Urgent upgrade sought for Private Kelly park and Moate playground

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Upgrades to the Clara Road area of Moate have been noted as "a matter of urgency" at a recent meeting of Athlone Moate Municipal District.

Mayor of the District Cllr Vinny McCormack raised a motion to "implement a plan as a matter of urgency to address the Private Patrick Kelly Memorial Park, and to urgently upgrade the adjoining playground in consultation with local residents” on Clara Road in Moate as the serviced sites in the area have been withdrawn.

"There's a feeling among the residents that this whole area is being neglected," said Cllr McCormack.

He said the footpaths have not received funding "in donkey's years" and are in "desperate order".

"There's only footpaths halfway up the road. There's no safe crossing point until you're right opposite Hogan Park, and there's no footpath on one side of the road."

Cllr McCormack called the location of the bottle banks in the area as "wholly inappropriate", also taking aim at the playground facilities on Clara Road, which he said are "not fit for purpose".

"It was a dump once, and you'd think it was still a dump," he said. "I have two young children, and I certainly wouldn't bring them to the park there."

Further, he added that the Private Patrick Kelly Memorial Park was "demeaning" to Private Patrick Kelly and his family.

Cllr McCormack acknowledged that the hopes for the area relied on the sale of the serviced sites, which would provide a "pot of money" to create "a lovely playground, a lovely development, and manicured area".

Cllr Tom Farrell showed his support for the motion, noting that "now is the time to get all of the agencies together and have a look at the whole thing again."

He said that planning permission was granted for a housing development in the area, and the developer was supposed to lay some footpaths as part of the project. "That hasn't happened," he said.

He added that there is no link to Hogan Park, noting that residents have to "crisscross the road in different places" to get to it.

In response, District Engineer Willie Ryan noted that while the location of the playground isn't ideal, the actual equipment is "in good order".

"There was some community engagement, and issues were around the bleakness of the setting, parking is poor and mucky, it's opposite the bottle banks. We are seeking funding to improve the playground, but it won't improve the location."

District Manager Jackie Finney said a number of housing developments were in the works in the area, and as such, the playground facilities would have been beneficial.

"I wouldn't say the area is being neglected, it's an area of the town that has had significant investment recently. We were hoping those serviced sites would be sold, that would give it another lift.

"I think it would be good time to look at it again, now that we are reassessing where we are going with our own lands there."

She acknowledged that footpaths at the far end of the road "could do with a look at it", adding that "there has been investment at the junction and some new footpaths".

"It was planned to upgrade that road as part of the serviced sites, so we do need to look at it now in a broader sense."

"There needs to be a focused vision for the area," Cllr McCormack said.

Finally, he called for support for the expansion of a development which is currently approved for 12 units.

"[The developer] is actively looking to increase the size of that development, but the additional lands he's looking at are not currently zoned.

"I've been working with planning to try and get that over the landing, so I was hoping in an area where we're looking to develop, that we don't stand in the way of that development, that we actively support that development.

"I'd be grateful for the district's input in that, in ensuring that the site we've done that gets rezoned, and will hopefully add to enhancing the area in which it is badly needed."