More than €12.6m spent on district works last year

Some €12.6m was spent on district works in the Mullingar and Kinnegad area during 2020, with all grants drawn down and projects completed, engineer Dr Paul McCool told county council members last week.

He said the works were completed within budget.

Litter remained a problem, and daily, a council crew is filling a truck with refuse that has been dumped illegally, Dr McCool told the meeting.

But director of services Martin Murray revealed that for the year ahead, word is still awaited from central government on what funding Westmeath County Council will be receiving to make up for the shortfall in funds that resulted from the closure of facilities such as the swimming pool in Mullingar and the regional sports centre in Athlone.

Figures provided by Dr McCool revealed that over the year, road maintenance and improvement works accounted for the bulk of the spending.

Expenditure on road works associated with the new school on the Ardmore Road came to €2.356m, with a further expenditure of €124,558 on other works to the road and on footpaths there.

The sum of €2,974,562 was spent on restoration works on 60 local and regional roads, while surface dressing of 92 local and regional roads had cost €790,450.

The cost of local road maintenance and verge trimming had come to €1.070m and €686,190 was spent on maintenance of regional roads, plus €590,000 went on maintenance and overlays on the national primary and secondary network.

Other big costs were street sweeping, litter bin collection and litter removal, which came to €730,000; and maintenance of parks, open spaces, graveyards and amenity areas, which came to €455,000.

Expenditure of €314,576 was made on four town and village renewal programmes; €300,000 on ActiveTravel schemes; €149,380 went on works to Mullingar town centre and €137,234 on upgrade works along the Royal Canal.

The figures provided showed that the remainder of the budget went on 20 discretionary improvement schemes (€342,387), 18 drainage schemes (€227,867); low cost safety schemes (€102,500); outdoor recreation schemes (€78,510); three local improvement schemes (€30,413); five cul de sacs (€50,000); two CIS schemes (€140,055) and five risk mitigation schemes (€75,000).

Also on the expenditure were climate change (€70,930); litter control (€179,079); cycleway maintenance (€27,014); Ballyglass (€155,255); reinstatement after statutory bodies (€167,931); paid parking-funded works (€115,000); risk mitigation works (€75,000) and Transport Infrastructure Ireland Overlay (€153,109).

Responding to the presentation, Cllr Denis Leonard expressed disappointment about the litter and illegal dumping, and said that the culprits needed to be identified and fined. He also wondered if 2021 would see more progress on walking and cycle routes.

Cllr Hazel Smyth raised the subject of the tennis courts in Raharney and Killucan that have, she said, been let go “to wreck and ruin”. She asked if funds could be found to renovate them.

Cllr Smyth also queried how any trees have been removed in Mullingar in the last year, and asked what steps are being taken to replace them. She raised in particular the removal of what she believed was a centuries-old tree from near the railway station, saying it had been removed without consultation with local residents. She also queried the removal of a stretch of hedgerow and trees from the canal between The Footy Bridge and Mary Lynch’s.

Also raised as a concern by Cllr Smyth was the fact that footpaths were not gritted during the recent icy spell.

Cllr John Shaw asked how often the containers at bring centres are emptied, while both Cllr Ken Glynn and Cllr Mick Dollard asked that the compliments of the councillors be extended to the council’s outdoor staff.

Cllr Emily Wallace asked about the cost of dumping specifically at scenic locations.

Responses

Addressing the walking and cycle routes question raised by Cllr Leonard, Dr McCool said that the Active Travel funding provided this year had funded the pavement works at Weldon’s Cross, the Dublin Road, and the Delvin Road.

To Cllr Smyth, he responded that the tennis courts were community facilities and the communities would be able to apply for funding for those, possibly through Leader.

He said that last year, the council had planted around 60 trees, and stated that the tree cut near the railway station and the removal of the hedgerow alongside the canal were not actions of the county council. The intention is to plant a further 60 trees this year.

Dr McCool said there had been a lot more bottles than normal deposited at the bring banks over Christmas, probably because the pubs are shut, but he did not have a separate figure that set out the additional cost that illegal dumping.

To a query from Cllr Ken Glynn on what progress is being made on the provision of the linear park from Grange into Mullingar, he stated that everything is beginning to come together and it will become possible to cycle in from Weldon’s Cross as far as the Green Bridge without having to use the road.

Responding to a query from Cllr Mick Dollard on what is to happen to funds raised through paid parking and intended for footpath repairs, he said that it will roll over and works planned to be done from that money will be undertaken when works become possible again.