April 2014 Council Meeting
Notice of Motion in the name of Cllr Sinead Guckian:-
At the April meeting of Leitrim County Council I will ask the Director of Services, Planning, Community and Economic Development how many houses in unfinished estates in Leitrim are to be demolished as per the announcement by Minister Jan O Sullivan. The Ministers announcement outlined that the Government were providing a fund to Local Authorities to address any unfinished estates. In the Ministers subsequent announcement in November 2013 she confirmed that 40 unfinished developments around the country would be demolished.
I will also ask how many unfinished estates in Leitrim are also included in the Minister’s Scheme for completion under the “Special Resolution Fund” and what happens, within the scheme, to an unfinished estate where a developer did not complete a submission for the fund and/or where there are no occupied units.
Reply from the Director of Services:-
Leitrim County Council is not aware of any fund designated to address the demolition of houses within unfinished estates. There has been no further communication from the Department on this matter since that referenced in the Motion. Leitrim County Council has made nine applications to the Special Resolution Fund (SRF). These applications were based upon proposals / submissions received following lenghtly awareness raising and follow up, mainly from developers who were in a position to further invest in the completion of unfinished estates, with the SRF contributing to the completion of public infrastructure.
The SRF is based upon the leverage of private sector funding and therefore no application could be made without the financial commitment of stakeholders involved. Leitrim County Council committed significant effort in time and resources to maximise the potential of the SRF for the County with only limited co-operation from the relevant stakeholders in many of the estates targeted for inclusion in the scheme. The Council is awaiting the outcome of the assessment of the proposals put forward to the Department.
Councillor Guckian in response to the Councils reply outlined her concern that there really wasn’t a plan or fund in place to address unfinished houses and estates throughout the county. “I, like many members of the public believed from the Ministers announcement and subsequent media reports, that there now was a plan in place to rectify the problem with unfinished estates and houses and that the Council were being given a mechanism to address this issue, it is quite clear from the reply received that this certainly is not the case.
Speaking at the meeting Cllr Guckian said she was shocked to hear that there was no plans or funds available to the Council to demolish any unfinished houses. She also highlighted that from her research, it was evident that if a developer of an unfinished estate did not prepare or submit a proposal to Leitrim County Council, the council could not progress a funding application to the Special Resolution Fund and did not have another mechanism available to them to address the situation where a developer was not engaging. Cllr Guckian requested that the Council immediately contact the Ministers Department and request that a mechanism is put in place where developers are not engaging with the Council.
Question in the name of Cllr Sinead Guckian
At the April meeting of Leitrim County Council, I will ask the Director of Services, Infrastructure to investigate the current standard of bulbs being used to replace existing bulbs in our public lights. The light output from a number of street lights seems to be reduced. This is particularly evident in rural areas where public lighting was erected to address road and pedestrian safety at Churches, Community Centres, GAA Clubs, Schools etc. I would also ask if there are standards in “light output” that need to be met to ensure that appropriate illumination is provided, especially for persons with visual impairments. The NCIB recommend a good level of lighting be provided at locations where changes of level and direction occur, which would include all areas listed above.
RELY From the Director of Services:-
Leitrim County Council has upgraded lights in certain rural areas to energy efficient LED lights. These lights reduce energy consumption by up to 60% and are longer lasting. All lighting levels for public lights must comply with IS EN13201, the required European standard. All these LED lights comply with this standard.
In response to the reply Councillor Sinead Guckian outlined that a number of people had commented on the low level of light output from a number of public lights. It is particularly evident in a number of rural areas, at rural churches, GAA Clubs and community centres, that the current level of light output from the bulbs is lower. “the installation of many of these rural public lights often took a lot of lobbying to get erected and in some cases they had to be part funded by local monies, the level of light output now being provided is definitely lower and I would question the safety of same.”
Question in the name of Cllr Sinead Guckian:-
At the April meeting of Leitrim County Council I will ask the Director of Services, Planning, Community and Economic Development to include the following Amenity Areas for improvement works under the Minister for the Environment, Community, and Local Government “once –off” funded scheme for dedicated Public Area Enhancement 2014, announced 18th March, to support local authorities’ efforts to prepare and maintain their public areas in the interest of tourism. The areas to be included, but not limited to – the Shannonside Walk Drumsna, the Cross on Sheemore, the Selton Hill Monument and the Arch in Jamestown.
REPLY From the Director of Services:-
We are currently reviewing priorities under this Scheme. Schemes identified as potential priorities include Dromod, Drumshanbo and Manorhamilton.
Cllr Guckian highlighted that the request in the question was not addressed in the reply received. She outlined to the meeting that these areas were important sites in the context of our culture and tourist industry. She advised that each of the sites met the criteria of this once off fund that had just be awarded to the Council. Cllr Guckian, proposed by resolution, that the Shannonside Walk Drumsna, the Cross on Sheemore, the Selton Hill Monument and the Arch in Jamestown would be considered under the fund, this was seconded and agreed.
