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Minutes of the March Meeting of Kilkee Town Council held on Monday 3rd March 2008 at the Sweeney Memorial Library, Kilkee
Cathaoirleach sa Cathair
I Láthair
- Cllr. Brian Keane
- Cllr. Tom Nolan
- Cllr. Michael McGrath
- Cllr. Claire Haugh
- Cllr. Lily Marrinan Sullivan
- Cllr. Michael Martin
- Cllr. PJ. Linnane
I Láthair:
- David Timlin, Director of Service & Town Manager
- Derek Troy, Executive Engineer
- Siobhán O'Keeffe, A/Town Clerk
Minutes of the February monthly meeting of Kilkee Town Council held on Monday 4th February 2008 at the Sweeney Memorial Library, Kilkee.
The minutes of the February monthly meeting of Kilkee Town Council held on Monday 4th February 2008 were adopted having been proposed by Cllr. Linnane and seconded by Cllr. Michael Martin.
Cllr. Nolan clarified that in relation to item 3 in the minutes he was not against resurfacing of the Dunlickey Road but his point was that priority should be given to pedestrian safety and the need for a footpath.
Minutes of the Special meeting of Kilkee Town Council held on Tuesday 12th February 2008 at the Sweeney Memorial Library, Kilkee.
The minutes of the Special meeting of Kilkee Town Council held on Tuesday 12th February 2008 were adopted having been proposed by Cllr. Haugh and seconded by Cllr. PJ Lardner.
It was agreed to suspend standing orders to receive a deputation, without notice, from residents of Dunlickey Road. The suspension of standing orders was proposed by Cllr. P.J Linnane and seconded by Cllr. P.J Lardner.
Brian Melican of Coast Road/Dunlickey road introduced himself and addressed the meeting. He reported that trucks were on the road from 5.45am to 9.30pm at night, the drains have collapsed and the road is full of potholes. He stressed the important of the Cliff Walk to the tourism and economic value of Kilkee and that people were now afraid to use the route because of lorries and the harzard to pedestrian safety. He said that as a businessperson he paid his rates and called on Clare County Council to be treated fairly and respect the rights of the people of Kilkee.
Jim Leyden introduced himself stating that he had retired to Kilkee and had recently began to regret his decision. He said he had contacted the Gardaí, Clare County Council environment section and planning enforcement section and that he had been told that nothing could be done. He said that a delegation should go to the contractor requesting that trucks start at 7.30am and finish at 6.30pm, that the wheels of trucks be hosed down when leaving the quarry and that the trucks should go out via the Carrigaholt Road and not the Coast Road. He said he wanted an answer by Friday and was only looking for fair play. He called on Kilkee Town Council to demand that Clare County Council do not allow any further development to take place until the Quarry is sorted.
David Timlin, Town Manager replied that he was aware of complaints and had spoken to staff in the Kilrush Area Office in connection with it. He said he understood it was Kilkee Voluntary Housing Association that had entered into a contract with the person drawing from the Quarry and stressed that the Quarry does have Planning permission since the 1960s. The conditions applied under the recent quarry registration process are currently on appeal to An Bord Pleanala. He said that a contract would normally state the hours of operation and that Architect for the Voluntary Housing Association should be addressing this. He said that the matter of overweight trucks had been referred by the Senior Area Engineer to the Garda Supt. He proposed that Kilkee Town Council would send a formal request to the contractor to make good the road surface. He suggested a strongly worded resolution to Clare County Council as the roads authority for the road to be reinstated temporarily and then take any further action as necessary with the contractor to ensure the road is fully repaired.
Cllr. Nolan gave a brief background to the history of the Quarry, back to Sean Keating getting permission from the Minister, despite Clare County Council saying that it would be a blot on the horizon at the time. He said that he found it unbelievable that no charges had been levied on developers for the damage caused as a result of drawing from the quarry. He called on any one of the owners of the Quarry to sign over their right to this Council or take an injunction out to stop the quarry.
Cllr. Lily Marrinan Sullivan said that it must be within the remit of Clare County Council to deem the road unsafe / unfit for this use. It was unanimously agreed by the elected members of Kilkee Town Council that the following resolution would be forwarded immediately to Clare County Council.
'The elected members of Kilkee Town Council call on Clare County Council, as the roads Authority for the area, to take immediate action to close the road to trucks from Moveen Quarry to the end of the Strand Line in Kilkee. This road is unfit for purpose and is a serious health and safety risk in its present condition'.
Review of Kilkee Traffic Management Plan
Written update submitted by Eamon O'Dea, Senior Executive Engineer, Kilrush
Following the joint meeting of Kilrush Electoral Area and Kilkee Town Council held on the 19th February copies of all submissions received as part of the consultation process and an outline of the issues discussed at the meeting were forwarded to the local Garda Sergeant, Gerry Lernihan. An initial meeting was held with the Sergeant on the 28th February and further to his request all details were subsequently sent to the office of the Superintendent for his consideration. A formal response is expected from the Gardaí later this week / early next week.
Following that, I will revert back to the elected members of Kilrush Electoral Area and Kilkee Town Council with a view to setting a date for a follow up meeting to move forward on agreed proposals.
Reports Ends
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan requested that when a meeting time was being set that consideration be given to a later meeting time to facilitate members working.
4. Report on Storm Line in connection with Convent Development
Written report submitted by Derek Troy, Executive Engineer.
With regard to the current storm line upgrade and extension from the Convent development to the outfall point at the beach, the following points should be noted;
- If possible, it is preferable that surface or storm water lines do not discharge onto any beach. Natural hydraulic catchment areas and existing watercourses will generally dictate the normal storm water flow directions and discharge to rivers/streams/sea locations.
- When works on replacement or upgrade of existing surface water lines are being considered, it is best practice to keep upgraded/replacement lines as close as possible to existing ones.
- All such works should be designed to SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) standards where possible. In practice, SuDS can be thought of as a move away from the conventional practice of piping all surface water directly to the nearest watercourse or river. Using SuDS techniques, water is either infiltrated or conveyed more slowly to watercourses via ponds, swales, filter drains or other installations.
- The storm line in connection with the convent development formed part of the recommendations of the Kilkee Sewerage Scheme Preliminary report (Sept. '04). The relevant regulations, standards and best practise documents were referred to in the compiling of this report.
However given the strong public opinion expressed on this matter, I would recommend that Kilkee Town Council formally request Clare County Council to investigate the possibility of installing appropriate measures at this location i.e attenuation and or petrol interceptors.
Report Ends
Derek clarified that it was not possible to divert this storm line to Victoria Stream because during the summer months Victoria Stream is blocked and pumped to the treatment plant. He referred to the photographic survey carried out and to the 18/20 existing discharge points on the beach and to the fact that rainwater will naturally find its way to the beach. He confirmed that the preliminary report did show two other locations for discharges but that these are replacement ones.
Cllr. McGrath pointed out that a huge number of residents had expressed their anger in relation to this and were not willing to let it go ahead.
Cllr. Nolan made references made to SuDS (Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems) by the Scottish EPA in their website and to the threat posed by storm water to a beach. He also made reference to a 2003 EU Directive regarding public consultation / participation on key documents saying that there had been no consultation on the preparation of the Kilkee Sewerage Scheme Preliminary Report. He said this was putting the economic future of Kilkee at risk.
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan questioned why planning permissions continue to be granted when they had been told in the past by Forward Planning that no more large housing developments would take place in Kilkee. She said that Clare County Council should be trying to reduce the number of discharge points on the beach and that she could not allow Kilkee's Blue Flag to be lost again because of greed.
5. Notice of Motion submitted by Cllr. Tom Nolan
'That Kilkee Town Council be appraised of all current and planned stormwater infrastructure development in Kilkee'
Written response submitted by Derek Troy, Executive Engineer
The Kilkee Sewerage Scheme Preliminary report (Sept. '04) outlines all current and planned stormwater infrastructure development in Kilkee area.
The preliminary report is a comprehensive document setting the framework for the development of Sewerage in the town. In this context I would be happy to arrange a workshop with the elected members of Kilkee Town Council to go through the contents of the Preliminary Report at a time suitable to the members.
Response Ends
6. Notice of motion submitted by Cllr. Tom Nolan
'That Kilkee Town Council be updated on a 3-monthly basis, until the end of this current council's tenure, on all matters relating to development of sewage, stormwater and water supply infrastructure in Kilkee'
Written response submitted by Derek Troy, Executive Engineer
The Town Engineer will be happy to update the elected members of Kilkee Town Council on a 3-monthly basis.
At present, the Kilkee Sewerage Scheme is at preliminary report stage and is with the Department awaiting approval. Contract 6 – West Clare Water Supply Scheme is currently under construction and is due for completion late in 2008.
The A/Town Clerk will continue to forward monthly planning lists to the elected members of Kilkee Town Council, highlighting planning applications received and granted by Clare County Council, relevant to Kilkee. Should the members have any specific queries regarding a particular application the A/Town Clerk and Town Engineer will be happy to assist in this regard.
Response Ends
It was agreed to take items 8,9,10 before item 7
8. Notice of motion submitted by Cllr. Lily Marrinan Sullivan
'That Kilkee Town Manager inform this council about all issues and all future plans that have any bearing on Kilkee beach and its natural amenities, to ensure continuity between members of the executive and flow of information to the elected members of Kilkee Town Council'
Written response submitted by David Timlin, Town Manager
The executive of Clare Local Authorities are fully committed to informing the elected members of Kilkee Town Council on all matters relating to Kilkee beach and its natural amenities. The executive work in close harmony with all sections within the local authority to ensure as much support and funding is made available for Kilkee.
I fully acknowledge the importance of Kilkee Beach and indeed all of Kilkee's natural amenities including the Pollock holes, Burns' Cove and cliff walks to the community, economic and tourism value of Kilkee. At all times the executive are actively seeking all funding opportunities to further enhance these natural amenities. For example, the A/Town Clerk is currently exploring funding opportunities under the National Development Plan-Tourism Development Programme through the Planning & Ecomomic Development section of Clare County Council. The A/Town Clerk is also in discussions with Leader (RRD Ltd) regarding smaller tourism / community initiatives such as the Kilkee Bandstand project. Clare County Council's Development Contributions Scheme (Development levies) also presents some project development opportunities for Kilkee.
Clare Local Authorities will continue to demonstrate a strong commitment to Kilkee through the level of investment allocated in the Annual Budget of Clare County. In addition to the resources allocated by Clare County Council towards roads, water, housing, beach maintenance in Kilkee, the Hodges Green and Allenders Field projects are examples of amenity projects that have been brought to fruition through the Urban & Village Renewal Schemes by Clare County Council.
Response Ends
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan said that she hoped the commitment given in the first paragragh is true and was prepared to give the executive the benefit of the doubt.
9. Notice of motion submitted by Cllr. Lily Marrinan Sullivan
'That Kilkee Town Manager confirm whether the recent development of a new storm line being discharged onto the beach now sets a precedent for further discharge outlets onto the beach, for the facilitation of new housing developments in Kilkee'.
Written response submitted by David Timlin, Town Manager
The recent development of a storm line being discharged onto the beach in Kilkee does not set a precedent for further discharges onto the beach, for the facilitation of new housing developments in Kilkee.
All applications for housing developments in Kilkee are adjudicated individually and on their own merits, in accordance with policies as set out in the County Development Plan and the West Clare Area Plan.
Response Ends
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan said that this response presented a contradiction in terms and that she felt that because Kilkee had a beach that the easy options were being taken to deal with storm water.
David Timlin, Town Manager stressed again that each planning application is individually judged on its merits and that the ways of dealing with storm water had improved in recent years.
10. Notice of motion submitted by Cllr. Lily Marrinan Sullivan
'That details on any large housing development planned for Kilkee that is going to have an impact on Kilkee beach, is made available to members of Kilkee Town Council, in order for a full and frank discussion to take place prior to planning permission been given'
Written response submitted by Derek Troy, Executive Engineer
The elected members of Kilkee Town Council will continue to receive monthly planning lists, highlighting planning applications received and granted by Clare County Council, relevant to Kilkee.
Should the members have any specific queries regarding an application the A/Town Clerk and Town Engineer will be happy to assist in this regard.
Response Ends
Derek Troy, Executive Engineer clarified that individual planning applications cannot be discussed at a public meeting.
7. Notice of Motion submitted by Cllr. Tom Nolan
'That in the light of the impending loss of acute trauma care services at Ennis General Hospital, that Trevor Sargent, Timmy Dooley, and Tony Killeen, [T.D.s] should resign their seats'
Cllr. Nolan said that all people of Clare should concern themselves with this. He said that it had been put to candidates at Election time whether the acute trauma care services would be lost in Ennis and that they had all stated that they would resign their seats if that happened. Cllr. Martin said that this was another nail in the coffin for west Clare.
Cllr. Lardner suggested that we should wait for a report due on this issue before calling on our TD's to resign. This was agreed by Cllr. Linnane.
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan proposed that while waiting for the report that this council could ask the TD's to reaffirm their position. Cllr. McGrath suggested inviting the TD's to a monthly meeting of Kilkee Town Council.
It was unanimously agreed that the A/Town Clerk would write to the Clare TD's setting out the following request ' In light of the impending loss of acute trauma care services at Ennis General Hospital, that Timmy Dooley and Tony Killeen would come to an upcoming meeting of Kilkee Town Council and reaffirm their pre-election promise to resign their seats.
11. Correspondence
Correspondence re West Clare Economic Task Force
Siobhan O'Keeffe, A/Town Clerk explained the background to the establishment of this Task Force advising the members that the Mayor PJ Lardner had accepted the invitation to represent Kilkee Town Council. He advised that the first meeting had been held earlier today, outlining the representation on the task force. He said that at the first meeting they had focused on agreeing the terms of reference for the Task Force. He committed to keeping the members informed on this matter. He said that he would ensure alternative representation if he is unable to attend any of the meetings.
All other correspondence as taken as read
A.O.B
Development on Bog Road
Cllr. Brian Keane asked whether it is within the law for a developer to close a road without notice. He said that the ongoing housing development on the bog road had closed the road without giving any notice to residents and had diverted traffic through the building site. He said that this was a serious health and safety risk. He called on Clare County Council to stop this development until they got themselves in order.
Derek advised that notice must be given to close a road and that a section of it should be passable at all times. Derek Troy agreed that this was not good enough and would investigate it.
St. Patricks Day Parade
Cllr. Michael McGrath advised that the St. Patricks Day Parade was taking place on Sunday 16th March and extended an invitation to David Timlin, Siobhán O'Keeffe and Derek Troy to attend.
West Clare Early Years
Cllr. Marrinan Sullivan advised that the West Clare Early Years had secured funding to build a child care facility. All welcomed this news.
As there was no further business the meeting concluded.
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