Castledermot’s main street disgrace

5/15/2008 - By: Chris Fingleton

THE number of boardedup buildings on Castledermot’s main street is being strongly criticised by residents living in the south Kildare town. Fed up with the number of boarded up and derelict building that are blighting the town’s main street, residents in the town are now calling on Kildare County Council to enforce the laws available to them under the Derelict Sites Act.

One resident, who seemed extremely upset and didn’t wish to be identified when she contacted the Kildare Nationalist, said: “It is depressing to walk up the Main Street and see these boarded-up buildings and no amount of flower tubs can cover these unsightly sights. Surely there must be some law whereby premises should not be allowed to remain in such unsightly conditions for so many years.”

However, the resident is loud in her praise of the work being carried out the local Tidy Towns Committee and volunteers, but added: “If we are to do any way well in the Tidy Towns competition next month, immediate action should be taken by Kildare County Council to force the owners of these premises to do something about them.

”Chairperson of Castle-dermot Tidy Towns Committee, Mary Holligan, agrees with her neighbour’s criticism.

“We have been trying to get Kildare County Council to do something about these buildings for years but no-one seems to be doing anything about them,” said Ms Holligan.

“Of course, they are hampering our work and causing problems. People who pass through our town talk about nothing else,” she added.

Representatives of the Castledermot Tidy Towns have already made representations to the Athy Area Committee, highlighting their concerns at the state of these buildings, among other things.

When asked to comment on the issue, spokesperson for Kildare County Council, Charlie Talbot, said: “Kildare County Council is working on dealing with derelict sites in the county and all will be captured in due course”.