Greystones Archives - Page 3 of 18 - Councillor Derek Mitchell

Greystones will be ‘Wind Farm Central’ with the Codling Bank & the Dublin Array ones meeting offshore, the largest windfarms in Ireland. It is vital that this benefits the town and residents feel connected to it. It is important that the Community Benefit Fund from each wind farm is seen to be spent locally, in those areas that see the turbines. Consultation on this closed last week and I lobbied to get this fund kept local rather than National which was originally proposed. I want to see this fund spent…

I complained at Mondays Council budget meeting that Greystones only got half the budget of other areas and half the staff. This has led to the ludicrous situation that an expensive street sweeper had sat in a shed for most of 5 years because there was no one to drive it. The Chief Executive did agree to recruit for 2 vacant posts now and do a study of the staffing needs of each area. However there was no commitment to extra staff so I voted against the Budget for the…

The Cliff Walk from Bray to Greystones could be closed some time while the Council tries to get land to move it inland a bit. I have asked that signs/maps be put up of diversion: along Cliff Road, main R761 down to Redford Dip or along a lane to the East. This crosses the rail line and leads to the harbour boardwalk. Many tourists won’t know it exists. The danger of collapse of the eroded Cliff Path is greater in wetter Winter conditions which is why it has been fenced…

I  have analysed how Greystones Budget compares based on the spend per person from the 2016 Census.  As before we are much the lowest spend. Arklow & West have over twice as much spent. This year Greystones funding is 63% below the average having been 51% below the last 2 years. The population is expanding faster than any other area and one would have thought that management would have increased the budget to cope. Management have in fact directed the increases to other areas, they are not serious about managing…

There is a move to delay finalising the County Development Plan because of lack of zoned land in some villages. The Greystones Plan will take 2 further years to prepare, after the County Plan is finalised, and was out of date in 2019. ‘They are building everywhere in Greystones and a plan for infrastructure to cope with this is urgently needed. I don’t want the Greystones/Kilcoole Plan delayed’ said Cllr Derek Mitchell Cathaoirleach Greystones Municipal District.  The same probably applies in Newtown, Wicklow Town and maybe Bray