News and views on Greystones harbour and marina [SEE MODERATOR WARNING POST 1187]

The Durutti Column

Maudi wrote: »

Im lost..whats the paulines and whats g.i.t.m.o..

Pauline: as in Paul on the way to Damascus.
GITMO: what US soldiers call Guantanamo Bay base. Four syllables is too much for them.

The Durutti Column

recedite wrote: »

I thought it was WCC who had the power to call in the bond, or otherwise "lean on" the developer. If so, the formal positions of town councillors are irrelevant. Which I suppose is one of the reasons for abolishing them. But no doubt some will aspire to re-incarnate as county councillors next time round, hence the "pauline conversions" in advance of the elections.

Quite right, R. Only WCC can do that.The TC is irrelevant. If there is one place to exert pressure on county manager Eddie Sheehy and his sidekick Sean Quirke, it is the council chamber in Wicklow, not in Greystones. So far, nobody has done that and we're nearly three years on since Sisk left town.

I suppose my point was that if the local TCs had united, this matter might have progressed to where it should have been, at WCC. But no, Mitchell, Hayden and Kelleher had to play for Sisk.

Maudi

The Durutti Column wrote: »

Pauline: as in Paul on the way to Damascus.
GITMO: what US soldiers call Guantanamo Bay base. Four syllables is too much for them.

Ah now i get it.very funny...however despair sets in whenever i see that county managers name mentioned.

The Durutti Column

Maudi wrote: »

Ah now i get it.very funny...however despair sets in whenever i see that county managers name mentioned.

That sense of despair affects a lot of people in Wicklow. A cabal of arrogant incompetents runs this county.

Fiachra2

The Wicklow Times this weeks reports on the public meeting on the vision of Greystones organised last week in Charlesland. The article includes a list of the issues raised and, surprise, surprise, item number one was the opening up of the harbour.
Good to see the message got through.
(And if they look at the number of views of this thread -now approaching 200K that would reinforce the idea!)

Charlie-Bravo

Yes of course the harbour issue would be discussed, there's no denying that something needs to be done to get things 'finished'. Perhaps, those campaigning here need to knock heads together with both the Chamber and Tidy Towns to get it done. Afterall it's the rate paying businesses who need the town working to its best ability.

As for any other issues, there may not be that many as Greystones is otherwise just awesome!

Re: 2,016 posts with 200,000 views? I'm thinking it's the same number of people viewing it the majority of the time. The people using this forum are a small drop in the ocean compared to the number living in Greystones.

Fiachra2

The message we are trying to get through is that if there was one thing you could do to vastly improve the town it would be to finish the harbour as an amenity for all.
Its not an issue that the tidy towns or chamber can resolve. The resolution is simple and is in the hands of Wicklow County council. What is utterly frustrating is that those of us "campaigning here" have to spend so much time and energy trying to get WCC to do the blindingly obvious.

I agree that the number of posters is limited. Not so sure about the number of viewers. What is significant is the number of posts and views relative to other topics. If you want to guess the community's views on something one approach is to ask a sample. Inasmuch as the inhabitants of Boards are a sample then it is clearly a big issue for those people and therefore probably a big issue for the inhabitants of the town as a whole. Likewise the people attending the meeting had it as their number one topic so there is further evidence that this is a big ticket issue.

Charlie-Bravo

I take your point Fiachra, but I feel it needs to be a collective effort with all other stakeholders to push this over the line. The chamber and tidy towns want the same thing, it might not be as big on their list, but they do want the same outcome. If because GUBOH is not an official entity, then maybe it is not possible to knock heads together in a formal way. But they do need to be listening from the side lines from those guys, and maybe offering input as well to help them challenge WCC. My two cents worth!

Fiachra2

The motion below has been put down by Tom Fortune and will be considered by the town council at its meeting next week.

Having regard to:

· The unsightly condition of the harbour area and its impacts on the amenity of the community, tourism and the successful operation of the marina

· The poor quality of the landscaping work undertaken in the area last year

· The two year delay since the first announcement of the Primary Care Centre and the recent negative information with regard to its commencement received from Wicklow County Council

The town Council calls on Wicklow County council to immediately enter into negotiations with Sispar to:

· Properly landscape the area

· Remove all unnecessary fencing and allow the public access to the marina basin (without compromising the security of the berth holders)

· Open up the North wall to the public



This work to be considered a temporary measure until such time as the outstanding aspects of the development (including all community facilities) be completed.

Cookie_Monster

Fiachra2 wrote: »

The town Council calls on Wicklow County council to immediately enter into negotiations with Sispar to:

far far past the negotiation stage by now. Time to start dicating to them what they have to do or just use the bond.

pixbyjohn

Cheeky Chops wrote: »

I thought GUBOH had disbanded??? Are they still active?

pixbyjohn wrote: »

Fine weather campaigners

The Durutti Column wrote: »

Good one, PBJ.

But no. GUBOH has been quiet, I am told, only because of the promise by Sisk of a final deadline for construction of the medical centre of January 2013, after Bord Pleanala approved it some months back.

My understanding is that if, with full planning, Sisk fail to start on it as promised, the new GUBOH campaign to remediate the derelict site will make their previous campaign to get rid of the hoardings look like a Sunday afternoon walk on the beach.

A very quiet Spring and now its a really hot Summer. Not a lot happening

cuddlycavies

They're at the front fighting off the army of Ronald MacDonalds that are threatening the towns defences with their evil food that they force down our childrens mouths, making them fat and then bursting them with pins!:)

Maudi

cuddlycavies wrote: »

They're at the front fighting off the army of Ronald MacDonalds that are threatening the towns defences with their evil food that they force down our childrens mouths, making them fat and then bursting them with pins!:)

Whos fighting??what now?

Fiachra2

Posted by Tom Fortune on Facebook last night. well done Tom and thanks to all who supported the motion.

Just to up date you on my motion i had before town council meeting tonight regarding the council immediately entering into negotiations with sisk's to
. Properly landscape the area
.remove all unnecessary fencing and allow the public access to the marina basin ( without compromising the security of the berth holders)
.open up north wall to public
This work to be considered a tempory measure until such time as the outstanding aspects of the development ( including all community facilities) to be completed.
Motion was passed and is been forwarded to the director of services WCC, the county manager and sisks for immediate action. There is also a meeting to take place with sisks w/c 12th august. As a community we need to make sure all of this happens. It is the the responsibility of all public reps to ensure it does. I look forward to ongoing support from everyone with this.

legrand

Spotted [Sisk] workers doing what appears to be some cleanup of their materials in the fenced off area down Beach Road.

Fiachra2

They certainly acted quickly!
We have often discussed here how the problem can be resolved and the mess tidied up. GUBOH has constantly pointed out the elected representatives actually have a great deal of power because sisk are in default. They have failed to deliver what they were contracted. In this situation WCC has quite a lot of power.

What happened on Wednesday illustrates this. Sisk were no doubt aware that of the motion but waited to see if it would be passed. Once it was they knew what was coming down the tracks and so have started some landscaping. Hopefully now the elected representatives will realise what power they have and will exercise it for the benefit of the community.

The downside of course is that, as they have done before, Sisk will make a token gesture and see if that deflects the heat for a while. GUBOH would like to see a detailed landscaping plan including acess to the North pier. No doubt we will have to continue the fight for this but perhaps with an emboldened group of Councillors.

legrand

Agree totally Fiachra.

What strikes me (for what its worth) is that Sisk would appear to have a policy not to be seen responding to any directive (indirect or otherwise) - the 'cleanup' being a case in point - get in there, do a little bit of work before anyone tells them to do it.

Anyway - a small step..

Tabnabs

This might be of interest to some who follow this thread.

http://afloat.ie/port-news/greystones-harbour/item/22756-greystones-harbour-how-it-was-built

Fiachra2

A quote form the above article

Derek Mitchell will address the local community aspects of the development process and the impact of the transformation of the old harbour into a vibrant maritime facility

Now that will be an interesting presentation! Maybe some local residents should go along to challenge Mr Mitchells view of the "community aspects" of the plan.

Maudi

Fiachra2 wrote: »

A quote form the above article

Derek Mitchell will address the local community aspects of the development process and the impact of the transformation of the old harbour into a vibrant maritime facility

Now that will be an interesting presentation! Maybe some local residents should go along to challenge Mr Mitchells view of the "community aspects" of the plan.

Vibrant maritime facility..ha ha ha...cheek..

Blanchflower

Fiachra2 wrote: »

A quote form the above article

Derek Mitchell will address the local community aspects of the development process and the impact of the transformation of the old harbour into a vibrant maritime facility

Now that will be an interesting presentation! Maybe some local residents should go along to challenge Mr Mitchells view of the "community aspects" of the plan.

The dilapidated state of the harbour area and the destruction of the Greystones North Beach is a disgrace. Where once the public had unrestricted access to a public harbour and beautiful beach now large parts of the area are fenced off by a delinquent developer. Councillor "Walter Mitty" Mitchell is greatly responsible for allowing this outrage to happen. :mad:

FirstIn

It is a bl**dy disgrace. I sometimes go down on a Sunday. Not to look at the concrete submarine base with fence after fence (when are the watch towers going up?) but to look at the pictures on sale by the local photographers.

There's a few pics with the old harbour, in them you can see our little row boat on the shore. I recall the arrive at the harbour, drag it down the beach and off we'd go for a few hours fishing times. Good times. Not now though. A lost convenience, a lost time a loss. Replaced with a monstrosity.

thecommander

FirstIn wrote: »

I recall the arrive at the harbour, drag it down the beach and off we'd go for a few hours fishing times. Good times. Not now though.

The sea hasn't disappeared. You can still use it.

FirstIn

thecommander wrote: »

The sea hasn't disappeared. You can still use it.

What a dumb statement.

FirstIn

To explain myself, the way things were one could (and we did) have a boat on the shore in the harbour. Plenty of others did.

We had no trailer. We didn't need one. We didn't have a vehicle with a tow bar. We didn't need to. We had no off site storage. We didn't need to. Worries re congestion on the slip. We didn't have these either.

Now unless you are wealthy and can afford a marina spot you do need all of the above.

So while the sea is still there (thanks the commander for clarification on that) things have changed significantly.

From where I'm sitting for the worse.

LEIN

4 off-topic posts removed. Infractions are now being issued.

loyatemu

FirstIn wrote: »

To explain myself, the way things were one could (and we did) have a boat on the shore in the harbour. Plenty of others did.

We had no trailer. We didn't need one. We didn't have a vehicle with a tow bar. We didn't need to. We had no off site storage. We didn't need to. Worries re congestion on the slip. We didn't have these either.

Now unless you are wealthy and can afford a marina spot you do need all of the above.

there's plenty of spare space at the harbour, they could supply a pen for casual fishermen (ie the folks who used to store their boats on the beach) and a communal trailer for wheeling them down to the ramp (I'm not a nautical type, not sure how practical this is)?

Maudi

loyatemu wrote: »

there's plenty of spare space at the harbour, they could supply a pen for casual fishermen (ie the folks who used to store their boats on the beach) and a communal trailer for wheeling them down to the ramp (I'm not a nautical type, not sure how practical this is)?

Id love to get back in to boat fishing..can one turn up ..lower boat down ramp.take off and return take out boat etc..free or is there a charge to use ramp..also how much to store boat in pens (not marina)per year.

Fiachra2

There is a perfectly suitable space just past the rowing club pen. It was originally intended for the clubhouse for a few marine clubs. That wont be happening now so GUBOH have (repeatedly) asked that the space-which is full of rubbish-be tidied up and made available to the community for public boat storage. That request has been denied to date but we wont be giving up.

For anyone wanting to store a boat I would suggest joining the ridge angling club who have a pen down there. Its pretty cheap and you get a secure space to leave your boat. You will unfortunately need a car to launch it though and the slip is pretty poor compared to what was there before but its usable.

The Durutti Column

Blanchflower wrote: »

The dilapidated state of the harbour area and the destruction of the Greystones North Beach is a disgrace. Where once the public had unrestricted access to a public harbour and beautiful beach now large parts of the area are fenced off by a delinquent developer. Councillor "Walter Mitty" Mitchell is greatly responsible for allowing this outrage to happen. :mad:

I see Dublin City Council are looking for national legislation to enable local authorities to levy or ultimately take over undeveloped sites. Let's hope they get their wish.

Then there would be a weapon against Sisk short of full-on termination of contract, which is risky financially, or legal action. (See story in last Saturday's Irish Times — sorry, don't have the reference.)