Council urged to support plans to tackle Glasson issues

Westmeath County Council will commence works to address drainage concerns in Glasson later this month.

Cllr Frankie Keena raised a motion at a recent meeting of the Athlone-Moate Municipal District, asking the council to undertake immediate steps to address the absence of a public car park in Glasson and to resolve the problem of the regular flooding that occurs in the core of the village when it rains.

No funding source has been identified for the provision of a car park in the village but the council said it is willing to engage with stakeholders to investigate the matter further.

Cllr Keena said that he has spent a good bit of time with the residents walking around the area looking at various issues there and that the lack of a car park for the village in Glasson is “causing concerns” for people there, particularly trying to use footpaths. “

The Fianna Fáil councillor added that there was a “major issue” in relation to flooding outside premises.

Cllr John Dolan supported the motion and said that there were a few issues in Glasson and that he was glad to see that a development group had been set up there. “That’s a start and it’s an important start because it’s easier to work with one group than work with a number of people there.”

The Fianna Fáil councillor added that there was also an issue with speeding in the village but that signs had been erected there. “Glasson has a lot going for it and we need to support it,” said Cllr Dolan. He remarked that the council needs to have a long-term vision as to how they’re going to progress places like Glasson and he hopes that they will be able to put a plan together.

Mayor of the district, Cllr Louise Heavin also supported the motion and said that she welcomed the fact that the focus was brought back on the village. The Green Party councillor suggested that the district conduct a parking audit to identify free parking spaces in Glasson.

“I think, you know, the N55 which is still not really confirmed fully, in terms of the route and where it’s going and when it’s going to happen and all that, it’s affecting progress on the key issue which is traffic in the village,” said Cllr Heavin. She added that Glasson was a nice village but highlighted issues with safety for pedestrians as footpaths are often blocked by parked cars.

“As Cllr Keena pointed out, there is council owned and state owned land in the village in an ideal location in the village centre for a variety of uses,” stated Cllr Heavin.

She concluded that she thought that Cllr Dolan’s proposal to hold a stakeholder meeting and discuss the broader issues in creating a village plan was a “good idea” in advance of starting a parking project.

District Engineer Willie Ryan said that speed was a concern in Glasson and agreed “wholeheartedly” that the village would benefit hugely by having some kind of on-street parking.

Mr Ryan added that businesses can’t do business unless people bend the rules there. “We will engage with stakeholders as we’ve said. They seem to be quite an energetic group. I believe that one of the members of the group is hoping to generate some form of a draft plan for the core of the village. We’ll wait and see what emerges from that body of work.”

The District Engineer explained that he didn’t think that the council-owned land in the north of the village was “ideal” for the provision of a carpark. “I know it’s land in the council's ownership but it's a little far away from your main business.” Mr Ryan said that the village group has already approached the Office of Public Works (OPW) in relation to the use of the garda station. “There are car parks in the core of the village entirely privately managed and maintained. There might be a case for looking at gaining complementary use for a private ca rpark,” remarked Mr Ryan. He added that he knows of villages in Offaly with little or no public parking in the core of village where private carparks work very well. “It might be something for the group themselves to explore the possibility of the complementary use of private spaces that are presently built in and ideally located in the core of the village.”

Mr Ryan concluded that the council would continue to discuss the issue and look at speed and flooding issues.

Acting Director of Services for Westmeath County Council, Ambrose Clark, said that it would be great to move forward with the Ballykeeran bypass. The N55 Athlone to Ballymahon Road Scheme plans to upgrade approximately 17km of the N55 National Secondary Route between Athlone and Ballymahon to bypass Ballykeeran, Glasson, and Tang. It would also improve safety for all road users along this section of the N55.

Cllr Keena requested the council to support residents in finding land to secure a car park. “It would go a long way to help them in this case.”