Area Council Meetings : Replies to Notices of Motion June 21st 2005

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 6 submitted by Cllr. P McMahon for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“I will ask that the Council prepare a plan for the Low Road, Bunratty to make provision for footpaths, public lighting and designated speed limits on this road which is very heavily trafficked”.

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Clare County Council have prepared an estimate for the provision of a 2 metre wide footpath along the Low Road in Bunratty from the castle to the various guesthouses. The cost of providing this footpath, with associated road widening, public lighting and drainage works, for a distance of 850 metres is approximately €220,000. This estimate does not include for land acquisition costs. Clare County Council is not in a position to finance the provision of this footpath from it's own resources but will secure developer contributions for it's provision when development takes place at the northern end of the folk park.. A number of developers who have recently been granted planning permission for housing in Bunratty have been conditioned in their planning conditions to provide contributions for the construction of public footpaths in the village”.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 7 submitted by Cllr. P McCarthy for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That a plan be presented for the phased introduction of Cycle Lanes in Shannon.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“The road design office of Clare County Council have been requested to prepare a preliminary design of a cycle track network in Shannon, which can be implemented on a phased basis. The design of the proposed Southern Primary Road Phase 1 has included for 2 no. 2 metre wide cycle tracks either side of the carriageway and separated from the carriageway by 3 metre grass margins.”

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 8 submitted by Cllr. G. Duff for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That the Clare County Council take action to remove the present obstruction
caused by tree branches from the pedestrian crossing at Choill Mara (Scoil
Doncha dha Rua side) to the end of Bealach Bri ( Gleann na Smol side)”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Clare County Council will consult with the tree surgeon who has been working in this area with a view to carrying out appropriate tree surgery at this location.”

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 9 submitted by Cllr. J Crowe for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“I request Clare County Council to rebuild the existing front wall of Ballysheen Graveyard as it is in a very dangerous condition.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Some sections of the front boundary wall have deteriorated over the years. The worst section would need to be taken down and rebuilt at a cost of about €3000. Funding for maintenance of burial grounds is provided centrally on a countywide basis.

I am informed that finance is very limited in 2005 and that it is not possible to make an allocation of €3000 for the wall at Ballysheen Burial Ground”.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 10 submitted by Cllr. G. Flynn for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That Clare County Council cut back trees at the junction of the L3034 - 10 coming onto the Sixmilebridge Road R471. These trees are causing danger to motorists exiting this junction due to insufficient sight distance.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“I have made arrangements to have the work carried out as soon as possible.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 11 submitted by Cllr. P. McMahon for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That the Council remove the embankments on both sides of the road from Leminaghmore Cross to Sean McMahons House beside the former Pound to facilitate the traffic using this roadway from both ends.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“I have made arrangements to have the overgrowth on this section of road removed as soon as possible. This will help motorists on this narrow section of road.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 12 submitted by Cllr. P. McCarthy for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:-

“That in drawing up plans for the refurbishment of Tradaree Court Flats consideration be given to extending the flats from 1 bedroom to 2 bedroom accommodation”.

I wish to reply as follows:-

The Council is currently at the design stage of this project and has being gathering data over the past number of months on the condition of the existing flats. At a recent site visit, the issue of providing two bedroom apartments by extending the existing structure or by converting some of the units into Duplexs was raised and this objective will be included in the brief to be prepared by the Design Team.

The Council is anxious to provide two bedroom housing units in the flat complex so as to ensure a more flexible housing unit size which can accommodate for a number of different categories of persons in need of housing.

Josephine Cotter Coughlan
Senior Executive Officer
Housing & Social Services

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 13 submitted by Cllr. G. Duff for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:-

“That Clare County Council provide a report on the water pressure in Tola Park and Inis Beag - Inis Síoda areas”

I wish to reply as follows:-

Clare County Council have reduced the pressure in Tola Park to a normal recommended working pressure in an effort to reduce the incidence of “bursts”. Meanwhile we are proceeding with the replacement of the existing deficient watermain.
The working pressure in Inis Beag and Inis Síoda is generally high except perhaps for some individual houses. Water Services Section are aware of only one such house presently and will investigate this at the earliest opportunity.

Liam Murphy,
Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 14 submitted by Cllr. J. Crowe for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“Can Clare County Council confirm the start up date for the pedestrian crossing on the Link Road from Cappa Lodge to the Shannon Road.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Some preparatory work including provision of ducting for electricity supply has been done here and it is expected that all the work will be completed within the next couple of weeks”.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 15 submitted by Cllr. G. Flynn for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That the Housing Section of Clare County Council provide a report as to what future plans are in place for the provision of Social & Affordable Housing Schemes in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Sixmilebridge”.

I wish to reply as follows:-

The Council’s Action Plan for Social and Affordable Housing 2004-2008 states that 1,146 Social Housing Units and 371 Affordable Housing Units will be delivered. Various mechanisms will be used to deliver these targets, including direct construction of houses by the local authority, purchase of second hand dwellings, acquisition of dwellings under Part V and provision of housing units by Voluntary Bodies.

The table hereunder sets out the mechanisms for delivery:

At present we have no plans to provide Social Housing in the Newmarket-on-Fergus area, however we are actively investigating the purchase of land in the Newmarket-on-Fergus area. The Council proposes to construct 19 no. Social Housing units in Sixmilebridge and it is anticipated that the construction on this scheme will commence in early 2006. During the period of the Action Plan the Council proposes to prioritise a number of locations for the provision of Affordable Housing including Crusheen, Clarecastle, Killaloe, Kilkee, Lisdoonvarna and Scarriff. The Council in prioritising areas for the provision of social and affordable housing during the period of the plan will have regard to the level of needs assessed for each of these types of housing and also the following constraints;

• Extent of existing local authority landbank;
• The amount of land likely to become available as a result of the implementation of Part V of the Planning and Development Act 2000 and the number of starts which can be financed under the Action Plan.

The Council will also actively encourage the involvement of the Voluntary Housing Sector and the Co-operative Housing Sector to deliver housing in Newmarket-on-Fergus and Sixmilebridge areas.

Josephine Cotter Coughlan
Senior Executive Officer
Housing & Social Services

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 16 submitted by Cllr. P McMahon for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“I am asking the Council to restore the signs from Drumline which appears to have been taken down recently as the residents in Drumline maintain it is difficult to access their locality at present”.

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Clare County Council have removed these B & B signs from the National Primary Road in the interest of road safety. The signs read “Drumline B& B” and were on the same poles as standard directional signs for Drumline which are not being removed. If Clare Council allow these signs to be restored on the N18 other Bed & Breakfast signs will be erected along with advertising signs for every business in the Shannon area. This will lead to a multitude of signage on the national primary network, which will be very confusing for motorists and will certainly create traffic safety hazards. In the past year, Clare County Council have been approached by many businesses in the Shannon area with a view to erecting advertising and directional signage for their businesses on the N18 and N19 and have always refused permission to erect such signs. Clare County Council have discussed this issue with the National Roads Authority and it is not their policy to allow such signage on national roads. The directional signage for Drumline is adequate on the N18 and N19 national roads and the Council will consider applications for a limited number of B&B signs on roads, which are not national roads. Bed and Breakfast signs erected on public road verges require the benefit of a licence from Clare County Council under the Planning and Development Act 2000. Any signs without the benefit of a licence will be deemed unauthorised and will be removed. The annual licence fee for standard B&B fingerpost signs with a brown background and white writing is €50 per sign”.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 17 submitted by Cllr. P McCarthy for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That the safety railing at Deilginis be painted and repaired”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“Clare County Council will remove the existing pedestrian guardrail which is damaged and replace it with a new galvanised pedestrian guard rail”.

Donal Hogan,
Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 19 submitted by Cllr. J. Crowe for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“As the tourism season is in full swing. I request Clare County Council to trim the hedges and grass margins on all approach roads to Bunratty Castle and Folk Park.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“I have made arrangements to have the work carried out as soon as possible.

Senior Executive Engineer,
Transportation & Infrastructure.

With reference to Notice of Motion No. 20 submitted by Cllr. G. Flynn for the Shannon Electoral Area Committee Meeting on 21st June, 2005,

Motion:

“That the property administration section of Clare County Council do not enter into any negotiations or agreements verbally or otherwise in relation to lease or sale of property or land without preliminary discussions with elected representatives of the effected area.”

I wish to reply as follows:-

“As the disposal of Council property requires the consent of the elected members any negotiations/discussions with a prospective purchaser of Council property are carried out on the basis that the consent of the members is required. This applies also if the property is sold at public auction where a special condition to this effect would be included in any contract.

For the purposes of bringing a recommendation to the elected members at the area meetings it is obviously necessary to have some discussion with the party interested in the acquisition of Council property.”

Michael McNamara
Senior Executive Officer
Corporate Services