A plan for a new playground at Fair Green in Athboy are now “a dead duck” following local councillors’ decision to abandon the project. The Meath County Council project had become mired in controversy after objections to the playground plan were lodged. The board of trustees of the green has not given consent for the project and councillors agreed at a special meeting of Kells Municipal District that the project should not go ahead.
Director of Services Dara McGowan said that the project was now at an end and the council would not be looking for an alternative site for the project. When the meeting opened, Independent Cllr David Gilroy declared an interest because he is a trustee of the Fair Green and he then left the meeting.
Cathaoirleach Cllr Sarah Reilly said she had contacted the board of trustees since the last meeting of the MD asking it to clarify its position on the playground proposal. She said the board had replied saying it was not its intention to enter into an agreement for the playground with Meath County Council. Mr McGowan said the councillors had three options – to agree that the proposal should go ahead, that it be modified, or they could abandon the Part 8 application for the project.
TRUSTEES OPPOSED TO COUNCIL’S PLAN
Fine Gael Cllr Eugene Cassidy said he had proposed at the previous meeting of the MD that the trustees be contacted for their views. If the trustees had been in favour then the councillors were in a position where they could decide whether to go ahead with the Part 8 application. As the trustees were against then, realistically, “we were wasting our time proceeding with a Part 8”. He was of the view that as the trustees, who own the land, had categorically come out against it then he was proposing they not proceed with the Part 8.
The project was “no longer on the playing field” so there was no point in going ahead with Part 8. Fianna Fail Cllr Sean Drew said he was focusing on the amount of time and money already expended on the proposed project. Lessons had to be learned from what had happened to the playground project. Public money was being spent, along with time and effort. Much time and effort had already been spent on the project by the council planning department which was already under serious pressure on a number of projects. The money for this project was gone. If the councillors were to proceed with a Part 8 then they should first get written agreement from the owners of the land on
which the project is to be located. There had been public consultation on the project but perhaps it was not adequate and major concerns had been expressed about the project.
COUNCILLOR CLARIFIES POSITION ON PROCEDURES
Cllr David Gilroy
*Independent Cllr David Gilroy who is a member of the board of trustees of the Fair Green told the meeting of Kells MD on Monday that he wanted to clarify the position for people who may not be familiar with the process and who may have been present at the previous meeting of the MD when the fair Green was discussed. He said he had not been afforded the opportunity to declare a conflict of interest before the last meeting and that could be misinterpreted that the person was asked to leave the meeting as opposed to making a declaration. To clarify, it was up to the councillor himself or herself to make that declaration in advance of the meeting and not being removed from the meeting and then making the declaration. For people not familiar with standing orders it might be perceived that he was asked to leave the meeting. At the previous meeting, attended by Cllr Gilroy by zoom he had objected strongly when he felt a declaration had been made on his behalf, and that
he had not been given the opportunity to self-declare. Cathaoirleach Cllr Reilly apologised to him for this omission.
