No plan to clean up Buttergate
THE historic Buttergate monument is completely overgrown with vegetation and work needs to be carried out to improve the area, councillors have agreed.
A motion brought byCouncillor Kevin Callan calling on the council to undertake the necessary works and processes to allow for the Butter Gate to be cleared of vegetation was unanimously passed.
He also said the historic monumnet should be made accessible as a visitor attraction via the Joe Stanley 1916 garden.
‘ This effort will form part of the town and councils approach to cherishing and protecting and utilising our town gates and walls,’ he said in the motion. ‘We’ve just finished dealing with Laurence Gate and the message has been extremely positive,’ he said.
He proposed the council attempt to get guardianship access to the land and proposed a meeting with the relevant director and staff to look at getting this done.
‘It’s very simple, the vegetation around it needs to go so that it is visible to the public,’ he said.
Cllr Callan also revealed that in the 1950s the council wanted to demolish the gate and it was the public who saved it.
‘ The Town Clerk at the time said: ‘We can’t be expected to maintain every pile of rubbish around the place’
Supporting the motion, Councillor Richie Culhane described the Buttergate as ‘ one of the historical jewels in our crown’.
‘I hope the council can move pretty quickly on this issue,’ he said.
Councillor Frank Godfrey said the council should look into estimates for the acquisition of the land.
Councillor Oliver Tully said this was something which needs to be tended to every 12 months as the vegetation grows back.
‘It’s the county council that should be trying to secure the property so we can look after it,’ he said. ‘If it’s in our ownership then we can maintain it.’
In a written response to the motion, the council said there are no plans and no resources at present to secure ownership or access to the lands.
‘ The lands in the control of Louth County Council surrounding the Joe Stanley 1916 Garden are maintained to a high standard,’ it said.