Mark Wall's Blog

At the Athy Municipal District meeting today , the Senior Engineer of Kildare County Council , informed us that the road was ready for “publishing” and that this would happen in the papers and by public notice on Tuesday 25th April . The Senior engineer expects the documentation to go to Bord Pleanala on this date also, which will begin the process of seeking planning permission for this road for the first time . He informed the meeting that Council were expecting an Oral hearing to to called by the Bord, which it was felt would happen in late Summer or early Autumn. A planning decision would then be expected on the road by the end of the year. 
All necessary documentation for the planning process was now in place and approvals to go to this very important stage , had recently being received from the Department , a very important step.

That time of year , Residents, Festival , Heritage and Community grant application forms are out !

Please let me know if you need one or to discuss a project .
Closing date Tuesday 14th March .

Kildare County Council Grant Schemes 2017: 
Kildare County Council wishes to invite applications for their Community, Festival, Heritage, Residents Associations: Local Authority & Private Estates 2017 Grant Scheme. Closing date for all grants is Tuesday 14th March 2017 at 5PM. Please click here http://dlvr.it/NJG1P0

January Update on Athy Southern Distributor Road 
Cllr Mark Wall has welcomed the announcement today of a €1,000,000 allocation by Transport Minister Shane Ross to the Athy Southern Distributor road .

In his statement the Minister stated “As well as expenditure on maintenance and strengthening, the 2017 investment programme also allows for a number of Capital Plan projects to progress, including:

• Athy Southern Distributor Road in County Kildare

At the Athy Municipal District meeting in Monasterevin yesterday , the area Cllr’s including Cllr Wall were informed that the documentation relating to the Athy SDR scheme has being submitted to the 

Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport for their approval to publish the scheme and send this much needed road to An Bord Pleanala for planning permission. The Cllr’s were also informed that the documentation has being forwarded to Transport Infrastructure Ireland and the National Transport Authority.

This news follows on from the December meeting of the Athy District where the consultants informed the area Cllrs , that the Department look for a cost benefit analysis of greater than 1 , however the Athy road is showing a benefit of between 2.5 to 3, which is obviously good news for the town and shows what we all knew, that our town needs this road urgently .

Cllr Wall concluded ” The news that the Minister has included the Athy Southern Distributor Road on his list of Capital projects to proceed is very good news. We now await the go ahead from his Department to allow the road to proceed to planning , a decision on this, we are told is due shortly.The cost benefit analysis completed by the Councils consultants is very positive as we all expected. The timeline on the delivery of this road states that 2017 would be taken up by the much needed planning permission for this road , this must happen for the future of Athy.I have requested from Kildare County Council that they would put the presentation on the road received by the Cllr’s in December on Public Display and I’m informed the Council are working on this . Athy needs this road and today I hope is another step in achieving this ” 
Further information please contact Mark on 0833341488

CouncillorWall

That the council immediately bring the car park and surrounding areas at Meeting Lane, Athy, up to a proper standard including providing for more security at the skate park.

Report: This matter will be examined by the Road Design Section in consultation with the Municipal District Office.

Councillor Wall

Can the council confirm the up to date position with the provision of a footpath linking Cowpasture to Hopkins Haven in Monasterevin and the upgrade of the road surface there as previously agreed?

Report: It is anticipated that work will commence later this year.

Councillor Wall

Can the council bring the Mill Lane, Ballitore, up to a proper standard given the number of houses on the lane, the local soccer club using it and the upcoming opportunity of a utility doing some work on it?

Report: This work can be considered in 2017 allocations.

Councillor Wall

That the council inform its members of the up to date position with the provision of a new secondary school for St. Paul’s Monasterevin, what contact has the local authority had with the department of education and with those involved in the provision of such a much needed educational facility.

Report: The council, together with a representative from the NRDO, recently met with representatives from the Board of Management and Monasterevin Parish. It was agreed that all parties would work together and that the council would make technical staff available for the purpose of examining any council-related technical issues which need to be resolved. It was also agreed that the Board of Management would examine all possible other alternatives and would brief the Department of Education and ensure their ongoing involvement.

Pleased to receive a letter from the NTA , following a recent meeting I attended , extending the contract  duration of two bus services  for South Kildare. The services were due to end next week but following our representations , contracts have being extended.

The first contract operated by Bus Eireann is a five day service that will run until late December but if the number of passangers using it increases, the  contract can be extended.

The second service is a seven day service operated by Bernard Kavanagh and will run for at least one more year.

” These are important services for South Kildare and I encourage as many people to use them and to please inform family , friends and neighbours of their availability and frequency .” Mark 







Following my motion to the Athy area meeting of Kildare County Council yesterday and previous motions tabled on this very important matter , Kildare County Council have agreed to seek the funding to complete safety works at the Bridge. This funding could  possibly come from a number of different sources over the coming months. On a very important issue, supported by all Cllrs for the area , the Council also provided a preminarily design on what safety measures could be carried out at the bridge. This design will be worked on in the coming weeks in order for the Council to apply for a part 8 planning permission over the coming months. 

I was pleased to note that work is progressing well on the much needed extension to Churchtown graveyard Athy. I have being working with the local community for a number of months on this project and the Council confirmed at the area meeting yesterday , that they hope to bring a part 8, planning permission to the members within the next two months.