NAAS, 26 October 2002: Naas Town Councillors have had another major public barney over Oldtown Estate, this time focusing on the apparent ‘loss’ of some five acres of gardens (above) which were promised to the Council in return for rezoning in the 1999 Naas Development Plan.
The row arose during discussion of a motion by Cllr Pat McCarthy that demanded ‘the 20 acres of Oldtown Gardens be donated [by the developers] for public use’ as it was one of the conditions under which the estate was rezoned in the 1999 Naas Development Plan.
It now appears that a total of 15.2 acres of woods and gardens is being donated to the people of Naas by developers Lehmex International. But in the discussions prior to the rezoning, and in several documents and publications relating to Oldtown, the figure of 20 acres was always mentioned.
At the latest council meeting, Cllr Mary Glennon questioned the map given recently to councillors of the area of Oldtown donated to the Council saying ‘it seems much less than 15.2 acres’.
She criticised former Mayor Willie Callaghan for having signed an agreement for the property 'without knowing how much land he was signing for'.
Both Cllr Glennon and Cllr Pat McCarthy said they wanted the map of the area given to the Council to be professionally surveyed to determine the exact acreage.
At this Mayor Timmy Conway snapped: “You have been told it already. It has been surveyed by our own town engineer who said it was 15.2 acres.”
Cllr McCarthy then pointed out ‘the town engineer isn’t here tonight to respond’.
He said when the Development Plan was passed, ‘certain councillors here were telling the whole town that it would be 20 acres’.
Facing the Mayor he said: “It’s in your own booklet published before the last local elections and it was in the local papers that it would be 20 acres.” He added that former Councillors Sean English and Teresa Scanlon were of the ‘clear view’ it was 20 acres at the time.
He added: “The then senior county planner, Philip Jones, thought it was 20 acres too and was quoted in the local papers as saying it wasn’t enough for the rezonings sought. So we’re five acres short now.” He said he was disappointed ‘this is all we’re getting after all we gave this company’.
Cllr Charlie Byrne reminded councillors that the original rezoning application had included a cinema complex and a bowling alley to be built on the site.
Cllr McCarthy pointed out that the section of Oldtown now owned by the Council has no proper road frontage. “You can’t get an entrance through the swamp area off Mill Lane,” he said.
He was interrupted by the Mayor who said the Oldtown Gardens are more beautiful than the Japanese Gardens. “They are a gem for Naas,” he enthused.
“The only area we have with road frontage IS a swamp,” returned Pat McCarthy. “If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it IS a duck.”
Cllr Seamie Moore believed the town is ‘doing remarkably well in getting 15.2 acres’.
Mayor Conway then put the motion to the floor, and Cllr McCarthy said: “Sure we know from the numbers it’s going to be defeated anyway.”
It was.
The defeat prompted yet another row with everyone shouting at the same time. Cllr Glennon was heard to mutter: ‘The Gang of Five’.
This prompted Cllr Willie Callaghan to have a go back. He rounded on her shouting across the table ‘there was never mention of a Gang of Five until you people the far side of the table spoke of it’.
Cllr Callaghan continued shouting at Mary Glennon over the GAA situation and Oldtown.
It was at this stage that there was an exodus of people from the public gallery. Most were residents of the Sallins Road where Oldtown is located. They afterwards expressed their ‘disgust’ at the carry-on.
During meeting, town clerk Declan Kirrane said there was ‘no onus’ on Lehmex International Ltd to give anything to the Council because they ‘had not got all they wanted’.
Oldtown promise was put in print
A colour brochure produced by Lehmex International Ltd, the developers of Oldtown, states clearly that 20 acres of Oldtown Gardens was being donated to Naas UDC.
The glossy brochure entitled: ‘Preserving and Enhancing the Canal’ was handed to councillors during rezoning discussions. It promised that the field to the north of the Oldtown gardens would be established as a new parkland area to create further parkland attached to the 20 acres of gardens.
The brochure also promised the creation of a 5-acre linear park along the canal which would be built by the developers and opened by Summer 2000. They would also maintain it for ten years.
The brochure states that the donation of the five acres of canal-side park was ‘in addition to the 20 acres of Oldtown Gardens being donated to Naas UDC’.
The brochure was produced by the developers as they were requesting a 50m building line setback from the canal. Subsequently, they got agreement on a 90m set back (after it was reduced from the 180m first agreed by the Council).
A so-called ‘Naas Development Plan’ booklet (left) published during the last local elections (before the 1999 Naas Town Plan was adopted), states ‘the freehold ownership of the de Burgh woods and gardens (Oldtown) extending to 20 acres would be handed over to the people of Naas as a public park’.
The booklet, distributed to every house in Naas at the time, also said the developers would fund the upkeep of the gardens for a 10-year period.
The booklet, according to Cllr Timmy Conway, was published by himself and the councillors who supported the Town Development Plan. However, it was subsequently disowned by the then town manager Terry O’Niadh and the town clerk as ‘not being the Town Plan’.
