Slane Area October Monthly Meeting, Wednesday 18th October, 2006, Council Chamber, Duleek Civic Offices
An Cathaoirleach Councillor Anne Dillon Gallagher presided.
Members Present: Cllr. Tom Kelly
Cllr. Pat Boshell
Cllr. Dominic Hannigan
Cllr. Jimmy Cudden.
Officials in Attendance: Martin Rogers, A/Area Manager
Adrian Hobbs, Senior Executive Engineer
Paul Monaghan, Area Administrator.
Teresa Carr, Staff Officer.
Cllr Dillon Gallagher welcomed Martin Rogers in his capacity as Acting Slane Area Manager.
1.0 Confirmation of Minutes
1.1 The Minutes of the September Monthly meeting held on Wednesday 20th September 2006 were confirmed on the proposal of Colr. Kelly and seconded by Colr. Boshell.
1.2 The Minutes of the Special Meeting held on Wednesday 27th September 2006 were confirmed on the proposal of Colr. Kelly and seconded by Colr. Cudden.
2. Presentation by Sgt. Jim Flanagan, Duleek Garda Station
Colr. Dillon-Gallagher welcomed Sergeant Jim Flanagan and Garda Kevin Dugdale, both recently assigned to Duleek, and invited Sgt. Flanagan to address the meeting.
Sgt. Jim Flanagan thanked the Members for the invitation to address a meeting of the Slane Area. He apologised for the absence of Superintendent Devine, who couldn’t make the meeting.
Sgt. Flanagan said he was looking forward to working jointly with the Council on matters of mutual concern. His area covered 10 sq. miles and the manpower at Duleek Station was one sergeant and two Gardai. Based on the population increase since the last census he would be actively seeking additional manpower. He was seeking extra manpower, as he was aware that Duleek had problems that surpass towns of similar size elsewhere in the country. He outlined his areas of concern as follows:
· Parking / speeding on Main Street, Duleek
· Traffic calming at Primary Schools
· Improvements needed to public area at the Garda Station, Duleek and village in general
· Public order offences in Duleek mainly connected to alcohol consumption
· The problems associated with uncontrolled and unauthorised bonfires
· Provision of speed ramps in housing estates
· Poor parking at schools by parents dropping off and collecting children
· Recent attempted murder in the area
· Provision of CCTV cameras on Main Street, Duleek
· Lack of social infrastructure for the growing teenage population
· More proactive role with publicans in promoting good civic behaviour
He stressed that by working in close partnership all the local agencies, including the LAs, Gardai, and HSE etc would be more effective in fulfilling their roles in society.
The Members thanked Sgt. Flanagan for his presentation and assured him and his team that the Council would assist them in whatever way in could in ensuring Duleek and its environs were safe for all its law abiding citizens. The concerns he raised were ones, which they as a body had been advocating for some time, in particular:
· Formulation of Council policy on bonfires
· Planning permissions for new schools to incorporate drop off points, turning bays etc
· Traffic calming measures at schools and in Council / Private estates
· Enhancement works to Duleek including a Bye Pass
· Provision of CCTV cameras on Main Street, Duleek
The Area Manager thanked Sgt. Flanagan for his presentation. He agreed that the concerns Sgt. Flanagan mentioned have been raised consistently by the Members but he stressed that the Council had limited resources available to it and was not in a position financially to comply with all these requests. He assured him, however, that the Council would work closely with him and his team.
3 Status report on the Road Works programme:
The Members received and noted a report on the above and raised the following issues:
· Bollards at Stamullen - Will be investigated
· Road at Credit Union, Slane - The Area Engineer undertook to discuss with the developer and arrange for the works to be done
· Wall at Castle Glen, Donacarney - Will be investigated
· Motorway signage at Julianstown and Gormanston - Will be investigated
· Road signs in miles should be replaced by kilometre signs – will be done
· Signage generally should be better maintained – The Area Engineer stated that signage maintenance would be included as part of the routine road maintenance
· Ponding at Shallon, Julianstown - Will be investigated
· Wall at Donacarney – Will be raised
· Lack of signage before Yellowford Bridge - Will be investigated
· Speed limit at Knockcommon, Slane
· Stamullen footpath
· Ardcath signage reversed. - Will be investigated
· Road lining on the R140 Woodtown to N52 - Will be investigated
· Welcomed works at Julianstown and queried whether road would be closed to facilitate project - Ttemporary traffic lights to be put in place during the mid term break.
· Road at Village Hotel has subsided - Will be investigated
· Council / Private Housing Estates Improvement Works – The Area Engineer was currently preparing a programme of works for spending this allocation
· Donore signage - ordered
4.0 Status report on Capital Projects.
The Members received and noted a report on the above and raised the following issues:
4.1 Housing:
· Donacarney Housing: The A/Area Manager stated that new proposals for Donacarney would be brought before the Members in due course, which would look at the area as an entity with possibly an environmental improvement scheme. The new proposals wouldn’t necessarily preclude housing as the Council had an obligation to provide housing.
· Land Bank: The Members requested that the Council actively source land in Slane and Duleek for the provision of housing. Matter will be referred to the Housing.
4.2 Roads:
· Laytown School: Colr. Boshell stated that he was informed that morning by one of the objectors to the school at Laytown that he wouldn’t withdraw his objection until the road works at Laytown School were completed to the satisfaction of the residents. The Members were unanimous in their condemnation of this type of pressure, which they felt was akin to blackmail.
· Duleek Village Improvement Works: The Members requested an update on this matter. The Area Engineer stated that he hoped to present a report in early 2007 and a start later the same year budget permitting.
· Inse Bay, Laytown footpath. The Area Engineer undertook to look at this in early 2007.
· Stamullen footpath. The Area Engineer said a preliminary design was in progress, that the work could be done without any land acquisition and he confirmed the work would be done.
· Taking in charge of The Cloisters, Bettystown. The Council was waiting on cctv footage of the sewers.
4.3 Water
Nothing raised.
4.4 Sewerage
· APC at Laytown: The Members felt that Laytown wasn’t a suitable location for this type of facility as there was a potential safety issue especially for children. They requested that a modern toilet block be built on the site, funding be sought for this project in next year’s budget and the APC relocated when the new facility is provided. They also requested a report on the issue for the next meeting.
· Gormanston Waste Water: The Members requested an update on this matter for the next meeting.
· Droghedaa WWTP. The Members raised the following: The Council’s PE allocation, the role of DBC as lead authority, whether any excess capacity was being held back which the Council could use, The A/Area Manager informed the Members that there was a working group looking at the whole issue of waste water treatment for the East Meath / Drogheda Area. He wasn’t aware of any capacity being held back, in fact the plant was operating at capacity and Meath currently had lands zoned in excess of its revised allocation of 27,500 PE.
· Planning Strategy Meeting on 1st November for the Greater Drogheda Area. Colr. Cudden said the strategy was a mechanism for promoting growth in Drogheda at Meath’s expense. He felt the Slane Members should use the opportunity to push the case for East Meath and get an update on the situation.
· Sewerage problems at Phases I & II Ledwidge Hall, Slane. To be investigated.
4.5 Amenities
· Duleek Courthouse: The Members requested that the refit works recommence on the courthouse. The Area Engineer said that a staff member was working on this and he would revert back to them.
· Duleek Business Park and the Forge Junction. The Members queried the ownership / maintenance of these areas. The Area Administrator informed them that the former was in private ownership while the latter belonged to the Council and as such these parties were responsible for maintenance.
· Lands at Ninch, Laytown. Cllr Hannigan alluded to a problem with the registration of these lands. The A/Area Manager undertook to revert back to the Members on this issue.
· Colr. Kelly requested and the Members agreed that in future the roadworks report, capital report and report on matters raised at the previous meeting be circulated with the agenda for the monthly meeting. This would enable the Members to read the reports in advance and ensure the meeting wasn’t unnecessarily delayed.
4 Report on Matters Raised at the September Meeting
The Area Administrator informed the Members that as the issues raised at the September meeting were addressed in the Capital report there was no report on this matter.
6.0 Notice of Question
6.1 Cllr Hannigan
Can the Area Manager advise what plans he has to provide litterbins and other street furniture in Donore Village and can he also give a timescale for any such plans.
The Area Engineer replied that there were funds for small improvement works in Donore. These works included lighting, footpaths and street furniture and would commence within the next 2 / 3 weeks.
6.2 Cllr Kelly
What are the reasons why the Derelict Sites in the Slane Electoral Area are not being dealt with.
The Area Administrator advised that this function was now being dealt with centrally and all derelict files has been forwarded to County Hall. IT section was developing a Derelict Sites database and an official of the Council based in Navan had been designated to deal with all derelict sites on a countywide basis.
The Members were unhappy at the removal of this service from the areas. They, however, requested that the section be properly resourced to deal with this important issue.
The A/Area Manager informed the Members that the Council was currently looking at the whole area of service delivery in terms of trying to ensure the best possible service given the limited staff / financial resources at the Council’s disposal.
7.0 Notice of Motion
7.1 Cllr Kelly
That Meath County Council introduce Bye-Laws to prohibit the consumption of alcoholic drink on the beach and dunes areas of the Meath Coastal Area and in the public areas of Mornington, Betaghstown, Ninch, Corballis, Briarleas, Mosney, Irishtown and Gormanston.
On the proposal of Colr. Kelly seconded by Colr. Dillon-Gallagher the Members agreed with this motion.
The A/Area Manager informed the meeting that the Council would need to seek legal advice on this issue as it wasn’t clear from the enabling legislation whether one set of bye-laws would suffice or whether bye-laws would need to be made for each of the locations mentioned in Colr Kelly’s motion.
The A/Area Manager said the Council was currently revising the foreshore bye-laws, and also was looking at introducing parking / traffic bye-laws for Laytown / Bettystown. He outlined the work load involved in making bye laws – drafting, getting approval from the Slane and Full Council Membership, putting on public display, taking on board submissions from interested stakeholders, going back to the Slane Members with final draft, getting Full Council approval and finally advising the public of the adoption of the bye-laws. It was therefore a very time consuming exercise and given the Council’s resources it would be very difficult to oversee more than one set of bye-laws at any particular time.
The Area Administrator requested the Members to come back to him with any proposals they might have for inclusion in the Draft Foreshore Bye Laws and following this a fresh draft will be presented to the Members.
7.2 Colr. Hannigan
That due to the significant number of children and parents trying to cross at Donacarney junction, this council resolves to introduce a new crossing at the junction, from the community centre across to the school side of the junction, and also erects electronic speed signs to encourage traffic to slow down.
On the proposal of Colr. Hannigan seconded by Colr. Boshell the Members agreed with this motion.
The Area Engineer informed the Members that there were no funds available for this request. In fact every project had limited funds and there was only so much the Council could do with the available resources. He would revisit this issue but couldn’t guarantee that the work would be done.
7.3 Colr. Hannigan
That this council resolves to complete the footpath from Donacarney junction up to Blackhills, and agrees to formally withdraw the Part 8 proposal for additional housing on the Council owned green area at Blackhills and instead prepares a Part 8 to construct fixed changing rooms, some games rooms and a small playground (similar to the Bathe Abbey playground in Duleek) on the open space, at the south west corner of the site.
On the proposal of Colr. Hannigan seconded by Colr. Boshell the Members agreed with this motion.
The A/Area Manager advised that the Donacarney Part 8 was covered in the discussion on Housing.
Colr. Cudden stated that every large estate should have a playground. He also felt that if the Council was to provide changing rooms on the open space in Donacarney then it would be inundated with similar requests from every other estate and plainly the Council didn’t have the resources to do this. Colr. Kelly felt that the Council could facilitate the provision of a playground through a lease of the open space to the residents, which would then enable them to apply for grant aid for a playground.
7.4 Colr. Cudden
That this council consider the provision of a 50kph speed limit outside Stackallen National School on the R163 as a matter of urgency in the interest of safety for the children and other road users on this busy stretch of road. Cllr A Dillon Gallagher Seconded.