Continued delays to repair damaged wall in Kildare
The wall in Ballitore
A LOCAL representative has expressed frustration and concern over delays in the transferring of land in a Kildare village to local authorities. Cllr Ivan Keatley made the comments when the issue of the broken and unsafe wall in Ballitore was raised recently.
Cllr Aoife Breslin brought forward a motion at the most recent meeting of Athy Municipal District, proposing that Kildare County Council assess the condition of an old stone boundary wall adjacent to the Abbeyfield estate in the south Kildare village, with a view to repairing and restoring it.
Meeting administrator Brian McGrath issued the council’s report which said that the council does not yet own the land where the wall is located, before adding the following: “The conveyancing process is ongoing. Consideration of the wall will form part of the overall plan for the said land”.
Speaking at the meeting, Athy Municipal District cathaoirleach Ivan Keatley took issue with the response.
“I’m a little bit worried when we start to see legalistic terms such as ‘conveyancing’ etcetera, etcetera, because that means it’s sitting, I suspect, on the desk of a solicitor somewhere and I’d always worry that it might not be moving as fast as it could be moving," he said.
Cllr Breslin said it is the main wall upon entrance to the village and there is “good heritage value in it”, arguing the case for works to make it safer.
