Mullingar, which has regarded itself as a Cinderella town for industrial and other developments down the years, seems at last to be grabbing the tail of the Celtic Tiger.
Westmeath County Council has amended the county plan to allow for the development of a 100-acre site on the eastern side of the town. The plans include 700 private houses and a mix of office and light industrial developments.
The Midland Health Board, which part-owned the site, recently transferred ownership to the county council to develop it for residential and industrial purposes.
Welcoming the move, county council chairman Mr Tom Cowley said the development would give a huge boost to Mullingar.
"Westmeath generally has become very attractive to people who want to get out of Dublin city and huge amounts of property are being purchased between here and there," he said.
"There is an urgent need for more housing both for those who want to come and live here and local people who want to stay and work in their own area." He confirmed that the county plan had been amended to allow the development of the site as quickly as possible. He said the development dovetails with the recent announcement that the American company, Oxford Health Plans, is to locate in the town. Its senior personnel arrived in Mullingar last week to begin recruiting staff for the new claims processing facility, which will have a start-up workforce of 80. This is expected to expand to 500 over the next few years.
Mr Cowley said the impact of such a development on a town the size of Mullingar - population 14,000 - will be similar in percentage terms to Dublin deciding to build another Tallaght.
He said all the villages along the main western route from Dublin were benefiting from the growth in the economy - towns like his native Kilbeggan, Rochfordsbridge and Kinnegad. One Dublin businessman has already spent over £1.2 million on land at Kinnegad and his understanding was that the property would be developed for housing.
"While the influx of people from the city coming to Westmeath to live has put a strain on the services, the demand has also generated funds for the council through planning fees," he said. "We are not near the stage when we have any complaints about overcrowding." The president of Mullingar Chamber of Commerce, Mr Michael Moroney, said he was delighted with the news of the development which would greatly enhance the town.
"I understand that it is going to be a proper mix of development, and the commercial side will involve the kind of development we want here, not nuts and bolts industry, but value added developments," he said.
Getting to Westmeath from Dublin may become a little easier in future. Plans are well advanced for a slip road which will channel Galway and Athlone-bound traffic to the east of the town, making it unnecessary for it to pass through one of Ireland's black spots for traffic jams.
The local authorities have put forward a plan to the National Roads Authority and - if approved - attempts will be made to acquire the necessary land for the slip road.