Trim street will be closed for a further six weeks

Trim Town councillors and council officials have expressed anger and disappointment at a further delay to completion of upgrading works at High Street in the town. Trim Town Council was told by the contractors working on the reconstruction of High Street that the work would be completed by 6th September. The work is not now expected to finish until the end of October, a meeting of the local town council heard last week. Among the reasons given for the delay was the bad weather during July and August, as well as the discovery of an uncharted sewerage pipe which meant further work was necessary. Trim town manager Kevin Stewart said that information on the project had been received from the contractors in good faith, and had been passed on in good faith. However, it was unrealistic and targets weren"t met. Mr Stewart expressed disappointment at this, saying the work was originally due to start on 26th May, but did not start until 9th June. One footpath has been opened to the public, with access to businesses, and the other side of the street should be finished by the end of September, with the total project complete by the end of October. Cllr Gerry Reilly said he didn"t think the contractors put their backs into the project and were spreading out the job to keep people in a job. Cllr Vincent McHugh asked about the details of the contract and the clawbacks that would in place if the contract was not completed in time. 'At the end of the day, we are the ones responsible for those contractors being there, and it"s not fair on the businesses there,' he said. Cllr Jimmy Peppard said he wanted a letter of apology to go out, and town clerk Brian Murphy said one would be going out the next day with the up-to-date details. No further projects should go ahead without an overseer being present from the council, Cllr Trevor Golden said, while Cllr Ray Butler called for relief on the rates for the businesses in that area to compensate them for the inconvenience they have been suffering due to the closure of the street. Mr Stewart said that everybody wanted the work to be done and nobody wanted inconvenience, and while he was disappointed that things didn"t go according to plan this time, there were a great deal of other streets that had been successfully completed. A €5 million reconstruction of Trim was underway and nobody had a magic wand to wave to finish them, he added. There was no legal basis for a relief scheme for rates, he said. Cllr Robbie Griffith wanted proposed work on Loman Street to be postponed until after Christmas. The town engineer said that this had been tendered for to go ahead before Christmas, but options would be looked at. Traders on Trim"s High Street have reacted angrily to news that the street will now not re-open to through traffic until the end of October. Under the original schedule of work, the street was to re-open at the beginning of August but the date has been put back several times due to delays. Jan Way, proprietor of James Allen Hairdressing, said: 'It seems to be going slower and slower. One of the workers told me they had no other job to go to and they are dragging it out and was laughing about it.' She said the contractors were not working at weekends to try to quicken up the job and said there 'seems to be a lot of standing around'. Ms Way said that none of the council officials had come around and all they had got was a letter to say that the street would not be open until November. 'That means it will be closed from June until the end of October to do one road. You wouldn"t get away with it anywhere else,' she claimed. She added that more crews were not being brought in and that there doesn"t seem to be 'any pressure on them'. Butcher David Dempsey said he was 'sick' of the situation. 'The street was supposed to be open to through traffic last Saturday week and they (the contractors) had it ready to open but then the council told them they couldn"t open it. Now we"re told it is going to be completely closed until the end of October. He said the contractors were working right outside his door and that, with JCBs and dumpers parked outside, 'you wouldn"t get a rat in'. He added: 'It is a complete disgrace. They don"t seem to be in any hurry and are able to extend the date to suit themselves.' Meanwhile, councillors also discussed the situation surrounding the planned playground in the town. A plan to locate the new facility at the Porchfields has been unsuccessful, and council officials put forward five other options, while also seeking suggestions from the councillors. A location close to the King and Queen monument on the ring road - close to car parking on the old Navan Road - was suggested. Mr Stewart said the situation with the existing playground could change if the development work at the site of the old swimming pool which has forced the closure of the playground wasn"t starting soon, as it could be re-opened with a new access route.