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9th September 2014 • Volume 21, Issue 32 • Leader House, North Street, Swords, Co. Dublin. • Tel: 8•400•200 • info@northcountyleader.ie
Urgent Action Demanded Construction traffic speeding through the estate, up to 2,000 vehicles per day using the estate, with only one access route and real safety concerns for children. These were the main points for discussion, when concerned residents of Ridgewood estate in Swords, held a public meeting at Peacocks in River Valley. The meeting, which was attended by over 70
By Patrick Finnegan concerned residents, as well as six of the nine Swords based county councillors, demonstrated the genuine concerns of residents. They, along with councillors present at the meeting, Joe Newman, Justin Sinnott, Anne Devitt, Darragh Butler, Duncan Smith and Eugene Coppinger, are calling on the County Council to review the Local Area Plan for the area, and called for an independent Traffic Impact Assessment, as a matter of urgency. Much of the problem concerns the Council’s Local Area Plan and the impact that almost 300 new homes will have on the estate. Planning permis-
Our Tidy Towns Continue To Raise The Bar
Pictured at the public meeting, organised by Ridgewood Residents Association at Peacocks, River Valley on Tuesday, 2nd September are, Liam Gorman, Cllr Justin Sinnott, Cllr Darragh Butler, Deirdre Moffat, Claire Redmond, Cllr Anne Devitt, Cllr Joe Newman, Cllr Duncan Smith, Liam Scahill and Christy Buckley
sion was granted for 97 new homes, without consul- pitches and the new development. The committee tation with residents, and a further 190 houses are are adamant that no new houses should be built, planned in the Local Area Plan 2015-2017. This, without a new access route. Local councillors, allied to the recent development of the new sports Eugene Coppinger (SP) and Justin Sinnott (NP) ground in the estate, means that 2,000 vehicles will told the gathering that a Traffic Impact use Ridgewood on a daily basis, most worryingly, Assessment needs to be undertaken by an indeconstruction traffic, which residents claim speed up pendent body, in order to provide a resolution to and down the estate, with the obvious danger to the problem. “We have no faith in the current Traffic Impact Assessment children playing in the area. as it stands, We need an There was a call for more Ridgewood has the independent one,” said speed ramps to be put in population of a small Coppinger. place. Committee member, Liam The meeting was chaired by town, and now they want Scahill pointed out that Liam Gorman, from the to add on a village - all with “Ridgewood has the Ridgewood Residents just one access road. population of a small Association, with inputs by town, and now they want locals, most notably from Liam Scahill. The committee are requesting an exclu- to add on a village - all with just one access road, sive second access for the new properties (190 + 97) Would this be tolerated in a provincial town and for all MKN (developers) construction traffic, as anywhere?” he asked. “When we highlighted this well as all GAA and soccer match traffic. This problem with the Council, we were told, “there problem seems to be most acute for residents of won’t be a Ridgewood Avenue and areas close to the playing Continued on page 8
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Revenue Error Causes Shock For Local Homeowners A simple spelling mistake on a Revenue Commissioners database saw residents from recently built estates in North County receiving NPPR demand letters last week, according to a local councillor. NPPR is a tax for a ‘Non Principal Private Residence’, or in simpler terms, a second home. Local home owner, Eric Siwon, a non-national, who lives in Lusk received one of these letters and was very confused and disturbed by the letter. He told the County Leader, “I got a bill for a second property, but I only
rented the first property, and then moved to my present home in Lusk. I spoke with some of my neighbours, and they received similar letters. I was very worried and I called Cllr Malachy Quinn to help me and he contacted the Council, and thankfully, everything is now ok,” he said. Local councillor, Malachy Quinn (SF), told the County Leader that he was inundated with calls from confused residents all over the North County as a result of this error. “I chased this up and contacted
the Council official, whose name appeared on these letters. I wanted to know where this information came from,” Quinn said. “This was particularly concerning to non nationals, who had purchased their homes in the last couple of months, as these homeowners are unfamiliar with our public service. The wording of these NPPR demands makes it seem like the Council are coming after you for a property you do not own. This can cause confusion and upset to those who rely on the local Continued on page 8
The remarkable sequence of success experienced by North County towns and villages, continued yet again in the national Tidy Towns competition, the results of which were released yesterday (Monday) in a glittering ceremony at the Helix Theatre. All our Tidy Towns groups shone through as each and every group managed to up the ante from last year and achieved a steady rise in their marks. This is a true testament to the hard work and dedication of all the volunteers, who have worked tirelessly over the past number of months to ensure their towns looked spotless.
A new format was introduced this year, which saw Dublin as one area, as opposed to four local authority areas. Dublin was included in the Midlands and East region, which means that there are now only four regions, instead of the usual seven regions. Regardless of this new system, our North County towns continue to excel, and this was evident in their scores. Once again, Skerries came out on top of the class in the North County, with a fantastic score of 316 points, up seven on last year, and a mere four points behind overall winner, Kilkenny. In the process, they also retained their Gold medal status. Malahide, up seven points from last year, also retained their Gold Medal status. Both Malahide and Skerries were Endeavour Award winners in the County Awards. There were excellent performances from other villages and towns in the region, with Lusk, improving their score by seven points to 287 and coming third in Category E in Dublin. Continued on page 6
Grow Your Business Pictured is Eric Siwon (right) outside his home in Lusk. Also pictured is Cllr Malachy Quinn
See page 17