Ashbourne
Following on from my submission to the Draft Meath County Development Plan in March 2020, and now, after reviewing the Material Amendments to Draft Meath County Development Plan 2021-2027 I wish to make the following comments.
It is of vital importance for the future development and well-being of our town that a regional sized park is delivered to Ashbourne. On the 21st January 2021, all 40 of Meath’s County Councillors unanimously voted to zone 80acres from R/A Rural Area to F1 open space. This site is in an ideal location, within 1.5km of the majority of houses in Ashbourne, close to the town centre – it could breathe new life into many aspects of Ashbourne, our residents, our schools, local businesses.
Future Analytics Consulting in 2017, determined that Ashbourne requires, at a MINIMUM, an additional 33.4 hectares of freely accessible public open space to meet current and projected population growth by 2026. Meath County Council’s own population growth projections exceed that projection by 1000 residents.
Since COVID-19 has emerged, it has had detrimental impact world-wide and it really emphasised how badly needed PUBLICLY ACCESSIBLE GREENSPACE is in our town. During the various lockdowns we had to stay 2km, 5km from home. It was very tough, both physically and mentally, especially where there is nowhere safe to go to get exercise and fresh air. Walking the same jam packed footpaths day in day out, while trying to stay 2 metres away from people outside our own households, trying to keep [Redacted_Personal Information]children fit and active and healthy, was soul destroying. I cannot even begin to imagine for more vulnerable neighbours the impact it must have had, mentally and physically.
We are very well served by some fantastic sports and recreational facilities in Ashbourne, many of which myself and my family use and pay membership fees to access. We are very privileged to be able to do so. During our various lockdowns since March 2020, we have not been able to access these facilities. And many members of our town cannot afford to access these facilities, may be too old or too young or may have additional needs etc. Our entire community should be able to exercise, enjoy fresh air and nature as and when they can and need to.
It is disappointing to see that Meath County Council’s Chief Executive comment “… the information provided within the FAC Report does not reflect the open space provision throughout Ashbourne and has been tailored to provide a particular view point.” This is absolutely not the case. There is no substantial publically accessible greenspace in Ashbourne, there are pockets throughout the town, but nowhere that we can fully relax as they are in built up areas and close to roads etc. Future Analytics is a reputable planning consultancy, of whom Meath County Council are clients and have used their expertise to plan and deliver in other areas of the county.
I would be delighted to see Meath County Council Executive & Planners, take some pride in their roles and deliver on a decent Community Park for Ashbourne – a flagship project that will bring together the community and the Council. A project of exceptional standard – unlike the over-promised and under-delivered Linear Park along the Broadmeadow, of which only one of seven zones has been completed. Ashbourne residents, young and old, are not shy about rolling up our sleeves and working hard to help deliver on community projects, as seen in the past and we are ready to pull out all the stops for this Community Park. We will not accept it being kicked further down the road, with promises of delivery within the LAP etc.
“The town lacks a sufficiently sized open space area that is openly available to the entire community. Such space should be of appropriate quality with landscaping and design, as well as features and facilities that address the needs of both the existing and future populations of the town”. FAC Report, commissioned by Ashbourne Playspace 2017.