Tullamore Town Council is the lead authority on the project as all works will take place within the functional area of the Council. However the Council works closely with other key stakeholders whose support for the project is essential, namely Offaly County Council and Waterways Ireland whose consent to carry out works both across and adjacent to the Canal is a statutory requirement. A number of high level meetings between the three partner agencies took place during 2010 and approval in principle to proceed with the project was given by Waterways Ireland subject to the seeking of a number of formal consents. Town Council meet local Waterways Ireland personnel on a regular basis to discuss progress.
In January, 2010, a short listing exercise took place to assess the ‘Expressions of Interest’ submissions from competent contractors for the design and build of 2 no. accessible footbridges and 1 no. boardwalk along the Grand Canal Corridor in Tullamore, Co. Offaly. 21 submissions had been received and five firms were shortlisted. All firms who made submissions were notified in January 2010 of the outcome and details of assessment markings and criteria were also provided in writing.
The next stage in the process was the incorporation of the preliminary designs for the two bridges and boardwalk prepared by the Council’s in-house Architect into drawings prepared for the purposes of the public consultation process required under the Planning & Development Act 2000 and Planning & Development Regulations 2001 as amended. This Part VIII consultation process took place over the period 24th February 2010 to the 30th April 2010. A number of submissions were received. The bridge design had been prepared on the basis of incorporating full accessibility whilst at the same time meeting Waterways Ireland minimum height requirements. The general feedback from the consultation process was that the structures as designed would compromise the visual amenity of the area, in particular the Clontarf Road area and the Elected Members requested that Tullamore Town Council consider alternative designs to minimise the visual impact on nearby residents.
A number of high level meetings with Waterways Ireland personnel took place over the ensuing weeks to overcome the impasse with regards to meeting minimum height clearance, avoiding any negative impact on the visual amenity of the area and providing full bridge accessibility for all users. A compromise solution was then identified which incorporated a third pedestrian bridge crossing adjacent to the existing vehicular/pedestrian Kilbeggan Bridge. This third structure would be fully accessible to all and provide a reasonable alternative for the minority unable to use these two bridges although both bridges would in themselves be accessible to the majority of users. The new proposals underwent a new public consultation process in January, 2011 which ended on the 4th March, 2011.
In tandem with the ‘Part VIII’ process, quotations were sought from a number of competent and experienced Consulting Engineers to prepare the tender documents for issue to the five firms shortlisted for the design and build of the project in January, 2011.
