Concerns voiced about Brawny's future after residents' group disbands

Local councillors have said they're concerned that the Brawny area of Athlone could fall into a state of disrepair after the local residents' group disbanded recently.

The dissolution of the Brawny Homes Residents Group was announced in the aftermath of planning permission being awarded last month for the 576-unit Lissywollen housing development on a site adjacent to Brawny.

At this month's meeting of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, there was a 20-minute discussion about the residents' group's decision after the matter was raised by Cllr Frankie Keena.

Council management told the meeting they were "disappointed" to see the residents' group depart, and that they would work with Brawny residents "to try to re-establish a group in the area."

Cllr Keena said he was worried about the direction the estate might take in the absence of the residents' association, which had returned various items to the council including a ride-on lawnmower it had been using.

"I'd have concerns that the estate is going to come into disrepair, the grass and weeds are going to grow, and litter is going to accumulate out in the public areas.

"It's not going to help the (Lissywollen project) developer Alanna Roadbridge, with building houses and selling houses, if an area beside it is not being maintained."

Cllr Keena said he could understand the decision of the residents' group to disband, saying the Lissywollen planning verdict had been "the final straw," but that other issues which "accumulated over time" had also contributed to the decision.

"Residents' associations need strong support. Apart from funding and advice, they need support in relation to issues that come up on their doorsteps," he said.

"How do we support residents' associations in a more pro-active, more urgent manner in the whole area of anti-social behaviour, litter in backyards, and criminality in some areas as well, be it drug dealing or whatever else, which is causing problems for residents?

"Residents' associations get all of these queries and, really, they're left in limbo, without any support.

"Brawny is a fine estate. It was the first integrated estate, between local authority housing and private housing, and it was lauded there a number of years ago when it was built first.

"The support was given to get this residents' association up and running and it was working really well, but now it's not there anymore."

Cllr John Dolan said things were "still a bit raw" in Brawny after the Lissywollen planning decision.

"It was disappointing to see the residents' group disbanding. I would have preferred to see them there and maybe engage with the new people coming into the area, because if you have a residents' group that's already established it's always an advantage," said Cllr Dolan.

He expressed the hope that there would be a new group set up in the area but said he didn't expect that to happen for a number of months.

The group's decision was "a shot across the bow to the local authority and indeed to the Gardai," according to Cllr Aengus O'Rourke, who said he had been receiving calls and complaints about "ongoing issues" in the area.

"There are people who are continually testing the authorities, all of the time, and I just don't think we as a local authority have handled those situations well," said Cllr O'Rourke.

He said issues around anti-social behaviour stemmed from "a small few people" in local estates, and that the council's management of those issues had been "weak" and lacked decisiveness.

"This isn't just a problem in Brawny. I have similar problems in other estates," he said. "As public representatives, we look like we're not doing our jobs because we're getting the same calls about the same people all of the time.

"Brawny is an estate that was brilliantly managed by the community, which is exactly what we're trying to build across the board. Here we had the perfect model, going for the 'pride of place' (awards), with brilliant estate management.

"They really had their hands full, in many ways, but at the same time they got down to work. And now we've lost it."

The manager of the Athlone Moate Municipal District, Jackie Finney, said residents' groups played a very important role in local communities and she was hopeful that a new one would emerge in Brawny.

"It would be a shame if it just fell apart, because really it's their own community that will suffer," she said.

The council's Director of Services, Cathaldus Hartin, added that the Brawny Homes Residents Group had been successful and he reiterated the local authority's disappointment over its disbandment.

"Really, now, we need to look at engaging with them to see would they reconsider, or look to any other groups that would take up the role in the area.

"The importance of these groups can't be overstated. Hopefully we will be able to re-establish a group to look after the interests of that residential area."

When asked if the council could go into Brawny to cut the grass, given that the residents' lawnmower had been returned, the local authority said as a general rule it didn't cut the grass in estates but it would try to do something as an interim measure in this particular case.

"We'll be able to do something, but it will not be to the same quality or standard that the residents down there would be used to," said District Engineer Pat Nally.

"We'll see can we get the tractor in, so that at least the grass won't be long, but it won't be (cut) to the same quality or frequency as the local group would have done," he added.