Rathmore flooding row before the courts
Flooding at Rathview in November. Pic: Tony Keane.
DIFFERENCES of opinion have emerged about the cause of ongoing flooding in Rathmore, near Naas.
Heavy rainfall during the last weekend in November exacerbated the problem. Kildare County Council (KCC) believes a possible unauthorised development in the area may be the cause of the flooding but this has been questioned.
Cllr. Willie Callaghan told a KCC local area meeting last week that flooding problems in the area existed prior to any alleged unauthorised development.
“This (flooding) is going on for 14 years now; the development may have contributed to the problem but it’s not the original cause” he said.
Cllr. Fintan Brett said: “The Rathview estate has been flooded five times in the last three to four years.”
KCC official Sonya Kavanagh told the council that legal proceedings are ongoing against a landowner/business owner in Rathmore.
She described the court case as a “last ditch” attempt to deal with the issue.
“It hasn’t been possible to deal with this without going to court,” she added.
It came before Naas Circuit Court last month and was adjourned until April – but the council is seeking to have the matter before the court much sooner.
Rathview residents previously complained to the council that a lot of surface water is draining on to the road from adjoining fields and then flowing into their back gardens – which result in septic tanks being flooded.
The council argues this excess flood water ”originates mainly from the development which is the subject of the unauthorised development.”
The meeting heard that the council maintained that while work was done to lessen the effects of flooding, this would not resolve the problem fully.
- Paul O’Meara
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Weather for Naas, Ireland
Saturday 25 May 2013
Today
Sunny spells
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 14 mph
Wind direction: South
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 9 C to 16 C
Wind Speed: 21 mph
Wind direction: South west
