Any Ideas What's Going On At Naas Lakes?

Fish Bloke

I was out for a walk with my dog today and I noticed that a massive section around the lakes area in Naas has been sectioned off. Tough posts and thick wire fencing have been erected around the largest lake and a big chunk of land surrounding it. There's also a small section cut out of our "designated wetlands" where it looks like they're about to begin some kind of construction work.

Has anyone got any ideas or info about what's going on? The lakes have been filthy for a while now, and at first I thought it might be sectioned off for cleaning, but the fencing looks like it's going to be there for a while.

I've also noticed a disgusting amount of vandalism in the area in the past few months. A bench was burnt down, a pole for one of the life buoys was ripped out of the ground and someone has been making a determined effort to kick in all of the small foot bridges in the area too. I noticed the bridges have had new tarmac put down, so perhaps the new work has something to do with a general clean up in the area. I'd love to see some CCTV cameras installed around the lakes, though they probably wouldn't do much good!

I'm a bit worried about the wildlife in the area, so I hope this doesn't last for too long. I saw several terrified ducks fleeing down the paths unable to get back into the lake. They were even trying to force themselves through the fencing, and it won't be long before they get hurt doing that. I avoided them by using the outside path, but not everyone with their kids & dogs will be able to do that.

Anyway, any info about what's going on would be appreciated! I couldn't see any signs for planning permission, so I've no idea where to look next!

Joe Public

Ask KCC environment section, I guess they should know.

scwazrh

I read in the Leinster leader that Naas town council has a budget of €200k to spend on dredging etc to bring it back to the depth it was when built some 30 odd yrs ago.
I don't know why they hae taken some of the wetlands. ,I presume it's for machinery storage during the works but that's a complete guess.
I was walking there today and noticed that most of the fowl have moved on to the second lake but obviously there is a lot of other wildlife that should be cared for during the works.

On the plus side we finally got the pedestrian crossing lights at the vista healthcare turned on:)

scwazrh

A quick google brought up the tender docs for the project

http://www.tendersdirect.co.uk/Search/Tenders/Expired.aspx?ID=%20000000003279503&sect=W023&cat=28&Source=Categories

Why it was put to tender on an English website is anyone's guess????

Fish Bloke

Thanks scwazrh, that sound about right! You're right about the other wildlife too, I've seen a lot of hedgehogs around the area, among other things. Hopefully they're not too put out by the barriers!

It's no wonder I couldn't find the info initially too, I was specifically searching on Irish sites. Thanks for the link!