Council says no decision yet on Athboy playground

No final decision has been taken on the future of the proposed new playground at the Fairgreen, Athboy, Meath County Council has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the council said the final date for receipt of submissions was 7th February and the council is currently reviewing the submissions received, as it is still a live planning application.

However a major row has erupted between two local councillors, Mike Bray and David Gilroy following a Facebook Post by Cllr Bray in which he said the council executive had decided not to progress with the proposal.

Cllr Gilroy accused Cllr Bray of outrageous political opportunism and disregard for the integrity of the Trustees of the Fairgreen.

Cllr Bray said it was the right decision not to proceed given the scale of objections and concerns expressed and said local councillors were consulted about the decision to withdraw the application.

Cllr Gilroy said it was still a live planning process. "The Trustees had only agreed to allow the planning process to proceed to see the views of the people, they had not agreed to allow the playground in the Fairgreen.

"The process is not complete and this has now put the trustees in a difficult position. There have been a lot of objections and the Trustees would be considering the views of the people."

Cllr Bray expressed his disappointment at how the process was handled from the start. "There was a lack of consultation and engagement in advance of the planning application being submitted.

"For instance, I only found out about this application a few days before it was submitted. If the wider community, other stakeholders and public reps were included a more suitable proposal may have been put forward."

He said there had previously been a non-statutory public consultation prior to the planning application.

"I will continue to work to improve playground and other local amenities in the Athboy area," he said.