Further criticism directed at proposed site for Kildare youth centre
A local councillor has doubled down on his criticism over the proposed site for a youth centre in County Kildare .
Independent Cllr Tom McDonnell aired his views on the site at the latest Kildare- Newbridge Municipal District meeting, which took place on Wednesday, September 25 last.
He previously expressed concerns over the site, during the MD’s May meeting.
Just prior to the end of the meeting, Cllr McDonnell raised the subject when he asked Kildare County Council (KCC) to provide an update on the proposed Newbridge Youth Centre.
Replying to his question, KCC submitted a lengthy report detailing the update.
It read as follows: “Final preliminary surveys, mainly related to drainage and other services concluded in the summer, as did other internal consultations with other KCC Departments in preparation for the Part 8 (planning) process.
“On that basis, subject to some remaining design decisions, associated costings and relevant drawings, it had been the intention of the Community Department, working in partnership with the Strategic Projects and Public Realm Team (SPPR), to brief the elected members in October and commence the public consultation process for the Part 8 permission for the development in November.”
KCC continued: “Unfortunately, however, due to resource constraints with technical staff, the project has not progressed enough to meet the intended timeline above and there is no imminent solution to the position regarding staffing, and redeployment is not an option as there are several competing projects within the SPPR Team.
“Other options are being looked at, but they will be costlier and won’t align with the original intended timeline.
“The remaining items mainly relate to reconfiguration and design of the yard area to the rear, and the technical assessment and costing of that matter, with attendant legal issues to be resolved; in addition, from an architectural perspective it was intended that sketches and images would be prepared above the normal materials prepared for Part 8 consultation.”
KCC concluded by telling Cllr McDonnell that these sketches and images ‘are intended to make the development proposal accessible to young people, enabling them to meaningfully engage in the consultation process, and this work also remains to be carried out’.
Despite these assurances, Cllr McDonnell still had reservations about the site.
“It is a very small and outdated site,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to have been any progress [since the last time the matter was raised].”
Cllr McDonnell also claimed that they (the MD members) ‘have been meeting problems all the time’ in relation to this issue.
He summed up his views on the report by adding: “[It is] not the best answer.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.