Rathmolyon playground progresses with €35k funding
Progress has been made on the provision of a playground in Rathmolyon with an allocation of €35,000 being agreed towards the project at last Friday's meeting of Trim Municipal District Council.
The grant of €35,000 to Rathmolyon and Cherry Valley Development Group towards the provision of a playground was agreed as part of the €100,000 Community Amenity Project Scheme 2024 and goes forward to the full council. Other grants awarded in the Trim District under the scheme include Ballivor FC, €17,500; Killyon Hurling Club, €17,500; Summerhill Community Centre, €10,000; Ballinabrackey Underage GAA, €10,000 and Meath Community & Alcohol Response (MCDAR), €10,000.
Cllr Noel French welcomed the funding for Rathmolyon and thanked the other councillors for supporting the playground project.
Once ratified at full council, he said they could then move on with their plans and obtain planning permission for construction of the playground.
He pointed out that it was an objective of the 2014 -2019 County Development Plan to seek to identify a suitable site for a playground in Rathmolyon.
“With many young families in the area and limited transport possibilities for stay at home parents, a playground that could be walked to and easily assessed would be great. With new building both private and council going on, the need for a playground will increase in future years,” said Cllr French.
“Rathmolyon DED had 383 children under 15 years of age in the 2022 Census. This number has increased and will increase into the future.
“The population of Rathmolyon almost doubled in the ten years between the 2006 census (168 inhabitants) and the 2016 census (334 people). According to the 2016 census report, almost 50 per cent of the town's houses (53 of 108 households) were constructed between 2001 and 2010 - 90 children were under 12 in 2016. Since then there are 74 houses planned for the Glebe and 22 new council houses.”
The proposed location for the playground has not yet been announced. Meath Co Council has land in Rathmolyon where it is planning to build 22 social homes and whether it intends to build the playground on these lands or another location has not yet been announced.