Plans to relocate Trim playground are suspended

Plans to relocate Trim"s playground to the sensitive Porchfields area of the town have been shelved and Trim area councillors have asked Meath County Council officials to investigate alternative sites for the facility. The existing playground closed some weeks ago to facilitate works on the new town centre and OPW headquarters development and it now looks like a new playground could be delayed for several months while an alternative site is found, after councillors expressed concerns over the earmarked site at the Porchfields. A 'part eight" planning report was to be brought before Trim area councillors at a special meeting on Monday morning but, because of concerns over the location, cathaoirleach Cllr William Carey proposed that they defer considering the report and it was agreed that they would not consider any proposal for the playground until alternative sites are investigated. Cllr Peter Higgins said: 'I"m not mad on the location. The Porchfields was bought at big expense as the old medieval commonage and I would be wary of any development or turning of the sod in the area.' He added that even if he didn"t have concerns because of its historical connections, the location was 'a bit removed from the town' and he was afraid the site would be abandoned to trouble-makers and delinquents and said that it was too far away from the 'general eye of the public'. Cllr Higgins felt the site was isolated and he said they would not get the best use out of it. 'I think we should be knocking heads together to come up with a better site,' he said. Cllr Jimmy Fegan also had reservations once the sod was turned and said there would be some excavation needed for the car park and the foundations for the equipment. 'If the Porchfields is developed like this, we are diluting the perfectness of it,' he said and reminded fellow councillors that, in June, councillors had agreed to contribute a portion of development levies on an annual basis to accumulate a fund to finance a proper plan for the Porchfields. 'It is a commonage. If we do anything ahead of the plan, we are doing something piecemeal and it is too valuable a resource to do that.' He also shared people"s views about the potential security issues and lack of supervision there. Cllr Carey said he had serious reservations of doing anything before they had a plan. He added: 'I looked at the site and got a copy of the map. I think the best thing we can do is send it back to the planners and put the heads together to come up with an alternative site.' Cllr Phil Cantwell said that, at long last, the Porchfields had been secured for the people of Trim against development and that it was not just a playground but also a car park that was being proposed. He pointed out that the Porchfields was an architectural area of conservation and commented that he had looked at the planning file and there was nothing to show that there was an environmental impact assessment or any scoping undertaken to see if one was necessary. He said it was the worst planning file he had seen in his 15 years on the council and said he had referred it to the European Union. He concurred with his colleagues that it was a special area for Trim and the county and required unanimous protection. Cllr Seamus Murray said he was concerned that there were children all over south Meath now without a playground and that his own two grandchildren had come to it recently and were not aware that it had closed. 'I"m concerned that there should be no delay in accessing an alternative site and making sure the children have their playground. 'The children have rights and entitlements, too, and it is up to us to ensure there is no delay in finding an alternative site,' he said. Cllr Fegan said they had known for considerable time that the playground would have to be moved and that it could have been brought to a point much earlier. 'The facility is lost and that is what is putting us under pressure,' he said, adding that the area office should have been directed to look at alternative sites sooner. Cllr Murray said they must make it a priority to find a site for the playground but would not like the Porchfields to be taken completely off the agenda. He said he was not happy with the car park but that people could walk to it. However Cllr Cantwell said he wanted it off the agenda, saying it was an architectural area of conservation and 'too important'. Cllr Murray said the Porchfields was a big area and there may be other sites that were more suitable. They should not remove the Porchfields from the equation completely, he said. Cllr Fegan said the message needed to go out from the meeting that the Porchfields was not acceptable. It was agreed that there would be no consideration of any report until the council comes up with alternatives sites for the playground. Councillors met after Monday"s meeting behind closed doors to further discuss alternative sites.