Naas GAA may challenge validity of Town Plan rezoning NAAS, 8 May 2000: EXCLUSIVE by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. The rezoning of Oldtown Estate in the 1999 Naas Town Development Plan may be invalid, according to a spokesman for Naas GAA, who says that a deal with the developer to relocate the club at Oldtown is 'no longer on the table'. And the club is experiencing great difficulty in getting a meeting with Naas UDC on the issue. The difficulty hinges on the fact that the developer, Lehmex International, seems no longer enthusiastic about providing the promised 16.34 acres at Oldtown for the club, and instead is offering it an alternative site on Keredern Stud lands (above) owned by a principal in Lehmex. "The developer has told us now that the original deal we made for Oldtown is off the table," Naas GAA's Padraig MacManus, a member of the negotiation team, said last Friday. "The Keredern site is agricultural land with no zoning or planning permission. We've told the developer that we're quite prepared to discuss the new location, but only in the context that if we don't get planning permission within a reasonable time, then we revert to the original agreement." Mr MacManus noted that this move would be the third time the offer has been changed - in the initial negotiations on the development plan, they were being accommodated on a site beside a proposed hotel at Oldtown. "Then we were asked to move to one further out from town, which we did. Now they want us to move again." The club's anxiety about the situation stems from the lack of suitable zoning at Keredern, and clear indications from several individuals and groups concerned with the canal as an amenity that they'll 'fight every inch of the way' against any attempt to rezone the Keredern land. "We want to meet the councillors now because there is an application for planning permission on Oldtown before the council, and the view we are taking is that if we're not moving there, there has to be a question about the zoning of Oldtown. There is nothing in the plan saying that we are to move there, but the whole town knew that it was one of the conditions on which rezoning was granted. If the deal is no longer on the table, we would call into question the validity of the zoning." The club wrote to Naas town clerk Declan Kirrane around 20 March, requesting a meeting with the councillors. "We received a reply about three weeks ago, asking for further information, which we gave the next day," Mr MacManus says. "We've heard nothing further. We simply want to know if we're going to be accommodated with a meeting. If they don't want to meet us, then they should tell us." (©brianbyrne/trishwhelan2000) Main Rover, Land Rover and Volvo dealers, Kildare town. Phone 045 521203; Fax 045 521785. See our selection here. And read Brian Byrne's review of the new Rover 75.

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. Please support those of your county people who travel the long and often lonely road of the pen and typewriter to tell you stories.

UDC chairman denies conflict of interest query NAAS, 18 May 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. Naas UDC chairman Seamie Moore has denied that there might be a conflict of interest if he chairs a meeting of the council with Naas GAA next Tuesday. At this week’s monthly meeting of the UDC, Cllr Mary Glennon suggested that because the meeting involved a situation between the GAA and the developers of Oldtown Estate, Lehmex International Limited, ‘for propriety’s sake’ it might be better if the vice-chairman, Cllr Pat O'Reilly, chaired the session. When Cllr Moore queried Cllr Glennon's reasons for her suggestion, she asked the chairman if he was involved with the developers in any fiduciary way. Cllr Moore replied that he had 'no fiduciary interest' in Lehmex International or Millennium Park. Cllr Glennon said that it ‘appeared from literature he himself had circulated’ that Cllr Moore was employed by a principal of Lehmex. Eventually Cllr Moore declared emphatically that he ‘did not work for a principal of Lehmex'. Cllr Glennon then said she ‘had to accept his word’ for it. When the meeting ended, Cllr Moore refused to comment further on the issue, answering repeated queries only by saying 'ask her', pointing to Cllr Glennon. According to documents in the Companies Registration Office, Gerald Conlan, of 23 Thornbrook, Naas, became a director of Lehmex International Limited on 23 December 1998. Among his other current directorships he listed Oakchurch Limited, of West Bank House in Newbridge. Oakchurch has a business address at Tully Road, Kildare. In a letter (below) to a potential customer at the end of last November, Seamie Moore describes himself as sales manager of Oakchurch Limited, a company selling mature trees. The letter lists the directors of Oakchurch as P Conlan and G Conlan. In the Oakchurch accounts for the year ended 31 March 1999, lodged at the Companies Registration Office on February 10 2000, Gerard (sic) Conlan is recorded as having retired as a director during the year, leaving Patrick Conlan and Helen Conlan as current directors. Lehmex is the primary developer of Oldtown Estate and of the planned Millennium Park, though various aspects of the development are currently being progressed by a number of other companies, including Quando Ltd and Bandenberry Ltd. Both properties benefited from rezoning in the 1999 Naas UDC Development Plan. Cllr Moore supported the plan, which was adopted after a 6-3 vote in the council. Cllr Glennon and fellow independent Cllr Anthony Egan, along with Labour's Cllr Pat McCarthy, were elected to Naas UDC in 1999 on policies based in opposition to the Naas Development Plan. Between them they polled more than 50% of the total vote cast in the election. As reported by KNN last week, Naas GAA have been trying for some time to have a meeting with the full council to discuss concerns about a proposed move to a site at Oldtown, which was part of the negotiations for the rezoning of the demesne formerly owned by Major John de Burgh. After an unusually extended ‘in committee’ meeting of the council last Tuesday prior to the public session, Cllr Moore announced that the members of the UDC would meet with the club’s representatives next Tuesday. (©2000brianbyrnetrishwhelan.)

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. Please support those of your county people who travel the long and often lonely road of the pen and typewriter to tell you stories.

Naas GAA 'delighted' with meeting offer NAAS, 19 May 2000: by Brian Byrne. Naas GAA say they are 'delighted' that they have at last secured a meeting with Naas UDC, to express concerns they have about a proposed move to a location on Oldtown Estate. The meeting, for next Tuesday, was announced at this week's monthly public session of the UDC, following a somewhat heated earlier discussion 'in committee'. During that discussion, Cllr Mary Glennon asked for a suspension of Standing Orders to allow a delegation from the club who were waiting outside to meet with the council there and then. In a vote, she achieved a majority, with Cllr Pat O'Reilly abstaining. However, Cllr O'Reilly then pointed out that such a suspension required a three-quarters majority, and the motion failed. "We will be outlining our position on the matter and asking for the councillors' support," Padraig MacManus told KNN as they left the public gallery following the announcement during the subsequent public session. Last week, Mr MacManus detailed how the club had been seeking a meeting for some time, because they are worried about the implications of a 'third relocation' proposal from Oldtown to Keredern Stud lands bordering the canal. The relocation of the club to Oldtown was a part of proposals which resulted in Oldtown being rezoned during the finalising of the 1999 Naas Development Plan.

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. Please support those of your county people who travel the long and often lonely road of the pen and typewriter to tell you stories.

CPO possibility for Oldtown 'GAA ground'? NAAS, 6 June 2000: by Brian Byrne & Trish Whelan. The developers of Oldtown Demesne in Naas, Lehmex International Ltd, could face a Compulsory Purchase Order move from Naas UDC on 16.5 acres of land which had been promised to the town’s GAA, if they do not agree to the club being relocated there. The club recently appealed to the UDC to help them have promises kept which were made by the developers during the preparation of the 1999 Naas Development Plan. The suggestion of a CPO was made by Cllr Mary Glennon at a meeting between councillors and GAA negotiators at their clubhouse on Thursday night. If the suggestion was carried through, the GAA could sell their existing site (above) - which is too small for their needs and now zoned for industrial use - at current market rates and then purchase the Oldtown site from the UDC. Meanwhile, a three-man delegation has been selected by the UDC to approach Lehmex about the recently-controversial matter, with instructions that they revert to their fellow councillors ‘within two weeks’. The delegation consists of UDC chairman Seamie Moore, Cllr Timmy Conway and Cllr Willie Callaghan. Cllr Charlie Byrne (right) says he proposed the names on the grounds that ‘they know the developer and can deal with him’. “We were getting nowhere at the meeting, so I proposed that the only people who have had direct contact with Lehmex and who had supported them on the rezoning of Oldtown should go to them on behalf of the council,” he said at the weekend. Cllr Glennon told KNN that she was very upset that the new councillors on the UDC were being lumped in with the blame for the current situation, and she ‘wasn’t having that’. Lehmex have not responded to repeated requests from KNN for a comment on the matter. Main Rover, Land Rover and Volvo dealers, Kildare town. Phone 045 521203; Fax 045 521785. See our selection here. And read Brian Byrne's review of the new Rover 75.

Kildare has many authors of both fiction and non-fiction. We have a special page available to promote their work, which you can access here. PROFESSIONAL COUNSELLING Noreen McCabe, MNAPCP Anxiety, depression, loss, phobias, childhood trauma, eating disorders, relationships, personal growth, coaching for work-related stress. Moorefield Clinic, Newbridge. Phone (045) 432111 or call Noreen at (045) 431936; mobile 086 2496823; email dmccabe@tinet.ie   Specialist travel operators to Cheltenham, Aintree, and other major international racing venues. Phone 01 2958901; Fax 01 2958902; Email