The long awaited protocol from Irish Water for taking in charge of estates finally issued on the 6th November. I have been campaigning for estates to be taken in charge by the council for the past two years. When an estate is taken in charge it means that the council assume responsibility for maintenance such as fixing street lights and repairing broken kerbs. If an estate is not taken in charge it can lie in limbo for years with nobody performing basic maintenance, especially with so many builders going bust in recent years. I had been working with a number of estates to get them taken over by the council and the final blocker was Irish Water which had created an obstacle from the 1st January this year on any new taking in charges.
Category Archives: Policy
Update: Naas Town Centre
One of the themes of my election campaign was to revitalise Naas town centre and restore the commercial heart of the town. Last August, shortly after being elected to the positions of Naas Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively, Cllr. Seamie Moore and myself embarked on a series of meetings with traders throughout Naas town. Over the course of six meetings during August and September we met traders from different parts of the town and gathered notes on the issues that mattered to them. I would like to think we had a good handle on the “big picture” issues already but it is always worthwhile hearing what people have to say directly. We intend to tackle the big ticket items identified as far as we can and I will update again on those efforts in due course.
Morrell Flood Relief Plans
Everyone remembers when Sallins flooded in 2009 but whilst most people will recall the urban flooding at “The Waterways” in Sallins village, it gathered less media attention that rural townlands were flooding at the same time just a mile or two out the road. The areas of Killeenmore and Turnings were especially hit but also Castlewarden and unfortunately surface flooding on the N7 around there remains a familiar sight after a heavy rainfall. I was onsite with the residents during those floods back in 2009 and 2010 (see here) and have continued to liaise with the local committee since as a solution has evolved. Thankfully we are nearing the end of that journey and plans for a new flood relief scheme to mitigate all along the Morrell river basin were unveiled in the council offices last month. You can view the detailed designs at this link here and the council are accepting submissions until the end of November.
Naas Bus Hub – Now Shorter and Sweeter
One of the town centre items that came up at the last council meeting concerned plans to upgrade the “bus hub” on Naas Main Street. I had a number of difficulties with this, some of which stemmed from our meetings with traders. Firstly I am unconvinced that there is sufficient demand for a new bus stop at this location to justify the cost. Secondly we do not appear to have the power to divert the money to other locations where there is a demand. Thirdly the project as proposed would have taken away parking spaces from the Main Street which is just not acceptable at a time when they are so needed. We had a robust debate on the proposals at that council meeting and I and other Cllrs expressed the concerns above. The outcome was that the “hub” will be re-designed to reduce its size and street footprint and that no parking spaces will now be lost.
Yellow Box for Osberstown Junction
The Osberstown junction in Sallins is overloaded and dangerous at times as traffic struggles to get out here. I was delighted to have my motion for a yellow box passed at council and put in place. Hopefully this will make some difference to the daily congestion here. However, I will continue to explore options for a long term solution at the junction to relieve the chronic traffic situation.