Local Work Archives - Page 3 of 33 - Councillor Derek Mitchell

Mitchell supports Council rejection of another development at Blacklion

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

The Council refused Cairn permission for a 98 house development on part of a site at Blacklion, Greystones because the town is over the planned population for 2028. The developer has appealed this to Bord Pleanala. They have also applied for 586 houses on the whole site. I have submitted an observation to the Bord supporting the refusal. Recent figures released from the 2022 Census show Greystones-Delgany, at 22,009 people, to be even larger than earlier estimates. Together with houses sold since, being built and with planning permission the population…

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Mitchell and independent visual expert ask Codling wind farm to reduce impact

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

I met the Codling Wind Farm staff with an independent Visual Expert to discuss the visual aspects of their turbines meeting the Dublin Array windfarm. The experts report showed that Greystones would have the worst visual impact of any place in Ireland. He agreed with my view that a large visual gap should be left between the 2 wind farms. The Codling is the least intrusive of the two because it is a bit further offshore. They agreed to consider carefully where the turbines are placed in relation to the…

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Mitchell urges Strategic Rail Plan to improve Wicklow Line

Posted by | Local Work, Press Release, Wicklow | No Comments

The Wicklow Rail line to Kilcoole and Wicklow Town provides the worst service of any in the Greater Dublin Area. There are only 2 trains at rush hour, both short. I see that a Strategic Plan is to come before Cabinet, I am urging that a proper Plan is produced for these fast expanding towns. It makes more sense to get existing lines to work than to dream about lots of new lines in less populated places. There has been publicity about battery operated DARTs but no suggested Plan or…

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Cairn Appeal planning Refusal for 98 houses in Greystones

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

The refusal was primarily because Greystones is over the population target for 2028 of 21,727. The April Census last year show the population is 22,009.  Since then at least 500 houses have been occupied and 500 are being built which will give a population of 24,500 next year, 10% over the target for 4 years ahead of that. Cairn also applied for 586 houses and apartments in Blacklion. This section being part of the larger site but no decision has been made by Bord Pleanala in the 18 months since…

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Mitchell asks Council to Asses Visual Impact of planned wind farms

Posted by | Local Work, Press Release, Wicklow | No Comments

Cllr Derek Mitchell asked Wicklow County Council to get experts to do a  Seaview Visual Impact Assessment on the detailed plans of the windfarm operators. The proposers will have to do one when they apply for permission to Bord Pleanala. However the visual impact will be worse in Greystones than any other place in Ireland because it will cover most of the horizon. An independent assessment, on behalf of the public, is vital with suggestions of how to reduce the impact while still generating carbon free electricity. This was supported…

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Mitchell meets with Codling Wind Farm Staff and asks for visual impact to be reduced.

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

I am concerned that the  Codling and Wind farms meeting off Greystones mean that this will have the biggest visual imposition of any place in Ireland and almost any place in the UK. Currently the plans are for turbines, taller than Bray Head, from Dun Laoghaire to Wicklow Town close to the coast. I recently met with the Senior management of Codling wind farm and stated that a substantial gap should be left between the two wind farms to reduce the visual impact. They are now working on the placing…

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Delgany to Blacklion Cycleway and road. Mitchell wants progress.

Posted by | Delgany, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

This has been planned for decades but progress has been intermittent, some bits done and much not done. The Engineer reported to the Municipal District meeting that it was intended to complete the tender documents by October and to proceed to appoint a contractor by year end. However the Council has a serious shortage of Engineers and this could delay progress. I asked that it would be done in the school holidays to reduce congestion. This would not be possible as it is a big job but he would hope…

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Greystones development refused as town exceeds target population

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

Wicklow Council has refused Cairn planning permission to build 98 houses at Coolgad, Greystones. The reason for refusal is that Greystones has exceeded its population target for 2028 and thus there is no need to build on peripheral greenfield sites on the edge of town, even if they are zoned residential. Last years Census showed that the population was 300 below the target of 21,727. There are over 1,000 houses with permission, many being constructed, so when occupied the population will be at least 23,000, probably 24,000. Cairn have applied…

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Greystones Budget too low given huge Town expansion

Posted by | Greystones, Local Work, Press Release | No Comments

The Greystones District Budget was discussed at the area meeting on Tuesday. Greystones expenditure is 11% of All District expenditure, a decrease of 1% but last years Census shows the population has increased from 18 to 20% of County Wicklow. The staff numbers are half those of other areas even though the population has expanded massively. An audit of all outdoor staff was to be done but was never completed. This lack of funding shows in low maintenance of public areas and lack of the public parks which you would…

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