Today word arrived that Wexford County Council - in their wisdom - have granted planning permission for a hard core car park to be built and to remain 5 years. What happens after 5 years. Our wondrous TD Michael D'arcy insists that more parking places are needed in Gorey and this is a brilliant thing for the people of Gorey, any one would think that the developers were doing us a favour. I am sure the E1000 that one of the developers gave to Michael D'arcy TD last year has helped him to pay for any parking fees incurred. Maybe he will be given an honorary parking place in this fantastic new development for Gorey. When are the peoples' representatives going to start actually doing their jobs and listen to us. I would guess that Michael D'arcy TD has met with the developers of this site in the past few months. I am certain that he hasn't met with any of the local community groups who voluntarily work with the youth of Gorey, because I am a member of one of them. He basically has taken the side of 2 developers (whose only reason for doing this is financial) against 6 local clubs and groups consisting of approx. 1000 members, who provide a service for free (as far as the council are concerned) for the youth and people of Gorey.
I can write no more for now as my emotions are getting the better of me and common sense is disappearing. Hopefully soon I will be able to produce a more logical bit of Blog.
If there are any legal people out there who would assist groups with charity status to fight for their lives. Please get in touch, we really do have a good legal basis to fight this development, we just need some help in putting it all together.
An Bord Pleanala here we come!
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Town Council
A letter was sent to each member of Gorey Town Council informing them of the fact that a protest/lobby group is going to be formed to fight this car park. I hope they all read, two Gorey councillors e-mailed me with responses and I will be meeting with one of them tomorrow for a talk about the planned car park. I'm looking forward to it.
Another Gorey Town Councillor got back to me, saying that he is aware of 2 other car parks going to be made in Gorey! How many do we need?
There is a meeting tonight in the Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey, to discuss the fact that business in Gorey is doing badly and the numbers of people shopping in Gorey Town is falling. Maybe this should be taken into consideration before the new retail park and cinema on the Courtown Road is given permission to be built. Does anyone know what the average expendable income is in Gorey and the surrounding area, to discover wether there is enough money around to actually support all these new shops and businesses. Or will Gorey just turn into a ghost town (with lots of car parks) with retail parks on the periphery and near the by-pass. Surely studies of other towns who have been by-passed will show that planning must be carefully monitered to ensure that the Town Centre survives and remains a place enjoyed by the people.
Another Gorey Town Councillor got back to me, saying that he is aware of 2 other car parks going to be made in Gorey! How many do we need?
There is a meeting tonight in the Ashdown Park Hotel, Gorey, to discuss the fact that business in Gorey is doing badly and the numbers of people shopping in Gorey Town is falling. Maybe this should be taken into consideration before the new retail park and cinema on the Courtown Road is given permission to be built. Does anyone know what the average expendable income is in Gorey and the surrounding area, to discover wether there is enough money around to actually support all these new shops and businesses. Or will Gorey just turn into a ghost town (with lots of car parks) with retail parks on the periphery and near the by-pass. Surely studies of other towns who have been by-passed will show that planning must be carefully monitered to ensure that the Town Centre survives and remains a place enjoyed by the people.
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Fianna Fail Manifesto 2007
Under the Plan towns with a population of 1,500 or more could apply via their local authorities for
funding to facilitate provision of the following Community Services where they are currently not in
place, under construction or in an advanced state of planning.
Recreation and facilities, including a swimming pool, access to parkland, a sports centre,
facilities for Special Olympics clubs, cycle-paths & walkways, and all-weather mini pitches.
Children’s facilities including a playground, a youth café and sports facilities.
-We have no community swimming pool in Gorey, we have no all-weather mini pitches.
Access to quality, environmentally friendly produce, with a farmers’ market and assistance
in achieving Fair Trade Town status.
- The Country Market is every Saturday morning 10-12 in the Scout Hall! (inder threat). Although there is a farmers market in the community school car park.
funding to facilitate provision of the following Community Services where they are currently not in
place, under construction or in an advanced state of planning.
Recreation and facilities, including a swimming pool, access to parkland, a sports centre,
facilities for Special Olympics clubs, cycle-paths & walkways, and all-weather mini pitches.
Children’s facilities including a playground, a youth café and sports facilities.
-We have no community swimming pool in Gorey, we have no all-weather mini pitches.
Access to quality, environmentally friendly produce, with a farmers’ market and assistance
in achieving Fair Trade Town status.
- The Country Market is every Saturday morning 10-12 in the Scout Hall! (inder threat). Although there is a farmers market in the community school car park.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Sinn Fein Manifesto, for the election of Jimmy Fleming as a Councilor for Gorey:
Community Facilities, Drugs and CrimeThe provision of leisure and amenity areas for our youth has been consistently neglected in Gorey while only public outrage prevented rezoning of the Showgrounds which is still under threat.
The town has become a satellite of Dublin and is witnessing a spiralling drug, under age drinking and crime problem.
Page 27 of the PD's 2007 manifesto on planning:
• Ensure the ‘hands-off’ zoning by Local Authorities of all sports, recreational and educationrelated
lands, to prevent development on land important to communities.
• Permit land swaps by Local Authorities only following public discussion and a formal public
consultation process.
• Require all Local Authorities to legally secure the title on all open spaces and public amenities.
Community Facilities, Drugs and CrimeThe provision of leisure and amenity areas for our youth has been consistently neglected in Gorey while only public outrage prevented rezoning of the Showgrounds which is still under threat.
The town has become a satellite of Dublin and is witnessing a spiralling drug, under age drinking and crime problem.
Page 27 of the PD's 2007 manifesto on planning:
• Ensure the ‘hands-off’ zoning by Local Authorities of all sports, recreational and educationrelated
lands, to prevent development on land important to communities.
• Permit land swaps by Local Authorities only following public discussion and a formal public
consultation process.
• Require all Local Authorities to legally secure the title on all open spaces and public amenities.
Gorey Tennis Club
The tennis club met last Friday and have decided to fight the development of the area.
The planning notice is up and there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it!
My main question has always been - how did the developers buy the access road?
The story is that they have bought the access road to the recreation site from well known local solicitor John McEvoy. So how did he get to own the road? All the land deals that have been done in the past in this enclave has been handled by this Solicitor, and when he was asked to produce the deeds for one of the buildings in the site he stated that they were lost!
Please help, surely there is somebody who has been involved in this sort of thing and won. Tell me that we aren't totally at the mercy of these people.
The planning notice is up and there doesn't seem to be much we can do about it!
My main question has always been - how did the developers buy the access road?
The story is that they have bought the access road to the recreation site from well known local solicitor John McEvoy. So how did he get to own the road? All the land deals that have been done in the past in this enclave has been handled by this Solicitor, and when he was asked to produce the deeds for one of the buildings in the site he stated that they were lost!
Please help, surely there is somebody who has been involved in this sort of thing and won. Tell me that we aren't totally at the mercy of these people.
Saturday, March 15, 2008
Esmonde Street
THE END OF AN ERA
The developers are moving into the old Celtic Gorey FC grounds. It will soon be a car park. A privately owned fee paying car park, made of hard core, brilliant just what Gorey needs!
Wrong! What Gorey needs is the continuation of the only space in the north of the town that has some sort of community and recreational facilities. In this space close (if not) in the centre of the town is a busy community giving the people of Gorey tennis, badminton, boxing, tae kwon do, scouts, gymnastics, Irish dancing lessons, Gorey youth needs, FDYS drop in centre and more.
The planning application is for a car park lasting for 3-5 years, after that? Well nobody is saying, rumour intitially was for apartments to be built there, but they aren't so profitable any more. The next rumour was for a night club to be built! Are you mad!
The council know this is happening and they aren't going to do any thing about it.
Why?
The simple answer to that is because it is their fault it has happened and they know it will cost them a fortune to make it right. You see some bright spark in 2002 probably looked at a map of Gorey and saw a green space and marked it for "mixed development". Thereby placing the whole enclave in danger of just this sort of thing happening.
Please, please, please, stop this development. It is not good for the future of Gorey, all these activites that are so important for a community to survive will eventually be lost.
The most costly thing for the council to do is ignore this. Every good community needs a place to meet, and this is the only one we have.
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