Green light for new halting site in Newbridge - Ireland

From the Leinster Leader

A new halting site for Newbridge was given the green light by Kildare County Council recently.

It proposes an expansion of the current one at Tankardsgarden to expand onto previously unused land.

The current halting site at Tankardsgarden has housed families for 22 years and is in desperate need of repair. It is to be completely demolished, re-built and extended.

The works, proposed under a Part 8 application, will involve the removal of boundary walls, halting site bays and all ancillary buildings.

The re-vamped site will include seven bays, a single-storey caretaker’s office, a single-storey community building, new entrance, new boundary walls and fences and a new road layout.

Three masts will be placed throughout the site to support CCTV security cameras.

Two years ago the council’s first proposal was to build two halting sites, a new one at Tankardsgarden and the other at Mooney’s Lane, which was to take six families from the 13 currently living in dire conditions in a six-bay site at Tankardsgarden.

However some residents and local councillors in the area objected that Mooney’s lane was unsuitable as it was prone to flooding, and lacked the adequate infrastructure.

The refurbished site will include a green amenity area and there is a designated location for a piece of art-work.

The inclusion of a new footpath outside the site, along the Barrettstown Road, is likely to be welcomed by local residents and Travellers alike, given that the issue of safety for pedestrians on this stretch of roadway has been raised in the past.