Inappropriate estate names across Kildare under fire

Action needs to be taken to halt the use of inappropriate names being placed on new residential developments.

There is a lot of irritation over names being put on housing and apartment developments, according to Cllr Seamie Moore and these names have in many cases no link with the geographical area or the local history of the place.

He likened the approach to naming as “pulling names out of hat” and he criticised Kildare County Council’s planning section  and complained that there was a time when more interest was taken in this.

Cllr Naoise Ó Cearúil said the practice was that a developer had to submit three names for a residential setting connected to that area and both the local councillors as well as a historian or librarian had an input in selecting the name to be used.

Cllr Padraig McEvoy said that a solution may be to nominate names when a piece of land is zoned for development rather than much later.

Cllr Brendan Wyse said that names often come in after planning permission is granted and “we don’t have a say in it.”

Cllr Suzanne Doyle said councillors are well p-laced to recommend appropriate names and she did not understand why the council might resist this.

She also said that too many developments in certain towns have similar names which causes confusion.

“After all, the purpose of naming a place is to help people find it,” she added.

KCC official Eoghan Ryan said the current county development plan has a section on the naming of residential developments which “shall reflect local heritage by incorporating local  place names or the names of geographical, historical or cultural significance to the site location.

He also said the council promotes and encourages the use of the Irish language for the naming of new residential developments in the county. He added that the council  welcomes any submissions or representations in relation to any proposed planning application and “it is open to the elected members or the public to suggest names that they feel might be more appropriate.”

He also said that appropriate historical names could be explored when land is rezoned and he’d be happy to provide a developer with a list of relevant names.

The meeting heard that different procedures apply when an existing area is to be renamed.

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