Future of Cahersiveen up for discussion

COUNCILLOR Michael Cahill has described Cahersiveen and Iveragh as being on their knees and has called on Kerry County Council (KCC) to come to their assistance.

Cllr Cahill suggested a town planner should be in place to help address the town’s most serious matters.

“It’s a crisis situation now, and KCC needs to intervene”, he said. “Recently we’ve had four businesses close in the town centre...There is a lot of dereliction in the town, and maybe that’s something we could look at without any major cost, maybe some schemes to use some of these properties.”

He also reiterated the importance of the planned South Kerry Greenway.

“There’s this thing, ‘I want the Greenway, but I don’t want the CPO’ – if the land is not acquired, there’ll be no Greenway,” he said. “We need to get it over the line, and we need to start encouraging landowners. They’re going to be compensated…okay, there are inconveniences, but I’ve no doubt the CPO process will be very accommodating”.

In response, Cllr Norma Moriarty said, “There are a lot of buildings there that, with a bit investment, could be handed out, whether it be privately or rented…we need to have families living on the main street.”

She also suggested opening up the scape of the town to take in some more scenic points.

Cllr Michael O’Shea joined Councillor Moriarty in calling for submissions on the Greenway to be made to An Bord Pleanála before the October 19 deadline, while Cllr Johnny Healy-Rae, who favours the Greenway but does not feel CPO is the best path, said, “Nobody is against the Greenway. The CPO was voted for in the council in 2015. So for you [Cllr Cahill] to insinuate that some political representatives in council or the Dáil are holding up the greenway is factually incorrect…The management had the power to carry on with their CPO, so whatever hold up since then is with them.”

Cllr Patrick O’Connor-Scarteen meanwhile said, “If 99 per cent are in agreement, and the rest are against it, you have to CPO it”.

“How Kerry Council are going about it is the correct mechanism because they’re experiencing problems above in Mayo, fellas holding out for an extra few bob”, he said

KCC pointed out that a draft of a local area plan for west Iveragh will become available for public consultation in the coming weeks, targeting areas in decline and which have substantial vacant properties