Category: Westmeath Co. Co.

Tree pruning in Ashefield

Hello all, the trees in Ashefield are on Westmeath County Council’s schedule for inspection, and where necessary, pruning. This work is expected to make a huge difference to areas in almost complete darkness due to streetlamps totally blocked by overgrown trees. Thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn for the representation at council level about this.

More fly-tipping reported

More fly-tipping was reported in the laneway connecting Abbeylands and Ashefield. This extended into the common green area in Ashefield. This case was reported to Westmeath County Council. We encourage you to contact the Environment Department in the council directly if you spot further fly-tipping to help ensure a speedy response.

Updates – tree pruning, roadsweeper, and fly-tipping

Following initial tree-pruning work by Westmeath Co. Co., which focused on lower branches only, they have told us that the branches obstructing lights will be pruned before the end of February 2018.

A request for a roadsweeper to visit the estate to clear storm-related debris on the roads was passed to the council. Please let us know if you spot it in the coming days – if not, we will follow-up.

Yet another fly-tipping incident in the laneway connecting Ashefield and Abbeylands occurred. This was reported to the council who are investigating. If you happen to spot further incidents, the fastest method to report it to the council directly:

Many thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn for his time and effort ensuring these issues are being addressed.

Tree pruning in the estate

One of the action items from our 2017 AGM was to ask Westmeath Co. Co. to prune the trees in the estate; particularly those that were blocking streetlights. This measure would help improve safety and security at night.

Now that it is tree pruning season, Ashefield has been scheduled for this work thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn. Work is expected to commence within the coming days.

Dogs fouling, barking, and strays

We regularly get asked what can be done about dogs in the estate – either stray ones, barking dogs, or fouling the area. Here is some information that may be of help:

The Council operates a dog pound and it is located in Zone B, Mullingar Business Park, Mullingar, Co. Westmeath N91 XE08.

Opening hours: Monday, Wednesday, Friday 10.00am – 12noon.
Contact number: 044 93 43934 / 044 93 32226

From Westmeath County Council’s website:

Dog owners have the following responsibilities:

Dog fouling, registration, and walking:

  • A person in charge of a dog must clean up when the dog fouls in a public place. Owners who fail to do so are liable to an ‘on-the-spot’ of €150
  • Keep their dog/s under control in a public place. If your dog has been seized by the dog warden there is a €100 fee to re-claim your dog and boarding fees/other fees may apply. Evidence of having a licence for your dog is also required.
  • Dogs must wear a collar and tag bearing the name and address of the owner. A fine of €100 can be imposed for non compliance.
  • Certain breeds of potentially dangerous dogs must be kept on a leash and muzzled and be controlled by a person over 16 years, who is capable of controlling the dog, when in a public place. An on-the-spot fine of €100 can be imposed for non compliance.
  • All dogs over four months must have a licence. A dog licence costs €20 and can be purchased at your local Post Office or on line at: www.westmeathcoco.ie/doglicences/

Dogs barking:
Citizen’s Information provide additional guidelines

  • Excessive dog barking that causes a nuisance is an offence. You may be able to solve such problems by talking to the dog owner.
  • If you don’t get a satisfactory response, you may complain to the District Court and seek a hearing. When you have received a court date, you must inform the dog owner of your complaint by using the form prescribed for this purpose under Section 25 of the Control of Dogs Act 1986. These forms are available from the District Courts and from local authorities.
  • However, if you prefer not to confront the owner, consider contacting the council dog warden for advice.

The residents association is planning on installing additional dog fouling notices in the estate to further increase awareness.

Reporting vacant houses and derelict sites

There are two main ways that you can report vacant and/or derelict houses in the estate.  Both of the websites linked below have an online form to report house details.

Westmeath County Council Derelict Sites  – link

The Act defines a Derelict Site as any land which detracts, or is likely to detract, to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood of the land in question because of

  • structures which are in a ruinous, derelict or dangerous condition, or
  • the neglected, unsightly or objectionable condition of the land or structures, or
  • the presence, deposit or collection of litter, rubbish, debris or waste.

Under the Act, the Local Authority has to maintain a derelict sites register, make the register available for public inspection, serve a notice on the owner/occupier specifying works to be carried out to prevent or stop dereliction, acquire by agreement or compulsorily any derelict site, impose an annual levy on any derelict site in an urban area, based on 3% of its valuation.

Vacant Homes website – link

A dedicated Empty Homes Unit is being established within his Department’s Housing Delivery Office to drive and coordinate actions at central and local government levels and to support local authorities in their actions. All local authority Chief Executives were requested earlier this month to designate vacant homes officers in each of their authorities to examine Census 2016 and other data on vacant homes in their areas and identify, through a Vacant Homes Action Plan, priority “vacant hot-spot” areas and properties that can be quickly brought back into use.

Tree pruning & vacant houses

Following up from a number of queries and concerns raised by residents, we appreciate the efforts of Cllr. Ken Glynn who raised them with Westmeath County Council. Thanks to Ken, we have some updates:

  1. Several trees in the estate blocking or reducing the light from the street lamps are now on Westmeath County Council’s list for inspection and pruning (if required) during the 2016/2017 pruning season. streetlight-tree
  2. Concerns regarding a number of vacant houses in the estate have been noted by Westmeath County Council who are following up with the owners. The issues were raised several months ago and you may have noticed works to clear debris and repair walls – these works were followed up by inspections from council staff. The residents association will continue to follow up regarding another house in the area. In the meantime, please note that vacant houses are being monitored and any reports of antisocial behavior/attempted illegal entry should be immediately reported to Mullingar Gardai (+353 44 93 8400)

Roadsweeper in Ashefield

Following a request by an Ashefield resident, the residents association contacted Cllr. Ken Glynn who kindly arranged for the roadsweeper to visit Ashefield on Monday 30th March at approx. 11am.

Many thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn for arranging this. If you would like to raise any issue affecting the common areas of the estate, there are a number of options to do so:

  1. Ashefield residents association : info [AT] ashefield.com
  2. Cllr. Ken Glynn
  3. Westmeath County Council

Typically, the residents association will ask Cllr. Glynn for help in matters that may require county council attention e.g. public lighting, littering/dumping, anti-social activities. However any resident or member of the public can contact Westmeath County Council directly. Please feel free to do so as this can be the quickest method to alert them of an issue in the area.

Roadsweeper in Ashefield

Folks,

Westmeath Co. Co. sent their roadsweeper into the estate today and cleaned the road edges. This was most welcome because there was a significant increase in debris over the past couple of months. Many thanks to the residents who raised this issue and to Cllr. Ken Glynn for working with Westmeath Co. Co. on our behalf to ensure it paid us a visit.