Athy
Flooding
At a meeting of Athy Municipal District earlier this month, it was announced that KCC had applied for funding under the Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management (CFRAM). This would entail flood alleviation works for Athy Town at a cost of €9m, making this the largest such scheme in the county, with flood defences from Shrowlands to Ardreigh. We must ensure that the appalling flooding scenes at Rathstewart, Joseph’s Terrace, and the Court House are not repeated.
St Michael’s Cemetery
Funding was approved for works at St Michael’s Cemetery during 2016, with improvement to roads and footpaths in the cemetery to be carried out. This will facilitate an extension to the burial ground.
Emily Square
KCC have planned the much needed regeneration of Emily Square, a focal point of the town. It is vital this is delivered and that the Square will continue to be an integral part of Athy Town.
The Dominican Church
The purchase and lands of the Dominican Church offers great potential to Athy. In addition to the proposed library, arts centre and theatre space, I will work with Cllr Miley and KCC to ensure that all water sport organisations are facilitated on the River Barrow with supported facilities. The property will also include sheltered housing and a riverside park at cost of €8m.
A new Garda Youth Diversion Programme (GYDP) in Athy will help to prevent and reduce crime among youths. This is one of seven projects announced.
Allen
Hill of Allen Car Park
The Hill of Allen is a great heritage asset in our county. We need to do a lot more to make the hill and tower accessible. I am working closely with Bridget Loughlin, Heritage Officer and Damian McNulty to do some work on the car park area, put up some information boards and also have some picnic tables.
Taking in Charge of ‘The Old Bog Road’
Works on this road have been undertaken as part of the 2015 Local Improvement Scheme programme. Subsequently I have tabled a motion for the Jan 2016 Municipal meeting to ensure that this road will be taken in charge.
Robertstown
I have requested that the six derelict houses in the Grove, Robertstown has six houses be purchased by KCC in order to both clean up the area and also provide accommodation to 6 families.
Road Safety Issues from Mylerstown Cross to Healy’s Bridge
We have requested warning signage regarding the problems with the verges in this area.
Coill Dubh
Taking in Charge of Coill Dubh Village
The front roads have already been taken in charge. Public lighting does not appear to be an issue. However, the back lanes have not been taken in charge as they are not up to the required standard. I will continue to work on this issue.
Ballitore
Congratulations to the organisers who erected the Christmas tree and lighting which gave the village centre a very festive feel. Leish Burke is continuing her great work in the Meeting House with the Greese Players which caters for young and old, in speech and drama.
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| On the canvass trail with Cllr Martin Miley |
Narraghmore
Village Upgrades The village centre upgrades will commence in early 2016 in conjunction with the Narraghmore Development Association. Also, you will see upgrade works on the Council ground over the coming year. The Orchards and Lipstown Manor have been taken in charge by KCC and a large focus will be placed on Oak Park.
St Laurence’s
Realignment of Junction: Following a number of motions to the Crossroads at old Grange, KCC have applied for funding for safety measures. This is a dangerous junction with numerous accidents locally; realignment of the junction will alleviate the problem and increase safety for motorists and cyclists entering the junction.
New School
Cllr Miley and I attended the official opening of St Laurence’s new school, and extend congratulations to Fr MCEvoy and the parish of Narraghmore for supplying the site.The new school opened a few months ago and is a superb facility with 20 classrooms which will meet the educational needs of the area for the next three decades.
Old School
Working with Sean Ashe of Kildare Wicklow Educational Training Board (KWETP), we are delighted to have secured a training centre in the old school for apprenticeship training, thereby utilising a local amenity and providing a much needed local service.
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| Official Opening of new school, St Laurence’s NS in Crookstown |
Ballymore Eustace
Road Gritting
I am delighted to confirm that at a recent KCC Budget Meeting, the Ballymore-Kilcullen road will be permanently on the gritting route from 2016 onwards. As winter advances and with it, icy roads and treacherous driving conditions, the R413 Kilcullen to Ballymore Eustace will be permanently added to the winter salting route this year.
Shop Local
Research shows that when you buy from an independent, locally owned business, significantly more of your money is re-invested in the local economy as local traders tend to buy from other local companies and suppliers – all of which boosts the local economy, thus keeping more local people in employment.
Ballymore Eustace offers a diverse range of crafts and gifts created locally; grocery shops, a pharmacy, restaurants, off-licence, two art studios – so please, support your local traders all year round, and if you are going to buy a gift voucher, do it locally.
Carragh
Update on Caragh Bridge
The emergency remedial works on Caragh Bridge in Naas have now been completed and the bridge re-opened in November last. Works will be ongoing at Caragh Bridge in order to complete the works over coming weeks. However, disruptions to traffic will be kept to a minimum and will avoid peak times. Please note that there is a 3.5 Tonne weight restriction order on Caragh Bridge. Diversions for heavy vehicles is signposted and HGV drivers should follow the outer and local diversion routes.
Roads Budget Allocations
Over the coming weeks, Naas Councillors will be allocating funds to various road improvement projects throughout the district. This is money which has been put aside from the local property tax and will supplement the existing roads budget which Fianna Fáil Councillors voted to increase in 2016. It is expected that some of this funding will go toward badly needed repairs in the locality with some bigger projects being put forward to the National Transport Authority for funding. If you would like to discuss any potential roads projects or road repairs in the area, please feel free to contact myself or my colleague Cllr. Rob Power.
County Development Plan
The Draft County Development Plan is currently being prepared by the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council. I have made several submissions on the pre-draft stage along with my Fianna Fáil colleagues at a macro level but the devil will be in the detail to be produced by planners and made publicly available in February. The Development Plan is a vital part of the council’s work as it sets out our ambitions for Kildare for the next five years and is the foundation on which all other decisions are made by the council e.g. rural planning, infrastructure development etc.
It is especially important for residents of villages like Caragh and Ballymore Eustace who will now have an opportunity to feed into their local Village Plan. The Draft County Development Plan will be available for inspection over a 10 week period starting in February 2016. Submissions and observations with respect to the Draft County Development Plan may be made during this period. I will be working with my colleague Cllr Rob Power on the village plan for Caragh and am eager to hear the opinions of residents re same; Cllr Power and I will be furnishing more detail on it as it becomes available.
Update on Caragh Bridge
The emergency remedial works on Caragh Bridge in Naas have now been completed and the bridge re-opened in November last. Works will be ongoing at Caragh Bridge in order to complete the works over coming weeks. However, disruptions to traffic will be kept to a minimum and will avoid peak times. Please note that there is a 3.5 Tonne weight restriction order on Caragh Bridge. Diversions for heavy vehicles is signposted and HGV drivers should follow the outer and local diversion routes.
Roads Budget Allocations
Over the coming weeks, Naas Councillors will be allocating funds to various road improvement projects throughout the district. This is money which has been put aside from the local property tax and will supplement the existing roads budget which Fianna Fáil Councillors voted to increase in 2016. It is expected that some of this funding will go toward badly needed repairs in the locality with some bigger projects being put forward to the National Transport Authority for funding. If you would like to discuss any potential roads projects or road repairs in the area, please feel free to contact myself or my colleague Cllr. Rob Power.
County Development Plan
The Draft County Development Plan is currently being prepared by the Chief Executive of Kildare County Council. I have made several submissions on the pre-draft stage along with my Fianna Fáil colleagues at a macro level but the devil will be in the detail to be produced by planners and made publicly available in February. The Development Plan is a vital part of the council’s work as it sets out our ambitions for Kildare for the next five years and is the foundation on which all other decisions are made by the council e.g. rural planning, infrastructure development etc.
It is especially important for residents of villages like Caragh and Ballymore Eustace who will now have an opportunity to feed into their local Village Plan. The Draft County Development Plan will be available for inspection over a 10 week period starting in February 2016. Submissions and observations with respect to the Draft County Development Plan may be made during this period. I will be working with my colleague Cllr Rob Power on the village plan for Caragh and am eager to hear the opinions of residents re same; Cllr Power and I will be furnishing more detail on it as it becomes available.
Castledermot
Playground for Castledermot
Footpath Upgrades
Christmas in Castledermot
With The One and Only at Castldermot
Crookstown
New School
Cllr Miley and I attended the official opening of St Laurence’s new school, and extend congratulations to Fr McEvoy and the parish of Narraghmore for supplying the site.The new school opened a few months ago and is a superb facility with 20 classrooms which will meet the educational needs of the area for the next three decades.
Old School
Working with Sean Ashe of Kildare Wicklow Educational Training Board (KWETP), we are delighted to have secured a training centre in the old school for apprenticeship training, thereby utilising a local amenity and providing a much needed local service.
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| Official Opening of new school, St Laurence’s NS in Crookstown |
St Laurence’s
Realignment of Junction: Following a number of motions to the Crossroads at old Grange, KCC have applied for funding for safety measures. This is a dangerous junction with numerous accidents locally; realignment of the junction will alleviate the problem and increase safety for motorists and cyclists entering the junction.
The Curragh
Martinstown Lane
The Municipal District Office will examine the area to identify the works required to alleviate the problem that residents have on Martinstown Lane, regarding the narrowness of the lane and the problems with cars and other vehicles meeting on the lane, and prepare a costing so that the works can be considered for 2016.
Nurney
I visited the local playground recently with Cllr Miley, and must compliment the local Tidy Towns on their work. The two shops, Kelly’s and Kinsella’s, with the addition of Upstairs at Nurney, make the village more appealing to local shoppers and passing trade, an incentive to stop in Nurney and support local business.
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| At Nurney Playground with Cllr Miley |
Derrinturn
Derrinturn Graveyard Extension: This will consist of extending the existing graveyard to the south and to the west providing an additional 606 graves. The existing 4.5m (approx) wide road through the existing graveyard will be extended westwards into the new cemetery where it will feed new distribution routes through the new cemetery extension.
An additional 2 spaces suitable for use by disabled persons will be provided for within the extended part.
Robust no parking bollards will be incorporated at various locations throughout the development to prevent ad-hoc parking from
blocking the safe access and egress to & from the cemetery.
A Commemoration Monument feature (details to be confirmed) will be provided in the south-west corner of the new graveyard and
will act as a visual link between the old cemetery the proposed new cemetery extension and the church.
Kilcullen
Call for Local Environmental Action – Kilcullen Tidy Towns
If you have any interest in Environmental Matters of any description – eg Biodiversity, The Built Environent, Waste Reduction and Management, Climate Change, Recycling, Energy Use or Alternative Energy, then Kilcullen Tidy Towns would like to hear from you and can offer an opportunity to do something positive in your own locality. Tidy Towns has come a long way from the days when it was primarily about flowers, neatness and litter and is now the biggest environmental movement in the country. The environmental aspect of the competition is now so strong that many people are suggesting that the name Tidy Towns should be changed. The competition is under the auspices of the Department of the Environment (it was previously under Failte Ireland with the main aim of making places look good for tourists).
Towns and Villages are now judged under the headings :
- Community Involvement & Planning
- Built Environment and Streetscape Landscaping and Open Spaces
- Wildlife, Habitats and Natural Amenities Sustainable Waste
- Resource Management
- Tidiness and Litter Control Residential Streets & Housing Areas
- Approach Roads, Streets & Lanes
So if you are interested in environmental issues, then please consider coming to our information meeting on Monday February 1st in The Town Hall at 8.00 pm. All are welcome.
TEXT ALERT AGM:
The AGM of the local Community Text Alert Scheme will be hosted on Wednesday, 27th January at Walls of Kilgowan.
All welcome.
Road Gritting
At a recent KCC Budget Meeting, it was confirmed that the Kilcullen-Ballymore road will be permanently on the gritting route from 2016 onwards. As winter advances and with it, icy roads and treacherous driving conditions, the R413 Kilcullen to Ballymore Eustace will be permanently added to the winter salting route this year.
Disability Seminar, at KARE Conference Centre, Kilcullen
Newbridge
Traffic Calming at Educate together/Gael Scoil
The Municipal District office has undertaken to conduct a traffic count in early January 2016 in the vicinity of the entrance to Newbridge Educate Together National School and the Gael Scoil to review the impact of the traffic calming measures.
Update on Older folks homes on Athgarvan Road
A pre-tender submission (Approval Stage 3) was issued to the Department of Environment on 8 December 2015. Subject to Departmental approval to proceed to tender we anticipate issuing tender documents in January 2016. Contractors have been pre-qualified to tender for this project. Subject to a successful outcome from the tender process and Department approval to award a contract (Approval Stage 4) it is anticipated commencing on site in Quarter 2 2016 and expect a 15-month contract duration.
Family Resource Centre Dara Park
Driver Theory Test practise – Have you got your Driver Theory Test coming up? The Newbridge Family resource centre have recently purchased the Driver Theory Book and CD. This allows you to track and monitor how well you are progressing each time you practise. Just call the Centre on 045 438173 to book a session. A fee of €1 per session.
Update on the junction at Rickardstown, Newbridge
This area will be examined to identify the works required and a costing prepared so that the works can be considered for 2016.