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.
One immediate issue that arose, which we tackled at the last council meeting, was to challenge plans for the bus hub upgrade on Naas main street. More details on that here but in short we gave the go-ahead for an upgrade but insisted that no parking spaces be lost in the process. Finally I recently attended the launch of North Kildare Chambers new premises (at top of Sallins road) and it was great to see that investment and activity coming back to the town centre so well done to all involved there and best of luck at their new location.