‘Metal Man needs a makeover’
It’s been nine years since the Metal Man’s pillars were painted, Independent Cllr Joe Conway told the Council.
He said the pillars, though in reasonably good condition owing to the excellent work by Clem Jacob’s team and the input of the late Cllr Ben Gavin in 2006, are very exposed and need to be repainted.
Cllr Conway was told that there is no allocation in the 2015 budget for this but the Department would examine the cost involved.
Cllr Conway also raised the possibility of an additional clean-up at the Rocketts of the Metalman. “It is still a grim-looking building”, he said. The Council contractor has, to date, removed dumped material from the pub and boarded up all opening on the ground level, which has made the premises “reasonably secure”.
Finally, Cllr Conway has sought an audit on the condition of Newtown Pier in Tramore, on the seaward side.
Mayor Lola O’Sullivan said the cobblelock on Strand Road was “well past its sell-by date” and was lifting from the road.
“This is not working, it never worked and we need to lift it up and start again”, she said. Senior Engineer Niall Kane said the road could be looked at in the context of next year’s overall budget but there are no funds available in this year’s budget.
Areas of estate are rat-infested
Parts of the Carriganard estate are rat infested and suffering serious sewerage problems, Independent Cllr Cha O’Neill has claimed.
“We have been talking about this problem for three or four years at this stage”, he told a June meeting of the Council. “We now need action.
Responding to a query from Cllr John Cummins, Fine Gael, Paul Kelly of the Council’s Planning Department said the receiver was being asked to resurface the roads in the estate. Additional works such as lighting, CCTV, kerbing and additional footpaths would not be taken into account. Last month, a settlement offer had been received from KPMG and the Council is now in contact with NAMA to confirm that this offer has been accepted. Land at the front of the estate is currently on the market, the Council heard.
Facelift for historic towers
Waterford Council has been awarded €10,000 in funding from the Heritage Council for repair and maintenance work of the walled towers at Castle Street, Stephen’s Street and Jenkins’ Lane car park, elected officials have been told.
Cllr Mary Roche (Ind) queried whether the top part of the tower at Carrigeen Park would also be included in the works. “There is great enthusiasm every few years and then the condition of these towers gets out of hand again”, she added. “We need to maintain them on an ongoing basis.”
Cllr Roche suggested the instigation of a City Walls tourism walk.
“Our towers, from the 11th to 13th century, are unlike anything else in the country. So much more could be made of them”, she noted.
Cllr Jim Griffin (SF) said there was a lot of antisocial behaviour going on at the Carrigeen Park tower. “On any night you will see gangs of youths converging there. This needs to be addressed for safety reasons.”
Upkeep of roundabouts on Council agenda
A comprehensive plan governing the upkeep of all roundabouts in Waterford is currently in the
planning stages.
This follows complaints by Independent Councillor Cha O’Neill that some roundabouts on the outskirts of the city are completely overgrown.
“In the past, some of the roundabouts were sponsored by businesses,” Cllr O’Neill told a recent meeting of the Metropolitan District.
“We need to make a decision going forward whether there is a hard and fast rule regarding sponsorship, in terms of who will maintain the roundabout. At the moment, some are well kept while others are in an awful state.”
Cllr O’Neill was told that – prior to amalgamation – there was a different policy in the city and county regarding the maintenance of sponsored roundabouts.
The Council is currently looking at a new overall scheme that will entail the local authority maintaining all roundabouts until the end of 2015, with new sponsors to be sought early next year. A lot of new companies have already expressed interest in sponsoring this scheme.
Cllr Davy Daniels suggested the new scheme should include a provision whereby individual roundabouts could be dedicated to people of note.
