Tuesday, May 22, 2007

Environmental Community Projects for Ballymore Eustace

In June 2004, planning permission was granted to KTK Sand & Gravel Limited for the restoration of its sand and gravel pits at Naas Road, Ballymore Eustace. It was a condition of the planning permission that KTK should contribute 7 cent per ton of material accepted at the pit to facilitate community environmental projects.

The planning permission also provided that the identification of these projects should be decided on by a community liaison committee based on equal representation of personnel from the county council, KTK, local residents and elected members of Kildare County Council.

The membership of the committee, which was established by the county council, consists of the following:

Councillors Billy Hillis and Mary Glennon; Mike Edmonds and Rose Barrett-O’Donoghue on behalf of the local community; Kevin Keenan and Mervyn Ross representing the developer; and George Perry and Simon Wallace county council personnel.

The committee held its first meeting in Ballymore Eustace on the 22 March, and elected Councillor Billy Hillis as its chairman. The committee agreed to invite submissions from the local community for suitable environmental projects and proposals in this regard should be submitted by 14 May to George Perry, Kildare County Council, Áras Chill Dara, Devoy Park, Naas*. Any proposals submitted by that date will be considered by the committee at its next meeting which will be held on the 22 May.

Projects may require co-funding, i.e. some contribution from the proposer. However, this requirement will not apply to projects with value below €400. Spending on projects will require accounting procedures which are necessary for audit purposes. The following page includes an application form which should be completed by groups seeking funding.

In the event of any project being identified, it will require to be approved at a public meeting of the county council. Arrangements will then be made for implementation of the project.

No comments: