Thurles, Co. Tipperary continue in a cycle of spending large amounts of funding on projects that tick lots of boxes, but ultimately the town fails to maintain what it has already got and fails to fix longstanding important issues.
After spending, in or around some €10 million Euro on updating half of Liberty Square, ask yourself are traffic conditions any better? Motorists would confirm that conditions have become significantly much worse, with heavy goods vehicles (HGV’s) forced to traverse our medieval streets, with no progress being made with regards our long sought after “Thurles Ring Road”. Ask yourself why have all the business premises either moved or closed within the Liberty Square area of Thurles, and where is the promised increase in ‘footfall’, same now reduced by 60%, according to the few angry, remaining business owners.
Officialdom appears to “fix what isn’t broken”; the latest being a €3.4 million car park revamp near ‘The Source’ building, same only revamped some 8 years ago. Latter is just one example; as they simultaneously ignore what badly needs fixing, e.g. the river Suir in the centre of Thurles Town, same being just one example, which Thurles.Info has already highlighted, on numerous occasions, most recently on August 17th 2024 last, HERE.
But there are other amenities showing obvious decay, same directly highlighting officialdom’s utter neglect of town maintenance.
We have mentioned already the 8 year old re-vamped Town Park carpark, same now to be re-vamped, yet again, to become a Market area and Restaurant, as yet devoid of tenants, which will considerably reduce existing car parking spaces, while competing with existing local small businesses, same already struggling to operate just a few metres away in the Liberty Square town centre.
In recent weeks we have watched mature trees ripped out from this aforementioned Town Park carpark and re-sown close by, their bark extensively damaged by heavy machinery which was used to rip apart the tree heel mesh grills at their base. Two of these mature trees are unlikely to survive the coming winter.
New “Nature Signs” provided along the river walk, close to the junction of Emmet Street and Thomond Road, and only recently erected, have now been smashed by a very small group of “uncouth barbarians”, permitted to roam freely in the area. Of course no local residents nearby heard anything, as a large rock was used to pound the thick Plexiglas Perspex acrylic sheet, protecting its contents from weathering.
No Closed-Circuit Television Installed!
Signs are positioned nearby threatening CCTV (Closed-Circuit Television) being in operation. Yet again, no CCTV has ever existed, covering this area, and proof of same is the amount of damage caused by the afore mentioned small number of “uncouth barbarians”, with no arrests ever being made.
The area in the park known as the “Fitness Zone”, again, has been totally neglected, with the individual sectioned area’s poles either pulled up or broken off. Same poles are now rotten, having been only preserved using one basic coat of fence preservative some 8 years ago, before being then left uncapped due to its semicircle (circular half arc) construction.
Video, shown above, is undeniable proof of this very small section of our town, now depicting that which normally indicates an inner-city slum.
Witch Hazel ‘Diane’ is a broad-crowned deciduous shrub, but more compact than some, remaining generally pest-free. It displays broad ovate or rounded leaves, which initially emerge as green, before slowly turning into brilliant shades of red and yellow from late Summer, right through, until mid to late autumn.
Witch Hazel ‘Diane’. Pic: G. Willoughby.
Witch Hazel ‘Diane’ is a winter-flowering shrub, which produces dense clusters of slightly scented, red to copper-red flowers in mid and late winter. Each of its flower consists of ribbon-like, crinkled, strap-shaped petals with claret bases and a purple-red calyx.
It enjoys a sheltered site, in well drained, acid to neutral soil in your garden. It can be sown in full sun or partial shade and in its early years can be planted in a large pot. Slow growing; when fully mature it can achieve a height of 2.5m (8ft) with a spread of some 3m (10ft).
To obtain most joy from this most attractive of shrubs, position same close to a window, if possible, where early or late sun can reflect its light through its amazing foliage.
Some 20 submissions in total were forwarded to Tipperary Co. Council in reference to current plans submitted on the Phase 2 Liberty Square Public Realm Scheme. All submissions can be read in full by our readers, simply by accessing and scrolling down the page located at the LINK SHOWN HERE.
Proposed Liberty Square West Layout (Phase 2).
The closing time and date for all submissions closed at 4:30pm today, Friday August 30th, 2024.
No local resident consumers/shoppers made submissions or raised serious concerns about the planned designs for either Liberty Square or the several adjacent streets i.e. Rossa Street, Parnell Street, Nicholas Street (Cúchulainn Road) and Friar Street. Same have learned, from passed interactions with regards to such submissions sent to Tipperary Co. Council, that their opinions went unacknowledged and were rejected outright without discussion.
Parnell Street (formerly New Street)at the junction (right) withCúchulainn Road (formerly Nicholas Street).
In the main; Tipperary Co. Council now stand accused of failing to conduct detailed trials in respect of such planned changes to the town centre traffic flow and also of failing to fully consider the real impact of such proposed changes, on future ability of local businesses to continue to trade profitably.
Thurles.Info will be highlighting further failings, with regards Thurles planning issues, in the coming days.
Resident, local Fianna Fáil, TD Mr Jackie Cahill, has stated publicly, confirming his support for the cleaning of the River Suir in Thurles, however he has also admitted, on Tipp Mid-West Radio, that he is unable “to excessively influence policy in this area”. He also claims that people interested in fishing in the river, struggle to even find access to its banks. But of course there is no difficulty in gaining access to the banks once you have trampled down the three foot high stinging nettles and briars, using a supermarket trolley in an effort to locate water.
We now trust that Mr Cahill will have a chat with his sister, councillor Mrs Kay Cahill-Skehan, to brief her, before the next Thurles Municipal District Council Meeting.
River Suir pictured six years apart. Pics: G. Willoughby
We welcome also the input from re-elected Independent Councillor Mr Jim Ryan, who is committed to, at the next council meeting, quote “calling on all the relevant bodies to come together to formulate a future plan, for the River Suir in Thurles. Currently it is completely overgrown with vegetation. There is no flow or depth and there is always the continuous problem of the green algae forming on the surface. It has become an eyesore and an embarrassment to the town”. SEE HERE:Thurles. Info first raised this issue on November 7th 2013 so this “calling” now comes 11 years to late.
Perhaps all public representatives can confirm: (A)Where has our Grundfus submersible water pump gone, latter which fed our three river fountains? (B) Why has the two weirs, which controlled water levels close to Barry’s Bridge been allowed to deteriorate ? (C)Why do we constantly continue to highlight new projects, while failing to maintain or support that which already exists?
Meanwhile, elected councillors, while you a talking to those who receive large salaries and who must take direct responsible for this total neglect, please see the short video hereunder.
I feel I should point out that Thurles is trying to attract tourists; albeit with little or no success. Perhaps our two resident TD’s; our recently re-elected councillors, together with Thurles Municipal District officials, should take a short walk from the River Walk entrance on the N62, (close to Lidl supermarket), and continue their journey, to the Thurles Town park, situated close to “The Source” building.
Note: the messages of hate scrawled on the Rainbow Seat, placed to celebrate Pride and the LGBTQ+ community and also painted on the flood barriers. See the filth both in and on the surface of the river water. See also the nettles and briars converging unto the walkway, in the name of biodiversity, which now confines young children to their pushchairs and perambulator devices, when choosing to use this river side walkway. God knows we have all the biodiversity we need growing out of our drains, currently within the town’s streetscapes.
Ask why hate messages have not been removed by salaried individuals. Same messages do not represent the feelings of the vast majority of Thurles residents and proper administration must now be immediately implemented.
Time now to take back our town and yes this will put a few noses out of joint, but what the hell! Elected representatives have my full permission to reveal red faces and to feel shame and embarrassed. So what are we getting for our Property Tax, Rates, Parking Charges etc?
Construction waste is Ireland’s largest waste stream with over 9 million tonnes generated annually.
Over 80% of construction waste is soil and stone.
Excavated clean soil and stone is a valuable resource which is better reused in other projects.
The EPA’s new National By-product Criteria provide rules for the safe reuse of greenfield soil and stone and prevents it becoming a waste.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has today published National By-Product Criteria for Greenfield Soil and Stone.
These criteria allow for the classification of greenfield soil and stone as a by-product, meaning the material does not become waste. Keeping materials in use is one of the fundamental elements of a circular economy and enable useful soil and stone materials from one site to potentially be reused for landscaping, reprofiling of land and other similar uses.
Commenting on the criteria, Mr David Flynn, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Sustainability, said: “Construction is the largest generator of waste in our country, in the region of 9 million tonnes annually with the bulk of this being soil and stone waste. Embracing new approaches to design, materials choice and modern methods of construction will shift the sector onto a more sustainable path. Today, the EPA is streamlining the regulation of construction materials to promote the reuse of useful soil and stone that would traditionally end up as a waste. This opens up more opportunities for safe reuse, and offers greater regulatory certainty to the industry and stakeholders while ensuring appropriate safeguards remain in place.”
The European Waste Framework Directive puts a priority on construction and demolition waste. Construction activity comes at an environmental cost, putting pressure on our natural resources, biodiversity, and generating significant waste quantities. The scale of wasted resources and materials in the construction sector needs urgent attention.
Mr Warren Phelan, Programme Manager of the EPA’s Circular Economy Programme noted: “These criteria present a real and meaningful opportunity for the construction sector to follow a simple set of rules and in doing so reduce soil waste from sites and make tangible savings. These latest criteria are the third in a series of national decisions introduced by the EPA to support improved material circularity in the construction sector.”
Further information on the national by-product criteria and other initiatives of the circular economy programme are available on the EPA website.
Recent Comments