KINSALE town centre is in urgent need of some TLC with one local councillor admitting that he’s embarrassed about the state of his home town, while another said it’s time to look at it with ‘fresh eyes.’
Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) raised ongoing problems in the town at a recent meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District and called for a full discussion on current and future plans for the town.
He said there needs to be an improvement in cleaning, power washing, upgrading of road pavements and footpaths, as well as tackling dereliction in the popular tourist town, which is also the starting/finishing point of the Wild Atlantic Way (WAW).
‘Kinsale needs a major uplift and the dereliction and poor surfaces are showing up the town. It’s not being maintained as it should be. It’s my home town and I feel a bit embarrassed about it,’ said Cllr Murphy.
‘Kinsale Tidy Towns are doing massive work and continue to do it, but they have been onto me about the need for major works to be carried out on roads, streetscapes and pavements.’
While he said the dereliction in the town centre is one issue, he pointed out that there are other issues too. ‘It’s a tourist town and it’s not a criticism of anyone, it’s just wear and tear and we need more outdoor staff as there are parts of Kinsale which need more work. We should earmark what needs to be done.’
His colleague, Cllr Marie O’Sullivan, commended him for raising what she called a long overdue motion and said that as a Bandonian she is delighted to see on the ongoing improvement works in Bandon, but nothing has been done in Kinsale.
‘The business owners are very active maintaining their premises but it’s very hard when the basic infrastructure is not being maintained,’ said Cllr O’Sullivan, who called on the chief executive of Cork County Council to take ‘a good look’ at Kinsale.
‘The town looks tired and we need a bit of TLC. We have over 400 new houses since 2009 and it’s gridlock during the summer, especially when people want to spend money in the town,’ she added.
Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) said there is definitely a need for public realm works in Kinsale and that it is time to look at it with fresh eyes.
‘It’s the flagship for tourism in Cork and it deserves and needs an upgrade, while the traffic plan is well behind the curve,’ said Cllr Coleman.
He also said that they won’t get any funding unless they have a good detailed plan for the town. ‘There is no guarantee of a pot of money for Kinsale unless we put a good plan together,’ he pointed out.
Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) said Bandon waited for decades for the necessary works and said a relief road for Kinsale is vital because the beauty of the town is being destroyed by heavy traffic.
Municipal district officer Brian Dunne said they will look into it, but admitted a lot would be budget-dependent.
