Farganstown lands must be bought for recreation use - Reilly

Meath Co Council has been urged to acquire 30 acres of land at Farganstown to avoid the same mistakes made in Johnstown, which has left a community "without recreation or sporting facilities for decades."

Council Cathaoirleach, Cllr Tommy Reilly called on the council to acquire 30 acres in the Farganstown area for use for a sporting, recreational and well-being campus.

At last week’s of meeting of Navan Municipal Council he urged the council build such facilities before the completion of a huge number of housing developments in the area, which sits just off the Kentstown Road.

The Farganstown land is adjacent to Johnstown and Cllr Reilly said he doesn’t want to see the same mistakes happen a second time round, where locals have been left waiting for sporting and community amenities for decades, despite development continuing apace.

He was told at the meeting that Meath Co Council will explore all options to ensure that the social and community infrastructure in Farganstown "is delivered in a timely and structured manner".

“There is little or no point in the council waiting until all the new houses are built in Farganstown and retrospectively providing facilities for the community,” Cllr Reilly said.

“Unfortunately that mistake was made in Johnstown and the community there are still waiting on facilities and are understandably feeling frustrated. I feel sorry for the children of Johnstown. There is an opportunity now for Meath Co Council to acquire 30 acres of lands at Farganstown and I urge them to do it and turn it in to a sporting, recreational and well-being campus ahead of a huge amount of houses being built in the area”

Cllr Reilly says such a move and a facility is imperative ahead of developments being completed and not only would it be a huge asset to the local community but it would also help local sports clubs such as Johnstown United, Walterstown GFC and Johnstown Boxing Club continue to provide sport to the growing local community.

“Sport and recreational facilities are urgently needed in this area and they would be a massive benefit to the local community and to Meath Co Council,” he said.

"Between the Dublin Road, Limekiln and the Trim Road there are 2,000 new houses being built and planning applications are coming in for hundreds more, but where are the facilities?

"Where are trhe community centres, the community hub, recreational facilities?" he asked.

Separately, Meath has received over €1.3 million under the government’s Local Improvement Scheme (LIS) for repairs and improvement works on non-public rural roads and laneways.

Nationwide a record €40 million LIS allocation was announced by Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys.

Meath is set to receive a €1,325,559 share as part of that funding.

This announcement brings to a total of almost €170 million that has been allocated to local authorities under the Scheme since it was re-introduced in 2017. The allocation of funds is for works to be carried out across 2024 and 2025 on roads not normally maintained by the local authorities

Minister Humphreys said:

“LIS is a critical source of funding for small non-public roads not normally maintained by local authorities.