenny was in attendance as Master of Government Services.

Of course every gobshite politician in the Constituency of Longford Westmeath arrived, washed up, despite the fact that none of them knew about the project in advance and were deliberately kept in the dark which is home to them.

The holiday village will create approximately 750 jobs during construction and employ up to 1,000 people in permanent jobs once operational. It is estimated that over the next 20 years, Center Parcs Longford Forest would generate an economic uplift of €1billion for the Irish economy. As I stated previously, this is no piece of chicken shit!

As it happens, the Prodigal is the official caretaker of the entire Newcastle Forest as things stand. That is incidental. To get a fuller picture of the detail of the project it is merely necessary to transcribe the script contained in the formal planning application as submitted by the Center Parcs planning firm of NTR Planning Ltd. of Oxendon Street, London. The application reads as follows;

“Center Parcs Ireland Limited intend to apply for permission/development at this site Newcastle Wood, Near Ballymahon, County Longford, in the Townlands of Newcastle and Forgney”.

The Development will consist of;

The development and use of land as a Forest Holiday Village at Newcastle Wood, Ballymahon in the townlands of Newcastle and Forgney on a site of 164 hectares. Including 470 lodges (ranging from 2-4 bedrooms plus 1x5 bedroom disability accessible lodge);

A 3 storey apartment building (1,938 sqm GEA) with 30 bedrooms; central buildings (21,500 sqm GEA) incorporating swimming pool area and facilities, external pools, rapids, flumes and water rides, sports hall, leisure activities, bowling alley, ancillary shops, food and beverage outlets, service, storage and plant areas; Aqua Sana Spa including treatment rooms (3,100 sqm GEA); Pancake house restaurant and beach kiosk (960 sqm GEA); Arrivals Lodge (118 sqm GEA); Cycle Centre(187 sqm GEA);Technical Services/Housekeeping, Ground Services Building(1545 sqm GEA); Woodland Activity Building (187sqm GEA plus 15 sqm GEA ancillary buildings); Outdoor Activity Centre (430 sqm GEA plus 108 sqm GEA ancillary buildings/shelters); Refurbishment and extension of Herdsman’s Hut ruins to create a Nature Centre building (278 sqm GEA); outdoor sports, activities, amenity areas, play areas and facilities; Service yards; Waste Water Treatment Plant with a discharge pipe and outfall to the River Inny; foul drainage network including pumping stations and rising mains; Surface water drainage network including roadside swales, filter drains, culverts, widening of existing water courses, attenuation basins and flow control weir structures; 1435 space car park area plus 9 accessible and 4 tree house spaces; main access to Newcastle Road and emergency access onto Abbeyshrule Road; main entrance sign; modification to Newcastle Road and its junction with R392; forest road network, paths and perimeter footpath; interior and perimeter fencing; engineering operations, earthworks and landscape bunds; sports lake (36,000 sqm) and tranquillity lake (2150 sqm) plus nature pond (310 sqm) and dipping pond (70 sqm); water abstraction; clear water vault with tanks and plant room ; hard and soft landscaping, and forest management works; along with all  other site development works and activities; connection to and distribution network within the site of utility services. The application is accompanied by an Environmental Impact Statement and a Natura Impact Statement.

NTR Planning Limited

London.                                                                     
Well; there it is!