Litir Chumhdaigh
As a resident of Ashbourne for 20 years, I am submitting for the betterment of the community and the sustainable development of our town.
The recent pandemic highlighted a desperate shortage of public recreational, green space within walking distance of Ashbourne. Green spaces play a vital role in the health of a town. A safe, natural environment is a break from our busy lives, a place to get some fresh air, to exercise or play, or simply a place to go and relax. Green space plays an important part in tackling a range of health and social problems; obesity, cardiovascular disease, mental ill-health, antisocial behaviour, and health inequalities.
Many towns (and cities) suffer from a legacy of being designed around the car. Zoning a large public green space within the centre of our town will place walkability back at the heart of our future urban area. This form of human-centered design will create more safe, liveable environments, with a sense of place and community
MMC planners can help create more green space for the benefit of all by allowing this amendment.
More than enough land already zoned for residential housing would allow the town to grow to just under 20,000. The grounds (80 acres) identified for rezoning as public greenspace are a perfect opportunity for sustainable development of our town.
The park would be within 1.5 KM walking distance from most housing in the town. It would transform Ashbourne and reap the rewards in multiple areas of life - personal, health, community and business. Any future development of the town can then encircle this greenspace, creating healthy, sustainable development of the town. There would remain ample space to develop housing, but allowing equidistant access to the public park from all future developments.
MCC state that the necessary funds are not available to purchase and develop an 80-acre park. Zoning these lands open green space places no obligation on Meath Co Co to purchase and develop the park. Such an approach to town planning is extraordinarily short-sighted and smacks of short-termism. The simple rezoning of the lands protects a fantastic opportunity for the community of Ashbourne to develop a sustainable, healthy, vibrant town that could become the exemplar for suburban development. There is no good reason not to ring-fence this area for Ashbourne, at least in the medium term, to allow multiple alternative funding channels to be accessed. MCC must think in terms of generations when planning for Ashbourne.
COVID-19 and lockdown within 5km again highlighted how badly Ashbourne needs open, safe and publicly accessible greenspace. It now widely accepted that there will be future epidemics/ pandemics. Therefore, MMC must make provision for green space for all inhabitants of this area.
Based on Ashbourne’s population size, research on Health and Wellness benefits would indicate an 80-acre site as a minimum.
- The Future Analytics report, commissioned by Playspaces Network, recommends 33.4 ha (80 acres).
- The World Health organization parameters recommend 160 acres.
- The formula in Dublin City Council’s Parks Strategy would recommend between 90 and 130 acres.
- The Fields in Trust (UK – used by >75% of Local Authorities) standard (6 acres per 1000 pop. i.e. 90 acres plus.
Any sizeable free park will attract visitors to the town. In addition, the park will serve a wide catchment area, including southeast Meath, where publicly accessible greenspace is in very short supply.
That this motion has the unanimous support of our local councilors and the broader community cannot be ignored or vetoed by MCC. All accept that this is a medium-term project; please do not remove this opportunity from our community.