'Gangs' of campers wreaking havoc at Ladestown says Davitt

The council needs to come down hard on the “big gangs” of campers that are causing environmental damage and engaging in anti-social behaviour at Ladestown, according to local councillors.

Speaking at the September meeting of Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District (MKMD), Cllr Aoife Davitt, who lives in the area, said that the local authority needs to do more to tackle the behaviour of some campers at the popular recreation site.

“I have photographs from August 14 that show at one bin 20 bags of rubbish and 40 bags at another bin...There is a farmer who has had numerous people go into his property to use it as a toilet. They [campers] have been seen sitting in the middle of the road stopping people from using the driveway to access the lake.”

She said that the site has now become incorrectly known nationally as a wild camping area.

“It is not a free wild camping destination. Bring your rubbish home with you. Stop cutting down the trees [for fires]. Now, there are quad bikes down there and it is a free for all.”

Cllr Davitt said that she has been in contact with Mullingar gardaí on numerous occasions to highlight the “worrying behaviour” of some campers, including one group who were reportedly seen flying the 'Z' flag, which is associated with pro-Putin Russian nationalists.

She also said that many local families are reluctant to go down there during the summer months.

“People from the area are very slow to go down there because there are groups of big gangs taking over strips of area so no one can access it [the water].”

Responding to Cllr Davitt's motion on the issue, MKMD said that patrols by seasonal amenity and community wardens had “mitigated” the impact of campers in recent times.

Cllr Davitt said she refuted this “one million per cent”.

“Did they actually get out of their van? Did they say to people 'put out that fire now' ? There are signs there saying no camping. When are we going to get real? When are we going to take responsibility for it?”

Mayor Hazel Smyth also said that the council needs to do more to address the environmental damage being caused at Ladestown, which is designated as a Special Area of Conservation.

“It's deeply concerning the environmental damage, but also along with that is the need to close it off after a certain hour. It's not a place for wild camping.”

Cllr Smyth said that it needs to be addressed “urgently”.

“It's ongoing and needs to be tackled seriously by the council.”

Mr Jones said that the local authority is “committed to reviewing the interventions that have taken place to date with a view to developing a new plan for the 2023 season”.

He added that MKMD will “more than likely go down the enforcement route” to get the word out there that this is “a local amenity”.

“It is not serviced or have the facilities to deal with the numbers going there.”