KILDARE: Naas town is either booming or about to stagnate

Two very contrasting views about the welfare of Naas have been put forward.

According to one the town “will stagnate and be left behind”.

This, said Green Party politician Bob Quinn, will be because of the loss of €20m worth of funding to open a new junction linking Corban’s Lane with New Row and create more footpaths, public realm space and cycle lanes in the town.

But Cllr Evie Sammon put forward a different view of the town which she said is “booming”.

Cllr Sammon said the pubs are packed and it’s hardly possible to get a booking in a restaurant.

This €20m project known as Pathfinder appears to have been shelved according to Cllr Quinn (though Kildare County Council says it remains committed to securing the money from the government for the work).

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Cllr Quinn told a Naas Municipal District meeting that Naas is “crying out for a coherent plan and a whole pile of money.”

But, he added, “right now it  looks as if it’s going to slip away.”

He instead called for the reallocation of approximately €4.8 million under the Urban Regeneration and Development Fund (URDF) to be spent on some infrastructure measures in Naas that would have been done under Pathfinder. He said he’s been told by Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan “that he would be amenable to KCC seeking new funding streams with the caveat that all the local officials and councillors must work together and be committed to getting things done speedily.”

However, Naas Mayor Bill Clear blamed Mr Ryan for the loss of Pathfinder. He also pointed out that councillors had been told some time ago that planned improvements to pedestrian infrastructure at Poplar Square, John’s Lane, Basin Street and outside Dunnes Stores would have to wait for Pathfinder to get underway - and it’s unclear when or if that will happen now.

Some of the blame for the delays in progressing this project has been directed at the National Transport Authority, which has the final say in approving the works.

Cllr Carmel Kelly called for KCC to put pressure on the NTA and Cllr Fintan Brett repeated his criticism of the NTA for closing a bus stop at Poplar Square.

“It means people have to travel another 150 metres and make their way back to visit a pharmacy or a doctor," said Cllr Brett.

The meeting was also told that the Naas area is consistently placed in the top three postal codes regarding the rate of residential development.