Proposed new Offaly hospital gets five-year planning consent extension

THE company behind the plan for a private hospital on the Tullamore bypass has been granted another five years to go ahead with the project.

John Flanagan Developments got the green light last week for a five-year extension on the existing planning permission which brings the consent up to December 2031.

Planning for a private hospital on the site at Arden/Puttaghaun dates back to the early 2000s and construction began on a facility but halted prior to 2010 and a steel frame (pictured below) has stood there for more than 15 years.

In planning documents lodged with the application for a permission extension the developers of the Wellwood project said the steel frame will be used for the latest plan, a private hospital with 56 in-patient beds and significant day bed and outpatient facilities.

The proposed hospital will avail of a new pumping station at the boundary with Arden Vale which will also be used to service the new Scotts Avenue housing development on the adjacent site off the Tinnycross road.

In December a planning consultant for John Flanagan Developments set out the reasons to the council for seeking the permission extension: “Since permission was granted, [John Flanagan Developments] has been in active discussions to secure the implementation of the development for the delivery of a first-class regional hospital to serve the community of Tullamore, Offaly and the wider region. The discussions are on-going and as part of the negotiations, it is necessary to seek amendment to the permissions to secure a form of development which will be built.”

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The consultant added: “Negotiation is ongoing regarding the implementation of the hospital with the necessary providers and interested parties, which of necessity takes time due to the complexities of the matter. It is probable that the development will not be completed in the time period allowed in the extant permissions, so this application seeks to extend the period by 5 years, to December 2031 for the avoidance of future doubt.”

In May 2024 the company got the go-ahead for a hospital with 56 in-patient beds. This was smaller than a previous plan, which envisaged 99 beds, but the latest project has a greater provision for outpatient and elective medicine and will have five operating theatres.

The 99-bed iteration was itself a change from a previous proposal for a 244-bedroom nursing home, rehabilitation and step down facility.

The original hospital development involved Flanagan Developments teaming up with the Mater Private but despite construction starting, the project did not proceed.

Part of the site owned by the Tullamore company at the time was formerly the location of Tullamore Town FC and the fit-out and joinery firm Glen Wood.

Both the soccer club and Glen Wood relocated to the Axis Business Park and in 2024 Fitzpatrick & Heavey Homes bought the site and a major residential development is now being built there.