Navan park project to be shelved

Plans for Navan"s long-awaited public park have been put on ice after Navan area manager Eugene Cummins told local councillors that no work could start on the project this year because of a lack of funding. Detailed drawings have been completed for the major Navan amenity and councillors had expected that work on the first phase would be commencing shortly after funding of €750,000 was granted by the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism last year. The overall plan for the 66-acre sports and recreation park along the banks of the Blackwater includes walkways, playing pitches, children"s playground, a bowling green and a car park. The first phase of the development was costed at €2.63m. At a meeting of the Navan Area Council last week, Mr Cummins - responding to a request by Cllr Shane Cassells for a report on the park project - said that work would not commence this year because of the economic downturn and the fall-off in development levies. There was an angry reaction from councillors and a heated exchange ensued between Cllr Cassells and Mr Cummins regarding the funding for the project, which resulted in Mr Cummins walking out of the meeting. The senior official had told councillors that anticipated development levies that were to part-fund phase one of the development had dropped considerably and that construction would not begin this year. He said €2.5m would need to be spent by the council on groundworks and enabling works before the €750,000 funding could be drawn down. Cllr Cassells refused to accept this and called for revised costings to be carried out for phase one, given the decrease in building costs in the downturn. Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Cassells said: 'The bottom line is that the money is there but you have a system in County Hall that is trying its best to hand it back. It is clear there is a lack of will from both the manager of this town and county to provide a park for the people of Navan.' He said that they could 'do a hell of a lot with €1m' and that, at that price, they could get 'the work grant-aided to the tune of €500,000'. Cllr Cassells went on: 'It is amazing that we could be told the park was off their agenda because of money when the figures involved dated back to a time when things were treble the cost. 'The council had estimated this project at nearly €3m but have made no attempt to re-cost this project at a time when it has never been as cheap to get work done. I want to see a park built that people can go and use, whereas Meath County Council appear to want to build the next Wembley Stadium.' Meath County Council spokesperson Bill Sweeney said there appeared to be a 'concerted attempt to muddy the waters on the issue'. He said the area manager had explained that there is a grant of €750,000 available from the Dept of Arts, Sports & Tourism but that to bring the project to the stage where this money could be drawn down would require the spending of €2.5 million on groundworks and other enabling works by the council. Mr Sweeney said: 'While provision has been made in the Navan Town capital budget for development of the town park, this expenditure was based on projected income from development levies. 'The dramatic downturn in development dictates that it is not possible to proceed with this expenditure in the current year.' He added that the grant was secured on the basis of an application prepared by officials of the town council and that 'all involved are committed to the advancement of the project when the financial situation allows'. Councillors were told that the only capital project going ahead in Navan this year would be the reconstruction of Watergate Street and Market Street. However, Cllr Jim Holloway is calling for this money to be directed to phase one of the park instead. He said: 'The decision of the Navan Area Manager to engage in major reconstruction of Watergate Street and Market Square is wrong at this time. Without the M3 being in place and a new signalling system being operational, these works will cause huge and unnecessary traffic congestion. 'I now propose that the money being spent on this project be directed to the first phase of the new park, a facility that is so urgently needed by the citizens of Navan and the surrounding areas.'