‘Kingscourt wants a piece of the pie too,’ says councillor

A lack of resources for basic amenities and maintenance, the absence of a civic centre and a lack of representation at a county level add to a sense in Kingscourt that the county council is neglecting it, writes Ian Cameron. Last July The Anglo-Celt reported on the conditions of Main Street in the east Cavan town, which Cllr. David Blake described at the time as “deplorableâ€. Unfortunately for the town nothing has changed since, and if anything, the conditions of the roads have become worse. “With a repeat of last winter's severe weather the roads around the town and Main Street itself have deteriorated further,†Cllr. Blake said last week. “We were told in April of 2009 that money had been allocated for the refurbishment of Main Street, but they were waiting on an RPS report which was to be completed by June/July of 2009. We were told that once the report was finalised work would begin on the road by the end of the year. “It's now 2011 and we're yet to receive the report. We've now been told that the money originally allocated for repairs was not ring-fenced – it was part of a development fund,†said Cllr. Blake. A figure of €200,000 was set aside for the mains street, €100,000 from 2010 and a further €100,000 from 2011, which has yet to be allocated. Cllr. Blake doubts, considering the current state of Main Street, whether that is sufficient. “It may well not be enough, though director of services with Cavan County Council, Joe McLoughlin, has said more may be made available. Though we're now waiting on a survey to determine the cost, and we have still haven't been given a time frame for the completion of such works,†said Cllr. Blake. “I addressed the council on this in the autumn of last year and made it clear that no major funds have been made available for this stretch of Main Street in the last 25-30 years. Considering this is the prime road in the region, that doesn't make sense. The people of Kingscourt want their piece of the pie too.†Kingscourt Chamber of Commerce, with which Cllr. Blake is involved, has been continually campaigning on the matter, and recently sent a letter to the council and is waiting for a reply. “It's not just the road surfaces, it's the footpaths around the town, the near complete lack of wheelchair access, the lack of any of pedestrian crossings and the lack of any civic area,†Cllr. Blake. “The Tidy Towns competition advisors were here last year and they recommended that the unsightly overhead wires across the roads be put underground. Also the lighting in the town is old fashioned – more in line with what you'd see in an industrial estate. There is also a lack of green areas and what used to be focal point of the town, the Market Square, has been all but abandoned. “An open competition should be launched for the best redesign of the town. We would also like the see a library and a civic centre, which would be appropriate considering the size of Kingscourt. We're completely under represented on the council. There is just one councillor from Kingscourt, while there are four from Bailieboro, a town that actually has a smaller population,†concluded Cllr. Blake. Cllr. Blake's sentiments are echoed by the business people of the town. The proprietor of Callan's Pharmacy, Bronagh O'Reilly, says the road has been an issue since she started in the town 16 years ago. “Elderly people and mothers with prams would find it difficult to cross the road given the traffic, the condition of the roads and the lack of pedestrian crossings. The main street has suffered years of neglect. “The pavements outside are also in a poor condition. It's difficult enough to trade at the moment considering the economic conditions. Kingscourt is right in the eastern corner of the county and is too far from the seat of power.†Leo Maguire of Maguire's Butchers thinks the fault lies with the Tarmacadam used when services were put in three years ago, and pointed to the top of the town, where the road has sunk at the place pipes were placed recently. Paul Shekleton who own Shekleton's hardware store said that it was “disgracefulâ€, remembering that during last year's St. Patrick's Day parade pieces were falling off the floats due to the road rough surface. Cavan County Council confirmed that an allocation of money had been made for streets in the town and work should commence within the year. “Following the recent Transportation Study of Kingscourt, Cavan County Council are currently designing measures to improve traffic flows, parking and road surface in the town. An allocation of €200,000 is in place from Development Charges to commence carrying out these works on a prioritised basis in 2011. The council have requested further funding from DOT/NRA for road safety measures along Main Street. Should this funding be made available, this work will be carried out in conjunction with the parking, traffic, surfacing works above. Consultation with stakeholders in the town will commence shortly. Following, local agreement work construction work will commence in early summer and works scheduled will be completed by year end.†The council also disputed that Kingscourt a “forgotten†town: “Kingscourt has been the recipient of CCC projects valued at €5.8m over the last four years. Roads improvements projects valued €1.7m include Corrygarry Hill (construction of footpath and overlay), Shercock Road overlay, Hall Street improvements, upgrade of access to Mount St. Joseph's School and upgrade of Rocks Road (including footpaths and public lighting).â€