MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
MOTION NO. 8
MOTION: Councillor F. Timmons
That SDCC meet the request of Clondalkin Tidy Towns to have access to the Camac River at Clondalkin (An access gate kept locked) and are supported in carrying out vital heritage work to this area.
REPORT:
The merits of the motion are certainly laudable, and the Council is fully supportive of Tidy Town activity which enhances the aesthetics of any area.
The Council has no issue with groups cleaning litter from river banks within reason, and in a safe way. There would however be concerns regarding health and safety of the Tidy Town group members in accessing the river bank, and indeed public at large in the event of gate being left open and unsupervised access being gained by third parties. It would be necessary to ensure that from the Council’s perspective that responsibility for the safety and welfare of Tidy Town members engaging in such activities would firmly rest with the individual members of the group themselves.
There are also complications with this particular site in relation to access and ownership. It is understood that title to this particular site has not been established and the right of passage is therefore not determined.
It may be possible for the Council to schedule river bank cleaning of banks which are within Council ownership, and this will be examined in the context of resources.
It has not been established from the terms of the motion what is meant by “vital heritage works”. Does it imply a remodelling / landscaping of the waters edge, in which case this would need further careful evaluation. If these works relate in any way to architectural conservation then more comprehensive comment or advice will be sought.
