Kildare County Council urged to prune trees along this road

A councillor has urged Kildare County Council (KCC) to prune trees planted along one North Kildare road.

The call was made by Fine Gael Cllr Declan Ryan at the latest Celbridge-Leixlip Municipal District (MD) meeting, which took place on Friday, January 16 last.

He issued the request via a motion he submitted to KCC, in which he pressed KCC to prune the trees along the Clane Road (R403) in Celbridge in order to "improve visibility and road safety".

Cllr Ryan's motion was seconded by Fianna Fáil Cllr David Trost. The Mayor of the MD, Labour Party Cllr Rupert Heather, also voiced support for the motion.

In response, KCC explained via the report it presented at the meeting that the tress are in private ownership.

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"Any work required to them will have to be discussed with the landowners first before they can be considered for the next programme of tree works in the MD," KCC added.

Elaborating on his motion, Cllr Ryan specified that while the lighting poles in this region are on private land (which belongs to St John of God's, a disability support services organisation), he emphasised that it is still public lighting, and as a result, KCC "has a duty" to the public to ensure that that lighting is not hindered by the trees. 

Cllr Ryan also voiced the following view to KCC: "I have no faith in the management of St John of God's [to resolve the matter]."

However, followed up by saying that he acknowledged the work of the staff within the organisation.

Furthermore, Cllr Ryan told to KCC that one of the trees along the road fell down during a storm.

Cllr Trost then backed up Cllr Ryan and spoke about his own concerns about the region: "It is an absolute eyesore, and an accident waiting to happen."

KCC's Acting Senior Parks and Landscape Officer, Simon Wallace, was also in attendance at the meeting and said to Cllr Ryan that he was open to meeting with him onsite in order to discuss the matter further.

Fine Gael Cllr Declan Ryan. Photograph credit: kildarecoco.ie

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Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.