KILDARE: 'Sallins has been neglected for too long'

Kildare County Council has been accused of taking a “wishy washy” approach to providing  community lands in Sallins.

Cllr Carmel Kelly asked for an update on next steps and timelines for the development of the lands.

She was told that a tender for the detailed design of land will be prepared in the first quarter of next year. 

This is likely to include the design details for some of the main features on the larger southern portion of the amenity lands, including grading required to facilitate features in the masterplan, the main entrances to the park, car parking, a perimeter path, pitches and the wetland area. 

It will bring some of the design elements to tender stage but it won’t be possible to take  the design beyond this until funding can be identified to facilitate construction. 

More money will have to be found  to carry out details design for a teen play area, playground, dry canal, allotments, outdoor gym, restoration of the old farm buildings, spectator areas, a boardwalk and a watch tower for the wetland and the design features on the smaller northern portion of the site.

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Cllr Kelly pointed out that the site was bought in 2016 and there are now 6,500 residents in Sallins town.

“We have one small GAA pitch and one Sallins Celtic. Please tell me someone is looking for money for this or I’ll go looking myself,” she said, adding that the initial cost was just over €1m.

“Sallins has nothing; we’ve been neglected for too long. We need to prioritise people here,” she said.