Volunteers shouldn’t ‘carry the can’ for maintenance of popular Dundalk walking hotspot

By Olivia Ryan, The Drogheda Independent

Louth’s voluntary groups should not be left to ‘carry the can’ on the maintenance of local public spaces, according to a Dundalk councillor.

Cllr. Maeve Yore spoke after she had highlighted the Navvy Bank at Dundalk Municipal District’s monthly meeting.

A hugely popular local walkway, it has been the focus of ongoing calls by public representatives for improved maintenance and additional facilities, including parking.

Cllr. Yore acknowledged there were ownership issues on part of the Navvy Bank, and asked what progress was being made on transferring this ownership from Dublin Port to Louth County Council.

Deputy Chief Executive, Thomas McEvoy said negotiations were ongoing between Dublin Port and the department. He said there were two outstanding issues which they were working to resolve.

Cllr. Yore told The Argus: “I understand these talks are going on at government level, but I have been raising this for seven years, and we still have no progress.”

She said that aside from the national negotiations “there needs to be regular, ongoing maintenance at the Navvy Bank, and we need to take ownership of that work at council level.”

The responsibility for maintenance should not be left with “our fabulous, hardworking Dundalk Tidy Towns volunteers or football club volunteers.”

She added: “We need to take ownership of our public spaces and make them safe, welcoming and maintained areas for people to enjoy. That is the bottom line.”

There is “huge potential” to develop the facility, said Cllr. Yore, by adding benches and a coffee station.

"The monument to the SS Dundalk is also in that area, and it attracts a lot of visitors, so I think we should really focus on developing and improving it.”

She welcomed an update from council engineers of planned resurfacing on one part of the walkway.

"I do want to pay tribute to the Chief Executive, David Conway, for his interest in improving the Navvy Bank. He did go down to the area with Dundalk Tidy Towns, and saw first hand the black spots, and where works could be carried out to improve it.”

Louth councillors heard during their summer meeting that there were plans in the last few years for work on the Navvy Bank, and an application for funding was made, but was not successful.

The council said they were looking again at those plans, but highlighted the CFRAM (Catchment Flood Risk Assessment and Management programme) which could have an impact.