14,000 extra Navan residents get to vote as town boundary extended

Navan Town Council"s application for a boundary extension has been approved by the Department of the Environment, meaning that 14,000 more voters will be entitled to vote in the forthcoming town council elections. Despite the huge surge in population in the Navan area in the past 10 years, the official town population remained at just 4,400 because most of the residents lived outside the town boundary. However, the new boundary now takes in all the estates around the town and the local council"s population has now increased to 24,000. Most of the estates around the town in areas such as Johnstown, Athlumney, Clonmagadden and the Trim Road were all in the administrative area of Meath County Council and residents in these areas could not vote in town council elections until now. The boundary now extends to Kilcarn Bridge on the Dublin Road, the Kentstown Road junction for Johnstown, to Ferganstown on the Boyne Road, beyond Blackcastle on the Slane Road, to the railway crossing on the Windtown Road, just past the railway crossing on the Kells Road, to Robinrath on the Athboy Road and to the Balreask Crossroads on the Trim Road. Warm welcome County Manager Tom Dowling has warmly welcomed the extension of the Navan town boundary. He said: 'Both councils have put substantial time and resources into this project over the past number of years. The extension will provide an impetus for development of all facets of life in our county town in the coming years. 'I would like to acknowledge the commitment of all our town and county councillors in working with the executive to deliver this very important advance for Navan.' The boundary extension had been worked on since 2006 and the application from Navan Town Council and Meath County Council was submitted in February of this year. It had not been expected that the boundary would be extended in advance of the local elections on 5th June and, in correspondence to other town councils, Environment and Local Government Minister John Gormley had said that no boundary extensions would be approved before the election. Now, with just seven weeks until polling day, Meath County Council staff will be working to ensure that all additional voters are added to the Navan Urban register. It is expected that this process will take in the region of two weeks to complete. While it will be a relatively simple process to include housing estates, council staff will be out in the areas to include one-off houses that are within the new boundary. Speaking after he signed the order to extend the boundary, Minister Gormley said: 'Navan has seen a significant increase in the town"s population over recent decades, with most residents now living outside the town boundary. The application from the town council, which was also supported by Meath County Council, stated that the extension to the existing town was logical, given that the residents of the extended area identified strongly with the town.' He said the boundary alteration will entitle the residents of the area to vote in the forthcoming town council elections and that the alteration will come into effect on 1st May. Councillors in Navan have welcomed the change. Major breakthrough Sinn Fein Cllr Peadar Tóibín said: 'Up until now, we have had a ridiculous situation whereby at least 10,000 people were living, working and socialising in Navan town but were not allowed to vote for representatives who made the decisions that affected their daily lives. 'Thousands of people from areas such as Johnstown, Athlumney Balreask Manor, Canterbrook, Clonmagadden and Windtown where democratically disenfranchised for years. Sinn Féin has called for this boundary change for some time now and we are delighted that it has finally come about. The people of these areas will now be able to hold their representatives to account. This is a major breakthrough for democracy in the town and has to be welcomed.' Green Party candidate Brian Flanagan said: 'I very much welcome this development of Navan and the extension of the franchise for the town council elections to so many residents of the town. This is something which I have highlighted through the media and have also referred to Minister Gormley. New areas such as Johnstown can now exercise their franchise at Navan Town Council elections.' Cllr Jim Holloway paid tribute to Meath County Council and Navan Town Council and, in particular, to former official Fergus Muldoon for his work. He said: 'In future, Navan Town Council will be viewed as a town of 30,000 population instead of a town of less than 4,000 inhabitants. This will appeal to potential investors with all the advantages that will accrue to Navan. The administration of the extended town of Navan will be more efficient through economies of scale. At last, the entire population of Navan will have the right to vote to elect members of the New Town Council in the forthcoming elections.' Trim and Kells Town Councils are also preparing applications to have their boundaries extended. Meath County Council decided to begin the process by working on Navan"s application and use this as a template for the other town councils to follow. It is expected that councillors and local election candidates in Trim and Kells will be unhappy that Navan has completed the process, while they will have to wait until the next elections in 2014 before many residents living in their towns are entitled to vote for them.