This article is from page 29 of the 2007-04-24 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 29 JPG
KILLALOE and O’Briensbridge are the next two areas in east Clare which will benefit from the local authority’s cash for playgrounds scheme.
Clare County Council has set aside ۤ3,000 for the two areas, both of which had applied for grant funding under the scheme.
A meeting of Killaloe area council- lors was told last week that the prob- lems which have dogged the grant- ing of planning permission for play facilities in Parteen and Meelick are Aledo Ob
Planners met with the developers to discuss concerns about public light- ing and other matters.
The councillors were told that both schemes can now move ahead and it’s expected that work should begin be- fore the end of June.
The meeting heard that proposed sites had been identified in both ar- eas. Area engineer, Sean Lenihan, said that there is “strong community support” behind each proposal, with a local group pushing for the facility.
Killaloe councillor, Tony O’Brien, said that the “two projects are com- mendable. It’s great to see _ that communities are willing to be- come involved and undertake these projects”.
Councillors were asked how they wanted the available money divided. Cllr Pascal Fitzgerald said that it
should be given equally to both com- munities.
But, he added, he would “like to see the planners meeting with the developers and getting it right from the start, unlike Meelick and Parteen and one and a half years on, there are still no playgrounds in these areas”.
Community and Enterprise Admin- istrative Officer, Catherine O’Hara, said that the local authority is en- couraging all community groups to ebgage in the pre-planning process.”
She added that the grant, while it assists communities to provide fa- cilities, “never covers the entire cost which is usually more in the region of €120,000. It’s just a contribution towards it”.
Cllr O’Brien asked that should one or other of the groups being unable to draw down the grant, because of something unforseen such as a site falling through, that the money should then go to the remaining eroup and not out of the area.
The planning stumbling blocks holding the Parteen and Meelick fa- cilities back were resolved last week at a meeting organised by local coun- cillor, Pascal Fitzgerald, between planners and members of the two Loy eaveenlAKoieky
Almost €500,000 a year is divided between six electoral areas in the county and nine playground develop- ments are due to be part funded this yeasr from the 2006 grants scheme.