News and information for residents of Ashefield, Mullingar, Ireland
Westmeath Co. Co. sweeps the roads in Ashefield approximately once every two months. However, it appears that due to funding cutbacks, this will be curtailed. The council is to issue a revised timetable in due course and we’ll provide further information on this site when received.
Thanks to John S. for this update
Are you a dog owner? Due to the number of dog fouling instances in the estate, which are public health hazards, and loose/unmuzzled dogs, we’d like to bring the following information from Westmeath County Council’s control of animals webpage to your attention.
Dog owners responsibilities:
Licensing:
If you have a dog over 4 months old, you must have a licence for it and the person to whom the licence is issued must be over 16 years of age.
A dog licence may be purchased online or at any Post Office.
If you do not have a licence for your dog, you are liable to a €30.00 on-the-spot fine.
Failure to pay this fine can lead to a prosecution with a maximum fine of €1,270.00 and/or up to 3 months imprisonment if convicted.
Breeds of dog to which certain regulations apply under the Control of Dogs Act:
Link to Westmeath County Council’s control of dogs webpage
An Post’s dog licensing webpage
Westmeath County Council contracted Electric Skyline Limited to maintain the public lighting. So far, they have fixed lighting problems in the estate within 24 hours of when they were reported. To report a street light fault, a report form is available at http://www.electricskyline.ie/report-fault.html . When reporting a problem, include the following information
Streetlights #7 and #12 at the first junction within the estate are faulty. Westmeath Co. Co. has been notified.
The following letter from Robert Troy T.D., dated 8th May 2011, was delivered to all houses in Ashefield and addresses a number of issues raised at the recent Residents Association AGM:
Dear Resident,
I am writing to you further to my attendance at your recent residents association AGM. Following this meeting I requested my two colleague’s Cllr. Bill Collentine and Cllr. Ken Glynn to raise the issues of concern to the residents at the next Mullingar Town Council meeting. Please see on reverse of this letter a comprehensive list of questions they asked and the replies given. We will continue to pursue these issues on your behalf.
I am enclosing a card with all our contact details for your information. Please do not hesitate in contacting any of us should you feel we can be of any assistance to you, your family or friends in the future.
Best wishes,
Robert Troy T.D.
Cllr. Glynn: That Westmeath County Council would maintain the green area at the entrance to Ashefield estate, similiar to the green strip across the road.
Reply: This is a matter for the Ashefield Residents Association.
Cllr. Collentine: Can Westmeath County Council advise what responsibility it has to ensure that the communal areas of the apartment block in Ashefield are maintained in good order, in the absence of a management company?
Reply: It is a matter for the residents of the Ashefield apartments to make arrangements for the upkeep of any communal areas.
Cllr. Collentine: Can Westmeath County Council advise that assistance it can provide to the residents of Ashefield under the National Spring Clean competition towards the removal of graffiti?
Reply: Graffiti removal would not be covered by the National Spring Clean campaign. Westmeath County Council is currently awaiting details of the 2011 Anti Litter and Anti Graffiti Grants Scheme from the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government. When details are received, an application form will be forwarded to Ashefield Residents Association.
Cllr. Collentine: Can Westmeath County Council advise it it has a schedule in place for the roadsweeper to come into the Ashefield estate and if possible to ensure that laneways are swept out as well?
Reply: This estate is included in the road sweeping schedule and is swept once every three months.
Cllr. Glynn: To ask Westmeath County Council to provide a litter bin at the entrance to Ashefield.
Reply: There is a litter bin at the entrance to the Ashefield. Mullingar Area Office will examine locating another bin at the entrance to TESCO. However, stopping the bin collection vehicle in this area is problematic from a safety view point.
Cllr. Glynn: To ask Westmeath County Council if it will carry out extensive remedial works on the green area between Ashefield and Abbeylands.
Reply: Mullingar Area Office plans to cut the grass in this large open space this year with a heavy duty mower so that it can be maintained by the residents association. Mullingar Area Office also intends to commence a multi-annual programme of landscaping works along the Western By-Pass R394 this year. This section of the R394 will be included in the programme
Note: these are draft minutes and may be updated
Ms. Margaret Kavanagh (Treasurer/Secetary)
Mr. David Conroy (Committee Member)
Ms. Maria Colvert (Committee Member)
Residents – their attendance was recorded on a sign-in sheet
Also in Attendance:
Councillor Ruth Illingworth (Town Councillor)
Mr. Robert Troy T.D.
Mr. Jonathan Darcy (AES)
Meeting was opened by Ms. Margaret Kavanagh and all those in attendance were welcomed.
The role of the Residents Association was discussed by Ms. Margaret Kavanagh.
Ms. Margaret Kavanagh reminded those present that grass cutting currently carried out by the contractor only extends to the large green areas. It remains the responsibility of the residents to cut the strip of grass in front of their own house.
Mr. David Conroy proposed that the contribution per house be continued at the current rate of €30 per annum. This was agreed by all those present. However the possibility of using a raffle to raise funds in the future was discussed. Ms. Margaret Kavanagh said that she had got a two quotes for the cutting of the grass and while the exact cost had not been agreed finally with the tendering parties it was expected that this would be approximately €1400. The large green area adjacent to the C-Link road was discussed and was felt this area needed remedial works. Mr Robert Troy T.D. undertook to write to the County Council and request that these works be carried out.
Ashefield resident and professional fitness instructor, Eamonn offered to hold a series of fitness classes using one of the green areas within the estate. It was proposed that any revenue generated would be contributed to the estate funds.
It was discussed that as some of the houses are rented there is an issue as to who has the responsibility for the upkeep. It was decided that the residents should forward the request to the landlord if they were unprepared to pay.
Ms. Margaret Kavanagh said that the apartment block in Ashefield did not have a management company. Therefore it was unclear as to who had responsibility for the upkeep of the area around the apartments.
The issue of litter in the laneways and the congregation of people in laneways was discussed. Councillor Ruth Illingworth stated that it was currently proposed to close off some of the laneways in neighbouring estate Abbeylands. However it was decided that this course of action would not be pursued. Other deterrent methods were proposed and discussed.
Ms. Margaret Kavanagh reminded residents that a lot of information regarding the estate and the residents association is currently available on the estate’s website.
http://165.227.235.101/
Ms. Margaret Kavanagh presented the financial statement for 2011 (see below).
Mr. David Conroy and Ms. Maria Colvert agreed to stay on in their current position. This was unopposed. Ms. Margaret Kavanagh stated that she no longer wished to remain in the position of treasurer and asked if anyone was willing to go forward. Mr. Joe Gettings offered to take over this role.
He was accepted into this position unopposed. Ms. Margaret Kavanagh then handed over the folder containing the financial details of Ashefield Residents Association and undertook to assist in the smooth handover of the accounts to Mr. Joe Gettings. Ms. Margaret Kavanagh also presented Mr. Joe Gettings with the Associations Petty Cash which amounted to €120.
The meeting was then concluded.
| Date | Description | Credit | Debit | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Balance from 2009 | €1180.30 | *** | €1180.30 | |
| 07.05.10 | Community grant | €200 Credit Union | *** | €1380.30 |
| 28.05.10 | Grass cutting – J. McD | *** | €360 | €1020.30 |
| 01.06.10 | Contributions | €760 (Dave) | *** | €1780.30 |
| 25.06.10 | Contributions | €440 (Tom) | *** | €2220.30 |
| 02.07.10 | Grass cutting – J. McD | *** | €360 | €1860.30 |
| 16.07.10 | Contributions (Eddie) | €60 | *** | €1920.30 |
| 07.08.10 | Contributions (Maria) | €595 | *** | €2515.30 |
| 07.09.10 | Grass cutting | *** | €600 | €1915.30 |
| 10.11.10 | Grass cutting | *** | €360 | €1555.30 |
| December | Miscellaneous items – bin tags, etc. | *** | €100 cash (not in Credit Union) | |
| December | Late payment. | No.2 €30 | *** | €60 to be kept for misc. expenses |
Due to new Credit Union rules with regards to withdrawing cash, the present committee has decided to keep a certain amount of money in the kitty for miscellaneous expenses as it is not always convenient for members to get to the credit union.
Conor, an Ashefield resident, got in touch with Westmeath County Council regarding the litter problem on Ashe Road near the estate entrance and green area. Their response was:
I refer to your letter re the above and wish to advise that Mullingar Area Office will seek to erect a new bin at the pedestrian crossing on Ashe Road near Tesco entrance.
This will hopefully help to reduce the litter dumped over the wall into the green area. Thanks, Conor!
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.
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.
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.