NAAS, 16 September 2002: Residents of Lakelands seeking to put an end to the use of private houses in their estate by Naas Hospital for administrative purposes have been told that it would take ‘very lengthy’ court proceedings to stop the activity.
In a canvass of local councillors, they were told by Cllr Mary Glennon that some of the houses have been ‘operating as businesses’ for five years. She urged the residents to individually write to the Ombudsman about the matter.
Mayor of Naas Timmy Conway (right) said he would immediately undertake to have an enforcement notice sent out to the hospital, while Cllr Willie Callaghan said he ‘would love to see it stop tomorrow’ but felt it was ‘an example of the system at work’ and ‘red tape’.
Both Cllrs Conway and Glennon said they would object to any application for planning permission by the hospital for continuted use of the houses as offices, but Cllr Callaghan believes the hospital will not look for any such permission. “They do not want to make the arrangement permanent,” he told the residents.
On another problem area, the parking problems which have beset the estate since the construction work at the hospital began, there seemed to be a difference of opinion among the councillors as to whether the lack of a Traffic Management Plan in the planning permission made the current building work ‘illegal’. Cllr Conway said bluntly that it is not legal, and Cllr Callaghan felt the hospital was ‘breaking the planning conditions’. Cllr Glennon said the absence of such a plan would not be legal under the new planning acts, but it was not illegal under the regulations that applied when the original application was submitted.
Cllr Conway said he would ‘continue to put pressure on all involved’ and Cllr Glennon promised to continue to voice her objections at Council level. Cllr Callaghan said he would review the situation in mid-October.
Cllr Pat McCarthy (left) told the residents that he had tabled a motion in June asking that the new parking bye-laws in Naas be amended to include for ‘residents only parking’.
“This motion had three votes for and three abstentions,” he recalled. “It is now the responsibility of the officials to have the motion implemented, and I will insist that this be done. With regard to the planning issue, I fully support your view that the Health Board should be brought to task.”
Lakelands Residents Association have asked as many of their members as possible to attend Tuesday night's September meeting of the Naas Town Council, where the parking issue is on the agenda.
