Traveller families to move to temporary site within fortnight

Work is almost complete on the temporary halt site adjacent to St Martin's Park in Trim and families are expected to move to the site within the next two weeks. The halt site at St Martin's Park is to undergo a major refurbishment which will see the existing bays and day units replaced with traditional housing units, following consultation with the local residents. While refurbishment work is underway, the Traveller families will be accommodated at the temporary halt site which will be reinstated as grassland after the development is completed. The plans for the three-acre site will see the 16 bays at St Martin's Park demolished and replaced with 14 traditional three- and four-bedroom houses with back gardens, located around a green open space. There will also be a resource centre, incorporating a manager's office. It is expected the work will take one year to complete. The total cost for the contract, which includes the temporary halt site, is €2.1m and the project is being funded by the Department of Environment's Traveller Accommodation Unit. The contract was awarded to Galway-based Atlantic Developments Ltd, following a public procurement process. The company has completed similar projects in Galway, Clare and Sligo. The plans have been developed in consultation with the residents of St Martin's Park over the past two years and residents of the nearby estate Maudlin Vale have also met with council officials to address their concerns. Senior engineer in Meath County Council's housing department Joe Fahy said the existing halt site was designed to the requirements at that time, but that the day houses were not in keeping with current standards. While it is a relatively new site, he said it is not a modern residential amenity. Mr Fahy said the residents now want more desirable housing standards, akin to what all the council's tenants are looking for. Senior executive officer, Larry Whelan, said that, in both cases, there had been consultations with families and that is what they wanted at the time. The tall trees between St Martin's Park and the ring road will be removed and a low wall constructed. Mr Fahy said they were trying to "integrate the development into the built environment of Trim rather than try to isolate it". The temporary halt site includes 14 bay areas with small day units containing a shower, toilet and basin. The bays will be connected to sewerage, electricity and water services. Cameras will be placed at the entrance to the temporary halt site to combat unauthorised activity. Afterwards, the temporary site will be demolished and all material will be disposed of off-site. The site will then be reinstated as a grass field and Mr Fahy explained that this was part of the contract. Because of health and safety considerations, it was decided to accommodate residents on the temporary site rather than proceed with works while they were still on site at St Martin's Park. The cost of developing the temporary site is €200,000 but Mr Fahy said the costs for the main part of the development would have been higher if they had tried to keep the residents on-site while work was underway. He also said that the health and safety implications of proceeding while they are on-site was greatly increased, and that another access road would also have been needed. Meath County Council and every other local authority must prepare a Traveller Accommodation Plan every five years and the refurbishment of St Martin's Park is part of this plan for 2009-2013. St Martin's Park is one of three halt sites in Meath. St Patrick's Park in Navan has already been upgraded and, indeed, has won a design award. Plans are currently being worked on to upgrade St Francis Park, Windtown, and it is hoped this will proceed next year, subject to funding.