resident – Page 8

Water restrictions set to continue for the next 5 nights

Westmeath Co. Co. issued a water supply update for Westmeath just after 4pm today, which was quickly updated by the current notice released at 5pm. Despite the plan to continue the water restrictions, the evening shut-off time has been extended to 9pm . This, no doubt, should be a relief to those of you who returned to work today and may have a distance to travel.

• Tuesday night / Wednesday morning – Tuesday 4th January /Wednesday 5th January, 9.00pm to 9.00 am

All water consumers are advised that nightly water supply restrictions will continue in order to replenish water levels in Council reservoirs for the next 5 nights.
Standpipes throughout the Mullingar Area have been withdrawn today, Tuesday due to the improvement in supply.

Last night and early this morning, we emailed our local Mullingar West councilors Robert Troy and Ken Glynn in addition to Westmeath Co. Co. The emails asked for help by postponing the shut-off times until 10pm in order to allow the commuting workers in our local area a chance to get home and to use mains-fed showers, cook, and wash before the water is switched off. These messages were followed up by more phone calls to the council today.

Update [06-Jan]: Robert Troy contacted me to say he talked to the council about the water. Thanks for that, Robert.

Water restrictions update

From Westmeath Co. Co.’s latest water supply update:

In order to restore reservoir levels & to ensure that all parts of the county have a water supply tomorrow, Thursday, the Council will implement a series of planned service shut offs to ALL WATER SUPPLIES throughout Co. Westmeath tonight [Tues 28th], Wednesday, & Thursday morning.

This service shut off is currently affecting Ashefield.

Water leaks

Several houses and whole streets are reporting no mains water still. Added to this problem, the thaw is resulting in leaking stop valves caused by frost damage. So far, Westmeath Co. Co. has been notified of leaking stop valves outside #120, Apt. 18, and #203.

Update [03-Jan]: A leak outside #119 was reported and repaired within the same day.

If you spot any others, contact the council at 044 9332000. They have a long list of reported leakages so it’s unknown when the leaks will be fixed. After reporting them to the council, please add any other leaking stop valve locations by commenting below so we can mark them off the ‘to-report’ list.

[Update : 29/12] All of the reported leaks within Ashefield appear to have been fixed.

Christmas and water

Happy Christmas residents and visitors!

Some homes are reporting frozen water supplies unfortunately. Westmeath County Council’s latest advisory states:

Westmeath County Council is maintaining an uninterrupted water supply to all its customers, however due to the unprecedented cold spell many householders are experiencing problems due to frozen water pipes. No shut offs of water mains have taken place & water is not frozen in public water mains.

Please contact a plumber before attempting to defrost frozen pipes.

If your water supply has frozen you should

source water from your neighbours or
go to a water standpipe using your own water containers.

NB – Water from Standpipes should be boiled before consumption

Westmeath County Council has provided & installed approximately 38 standpipes located throughout the county to ensure that members of the public have access to water supplies.
The closest standpipe to us is Raithin – at the entrance to estate. If several houses are affected, let us know by commenting below or emailing info @ ashefield.com and we’ll ask the council to open the standpipe close to the entrance of the estate, which was used last year.

Hope you all have an enjoyable Christmas and we look forward to your input and news in the year ahead.

House fire

Late on Friday night/ early Saturday morning, the fire brigade and gardaí attended a house fire in Ashefield. The house was recently vacated by tenants so was unoccupied and empty at the time. Unconfirmed reports indicate that the cause of the fire may have been an electrical fault close to the front entrance, which appears to have caused extensive smoke damage throughout the building.

The gardaí are monitoring the house until it can be made safe.

Eyewitnesses reported seeing dense black smoke clouds from this fire; it serves as a stark reminder of the importance to install and regularly check that your smoke alarms are in working order. Learn more about how to keep your home and your family safe from fire.

Holes in the walls of planning conditions

It’s difficult not to notice that the wall between the estate main entrance road and apartments is deteriorating. This wall runs between the block of apartments and main estate along the main estate entrance road. However, due to its location, it has been unclear who is responsible for the upkeep of this wall.

Members of Ashefield’s residents’ committee contacted Westmeath County Council about this. The main aims here were to clarify who is responsible for the maintenance of this wall and to try and get the problems fixed. The key questions raised, and responses received from the council are:

Q. For some time now, we have been observing the slow but seemingly inexorable descent into decrepitude of the low boundary wall between the apartments and the estate proper. There doesn’t seem to be anyone taking responsibility for the condition of this wall.

A. The boundary walls of an Estate become the responsibility of the residents once an Estate has been Taken in Charge and are the responsibility of the residents/Management company (whichever is applicable) of any apartments from the date of first occupancy/formation of Management Company. (Reference Westmeath County Council’s “Guidelines for Purchasers in Residential Developments” Policy)

Q. The original planning permission (97/655) had a condition (#30) that a management company was to be established to look after the maintenance of the apartments and common areas. This led to the registration of a company called Minkridge Management Company Limited in March/April 2001. Looking up this company on www.cro.ie I find that its status is recorded as “dissolved” with an effective date of June 2002. It seems clear that this company was never intended to actually perform the maintenance role and was a mere artifice in the successful attempt by Fernside Homes Ltd. to gain planning permission.

A. Condition 30 of Planning Reference 97/655 has been complied with by the Developer in 2001 in that the Management Company was set up for the maintenance of the apartments

Q. Are there separate planning references (presumably with attached conditions) for the different phases of the scheme’s development?

A. The only main Planning Reference for this Development appears to be Ref. 97/655, however you can come into our offices and request a Planning Search and ask to view the Planning Files.

Q. The planning reference only seems to cover Apts. 10-26 (there is no Apt. #13). There is an additional block of apartments (27-30) for which I don’t have a separate planning reference. Is there a separate planning permission for #27-30? Are there any conditions related to a management company?

A. I am not aware of a separate Planning Reference for apartments 27-30, however, you can view Planning File Ref. 97/655 in this regard.
Q. It is my understanding that the council endeavors to ensure that all conditions on planning permissions are satisfied prior to taking an estate in charge. I gather that the council doesn’t take apartment developments in charge, but can your enforcement section offer any input here? It would seem like the lack of a management company would have been evident when the council took the estate in charge?
A. At the time that the Estate was being Taken in Charge, the Apartments would not have been taken into consideration as they were not being Taken in Charge.

Streetlights and the council’s new website

Reporting faulty streetlights – spotted any more in need of repair recently? Also – Westmeath Co. Co. has a new website.

Westmeath Co. Co. has been made aware of the need to fix a streetlight outside #130 Ashefield. Update: Airtricity is expected to fix this within the next few days

Have you spotted any other streetlights in need of repair in the area? If so, please do add the details using the comments area below. If you can, please include the nearest house number and streetlight number. The streetlight number is located about halfway up the pole on a yellow or white sticker.

The council’s newly re-designed website is worth taking a look at. Thankfully, they have worked on making it easier to find essential information and services, and have included a handy map to help locate services like recycling facilities and libraries. A ‘tell us’ page was also added but does not include a specific maintenance report form for problems like faulty streetlights. However, it looks like they should easily be able to add this option.

Have you any suggestions for them to make it easier to find the information you need? If so, why not contact them directly or if you prefer, use the comments area below and we can pass them on to them.

Do you watch RTE television?

Do you watch RTÉ television and live in Ashefield? If so, we’re looking for help from people who rely on an antenna on their roof for their RTÉ television coverage – not a Sky dish or cable TV service.

We want to find out how good the coverage is within the estate and whether you are using an indoor or outdoor antenna.

Why?

RTÉ’s free to air digital terrestrial television (DTT) service is set to launch to 90% of population by October 31st 2010. This will eventually replace the analogue TV service.

DTT trials are ongoing and we are being served by the RTÉ transmitter on Cairn Hill in Longford.

However, we want to estimate how well we can receive it. A valuable indicator is how well the existing analogue TV is being received. If you happen to be a trial user of the DTT service, even better – please tell us how you are getting on.

Can you help? Please comment below and include an indication of whereabouts you are living in Ashefield.

Home heating oil prices for June, 2010

It may be the longest day of the year but having oil in the tank to heat your home during the inevitable shorter and colder days can’t be forgotten about. Since our last oil price check in April, the carbon tax for home heating kerosene kicked in at the start of May. This added an extra €43 to the cost of 1000 litres of kerosene.

However, even with the introduction of this tax and accounting for the rising oil prices, there has been a dramatic change in the oil prices per supplier. In fact, it’s quite an eye opener.

The most expensive supplier on June 21, 2010 for delivery to Mullingar town is Flynn Fuels (€740) and the least expensive is McGee Oil (€620) for 1000 litres of kerosene; a whopping €120 difference between the two. In this chart below, the April 1st prices are in blue and the June 21st prices are displayed in red.

Even accounting for the carbon tax on home heating oil and rising oil prices, we noticed wide variations in price increases by supplier between the period April 1 and June 21, 2010. As shown in the chart below, for 1000 litres of kerosene, Flynn Fuels increased their price by €140 whereas McGee oil raised their price by just €20; not even enough to cover the carbon tax.

*No updated information for Topaz Energy was available – they didn’t answer the phone despite multiple attempts.

Price differences by supplier between April 1 and June 21, 2010

*No information for Topaz Energy was available – they didn’t answer the phone despite multiple attempts.

As before, the prices quoted above should be considered valid for June 21, 2010 for delivery to Mullingar only and were based on the best cash or credit card price quoted. In this case, no differences between cash and credit card payment were noted.

If any supplier wishes to revise their prices downward, we welcome them to contact us at info [at] ashefield.com and we’ll note it here.

Witness appeal

Gardai in Mullingar are investigating a serious assault on a young female which occurred in the Ashe Road area of Mullingar on Sunday, the 6th June 2010 at approximately 3pm.

The assault took place in an open area where a number of children were playing. The culprit is described as being in his late teens/ early twenties. He was wearing a grey tracksuit with a hooded top and wearing black runners. He is described as being of average height. This youth is described as having a freckled or spotty face.

Gardaí wish to appeal to anyone who may have been in the Ashe Road area and who may have seen this youth or to any person who can assist Gardaí to contact them at Mullingar Garda Station at 044 9384000, the Garda Confidential Line 1-800-666-111 or any Garda Station.

From the Garda.ie press office

Update: ~~12 June, 2010~~ 14, June, 2010

A man is due in court in Mullingar this evening in connection with a serious assault on a girl in the town last week.

The male(26yrs) was arrested Friday the 11th June 2010 and detained in Mullingar Garda Station under the provisions of Sec. 4 of the Criminal Justice Act 1984 as amended.

The assault happened on the Ashe Road in the town, in an area of open ground.

The man will appear before a special sitting of Mullingar District Court at 5.45pm this evening.