At least one Tramore resident is deeply unhappy with the way the town is headed in terms of planning and development.
In a letter to this newspaper, Denise Leonard of Tramore Heights pinpoints a whole range of criticisms in that context. And she clearly has little faith in local politicians correcting the situation, as she would see it.
Under a heading “Tramore – the new downtown Bangkok”, she writes: “Tramore needs your help as our public representatives do not represent our needs and seem to be self-serving. There has been much recent negative media concentration regarding the development of a hotel and golf club, driven by public representatives that live in that specific area, but not a murmur of mutiny from them re the destruction of amenities on Strand Road”.
And she explains: “Celtworld, an architectural building worthy of preservation, has been sacrificed to give birth to a Dunnes Stores development. Our town planners must be blind to have endorsed such a project which would dominate our picturesque promenade.
“The site of the former Celtworld has been enclosed with ugly wire and stakes, consequently the right of way giving access from Branch Road, Lakelands and Pebble Beach to Strand Road no longer exists. For more than 30 years residents and tourists have used this shortcut. The path to the lake was well worn with adults and children carrying their bread to give sustenance to our swan and duck population who gratefully reimbursed their public by parading their young for inspection on the grassy verge and provided the magnificent sight of signets receiving flying lessons.
“Clever” planners
“Our environmentalists seem immune to the fact that the installation of stake and wire coincided with the arrival of baby signets who depended on their adoring public for their daily bread. The haunting image of the swans and their young left hungry while their sad benefactors retreat with their food is a gross outrage which we should not tolerate”.
She says Splashworld, which she describes as one of the town’s few tourist amenities, is now cut off from the tourist area without even the placing of a diversion sign. “Another clever move by our planners”, she remarks caustically.
This should be a quiet time of year for tree surgeons, she comments, but not so in Tramore where they have been gainfully employed all over the area for the past number of weeks felling trees “with no regard for the painstaking work of birds who have just completed building their nests”.
Shanty town
And the criticism doesn’t end there. “While the birds have to migrate from Tramore early it seems the word is out that the Cuckoo will still find a nest here! Stroll down Strand Road and be greeted by a proliferation of wagons, caravans, huts and trucks hawking food and junk at every turn. The sight of pancakes and burgers being cooked on stalls in front of public toilets, trailers that double up as night time outdoor public urinals and daytime food storage/dispensers bear an uncanny resemblance to downtown Bangkok!
“Most Councils would have a vision of pristine new buildings offering quality goods and services to enhance our beach area but it seems there is no need to engage in the tedium of obtaining planning permission, building is expensive and registering for rates has tax implications. The acquisition of a caravan is the only prerequisite to set up in Tramore’s busiest catchment area. Hygiene, washing or toilet facilities are not necessary! Is this destined to be our new identity?
“Tramore is now an all year round tourist attraction, with the season really getting underway from St. Patrick’s weekend, but the public toilets only opened recently.
“Our most scenic walking route – Cliff Road – now sports an ugly motorway railing which appears to have only been partially completed. While it did require safety modification, could our engineers not have designed a safety feature in keeping with the area that did not totally infringe the enjoyment of the walking path?
“Disabled parking has been moved from the top of the promenade to further down where the visibility of the sea is blocked by the promenade wall.
“The modifications to our library are a high order architectural travesty, the new entrance is totally out of proportion and overshadows the streetscape. While most towns are restoring their heritage it seems no one cares for the old picture postcard Tramore.
“However, not to entirely focus on negative development, Tramore does sport one fine building tastefully designed, bright, airy, landscaped – and home to the Council offices i.e. The Civic Offices. So it seems again that when there is personal interest there is some potent vision”!
I think that a large part of this article is exaggerated. As a Tramore resident and having a keen interest in the town – I think the town has come a long way and is finally starting to shape up. The council cant get everything right and we cant keep everyone happy but I think the large majority of Tramore residents are very happy with how the town is shaping up!
The Hotel & Golf Course development has been objected to by a large number of people who feel that the landscape will be destroyed or that access to some of the lovely beaches might be restricted. Obviously a number of people in the town support it – its a matter of opinion which I feel everybody has a right to have. The same with development at Strand Rd. which is completely different. Its not destructing any landscape, and there were very few (if any) objections to that development. That says a lot!
Celtworld/Dinosaur World/South has been an eyesore for a very long time. The building had become derelict, with broken windows, damaged titles, bordered up windows and doors. At night the walkway in question is very dark apart from a glimmer of light from Splashword and the street lights on Branch Road. I think it was was very unsafe, so perhaps its a good thing to close this section and maybe (I haven’t seen the plans) an alternative walkway will be made available once the development has been completed? For now, perhaps its good to have it closed as this section is now a building site. They are probably required to have it closed for Health and Safety reasons.
I agree that the walkway in general has been useful to those crossing into the Holiday Homes from a day out in the town. However, all is not lost and the main road is just as quick. I could be very wrong, but I thought the fencing stopped just after the walkway and the green area remains open for those wishing to take stroll down to the lake? There never was a path to the lake from that side – so visiting the lake, feeding the swans and ducks is still possible. Unless once the development is completed this area will be completely removed? Forgive me, I haven’t looked at the planing application and I cant seem to get it on the City Councils Planning website!
There are two big tourist organizations in the town. The large majority of businesses in the town are on both and they have been supplied with town maps to guide tourists. Diversion signs are usually only put in place on roadways and not walkways. The large majority of people will easily find the main road which connects to Splashworld – either by looking in the distance and seeing the road, having a map or asking someone for directions. I dont think many people used this walkway mainly to get to and from Splashworld, most people drove down with their swimming bags rather then walk. I cant see what planners gain out of blocking the walkway or not putting up a diversion sign?
I haven’t seen many trees being cut down or significantly being cut back, but a few have been just tidied up. Nobody likes to see a big bushy tree sticking out onto the road or a tree in danger of falling.
Most take-aways in the town are enclosed in their own building and not disturbing nature, and have been present for many years (the building and in some cases, the takeaway itself). The temporary units are really only there for 3 months of the year and have not really caused to much of a problem. They are usually enclosed in the Amusements which is fenced of. In recent times, this part of the town has been cleaned up significantly and I think that they should be applauded for their work in keeping the area tidy. There really isn’t that many. Plus, only one unit was cooking outside a public toilet last time I checked!
Tramore is a seaside town that really gets busy from May to September. Other periods of the year the area of Strand Rd. & Promenade Road is very quiet. The amusements are not open and temporary dwellings for take-aways are not present either. Sundays attracts a large number of locals and other visitors when the weather is good to walk on our beautiful beach right down to the Sand Dunes which is absolutely stunning.
To be fair to the council, the Cliff Road is top of their agenda. I have been at the town council meetings and they have raised the matter with the engineers. The original plan to raise the footpath and mount had to be delayed due to an increase in accidents at that very dangerous spot. It had been decided to place a crash barrier which as of yet is not completed but assurances have been given that it will be completed very soon. As will a general cleanup of the area in question. This would have been reported in the Council Report in local press and you are more then obliged to attend a council meeting to hear for yourself!
There are plenty of disabled parking spaces spread out from the start of the Promenade right down to the public toilets at the end of the Promenade.
I do agree that the development outside the library is complete madness but I understand the reason for the development was to facilitate wheelchair users. The council are looking into traffic management in this area.
The old picture postcard of Tramore is still present – we have a stunning coastline, amusements which are now even better that they are all closed in with nice fencing, and a town which is developing with housing and retail. Tesco, Lidl, Boots and possibly even Aldi are all making their way to our town to bring extra retail to our visitors and to the residents of Tramore. If anything the beach area has improved for the better, and I think most people would agree.
Its a shame you dont like the way our town is progressing, and I do understand your concern for nature. Perhaps making your concerns aware directly with local councilors might be the way forward to getting your point of view across?