That Athlone needs a new civic centre is not open to question. The urban district council is housed in a number of properties on land behind St Mary's Church of Ireland premises. One structure here, which appears to date from the early 20th century, was formerly a rectory, but it has been unattractively extended by a large two-storey flat-roofed block. The surrounding area is devoted to car parking. As the centrepiece of a four-acre development, the proposed civic centre - designed by the London-based practice, Keith Williams Architects, which won the project in an open competition - covers much the same ground, but would sweep away all present buildings. In their place is planned a single large structure. Because of the site's natural slope, this would rise four storeys on the side closest to St Mary's and five on the other. Exterior unity comes from the use of just a handful of materials, predominantly cast-stone panels, acid-etched to match local limestone, and glass. Where the latter is not generously employed, the building - on the basis of the architect's drawings - risks presenting too stolid and dark an appearance, especially as all window frames are intended to be finished in a shade of grey not very different to that of the walls. The plans suggest a bulky block that, while not rising higher than St Mary's church, threatens to overwhelm its older neighbour by sheer mass. In the scheme's favour, the civic centre's interior seems to have been provided with an abundance of natural light, particularly in the principal spaces. For members of the public, the most important of these will be the entrance foyer, which, in keeping with current fashion, will rise the full height of the centre to a glazed roof. So too will the council members' chamber, which runs to two storeys, the upper level providing a gallery for visitors. The other large area in the civic centre will be a new library, replacing the current premises on the west of the Shannon in a former temperance hall. The proposed library will be on two levels, the upper rising two storeys to provide a sense of spaciousness. Also planned for the building are offices, meeting rooms, a motor-tax office (part of a local authority one-stop-shop) and a roof garden. Covering approximately one acre of the total site and budgeted to cost £10 million, the civic centre is planned to have new paved public spaces to the front and rear, the latter being marked, in part, by Athlone's old town walls. The local authority hopes building work will begin next February, with the new premises ready for occupation before the end of 2004. The scheme has two big drawbacks, however. The first is that the UDC plans to sell off much of the rest of the proposed site for private retail and apartment development. The town already has a superabundance of both, but the local authority needs the money thus raised to pay for the civic centre. It therefore risks having to acquiesce to the demands of developers if the project is to go ahead at all. The second is that the urban district council intends to incorporate a large car park into the civic centre, even while the road in front of St Mary's remains as narrow and congested as ever. Once again, the preoccupation with encouraging car drivers to visit Athlone seems to have overridden all other considerations. So, while a civic centre is undoubtedly required here, the present scheme has as many disadvantages as merits.
R O'B