The Guillamene, what the ****????

longshanks

Has anyone seen the new cattle pen design down on the Guillamene?
It is fucking ridiculous. Ugly steel railings all over the pier set up in such a way so one person at a time can get to the jumping off point.
It has to be seen to be believed.
Also, the men only sign up at the top now has a sign for some fabrication company behind it. Just what the tourists who take photos at the sign need.
The county council really need to take a bow on this one.

nobodyknows

I assumed it was to stop people doing a long run and jump

blankAs

health and safety gone totally crazy. Who planned this one?
Is this a real photo or just photoshopped? please say photoshopped.....

looksee

That really is an eyesore! And completely ott.

Brick Session

nobodyknows wrote: »

I assumed it was to stop people doing a long run and jump

Sure I can just see my young lad getting up on top of this to jump off it. That's more dangerous than jumping off the flat pier itself as the kids will climb up this with wet feet etc. Totally crazy.

wellboytoo

Their putting a pay as you jump turnstile in to cover costs of maintenance of the turnstile, see perfectly logical.......

LuckyFinigan

What are they thinking, someones is going to absolutely destroy themselves off that thing. Come summer when its busy people will definitely be jumping off it. They think their being health and safety conscious but its like they want people to get injured, when they took the diving board away it was dodgy enough jumping off, but now they do this:mad:

Twoelles

is that so you can hurdle before jumping in

Brick Session

LuckyFinigan wrote: »

What are they thinking, someones is going to absolutely destroy themselves off that thing. Come summer when its busy people will definitely be jumping off it. They think their being health and safety conscious but its like they want people to get injured, when they took the diving board away it was dodgy enough jumping off, but now they do this:mad:

It's a claim waiting to happen!!

I wonder have the Health & Safety authority seen this, its a complete eyesore on a historical and beautiful place.

wellboytoo

I have been thinking about this and afaik this was done by the swimming club not the council with grant aiding from some body.
Men in their later years trying to stop young men being young men, how memory fades with age.......

blankAs

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Fix-Our-Guillamene/132804830224050

New page on facebook, check it out, it says it all.

Brick Session

wellboytoo wrote: »

I have been thinking about this and afaik this was done by the swimming club not the council with grant aiding from some body.
Men in their later years trying to stop young men being young men, how memory fades with age.......

Has it been confirmed that it was the swimming club and not the council yet? I am waiting on a call back from the engineer with responsibility for Tramore to try and get clarity as to who exactly is responsible. I will update as soon as I get more info.

But yes you could be right about old men trying to take away the fun factor for our younger ones. I hope not.

tramoreman

think the swimming club were told to do it

realworld82

i would not worry about the new railings, they will be removed very quickly once they are brought to the attention of those who like to collect/steal metal

flan59

I can see that the new railings are going to be an advantage, considering the design they will be ideal for all the anglers to use as rod rests, perfect height, correct location for the end of the pier. The swimming club did not want anglers in the area as per the sign, but now there will be more than ever there.

Finnbar01

wellboytoo wrote: »

I have been thinking about this and afaik this was done by the swimming club not the council with grant aiding from some body.
Men in their later years trying to stop young men being young men, how memory fades with age.......

More likely the swimming club wanting to use up their grant aid money or it will be reduced for the following year.

Twoelles

blankAs

http://www.facebook.com/events/108254709345220/
Heres the link for the facebook page about the planned protest to take place at the civic offices on march 5th at 6.30 pm. The town council will be having a meeting there at 7pm. If you feel that these barriers are unwanted/unwelcomed/ just a bit much, come along and make your voice heard. Make placards, make some noise, whos going in a wetsuit??!

Brick Session

Saw this on Facebook earlier;

Hi All, to strengthen our argument to have these barriers removed and have them replaced with something a little less intimidating and more in keeping with the existing railings that are already in the Guillamene we now call on you to take 5 minutes to show your support. I am asking you all to write a letter or send an e-mail to Tramore Town Council.

Your letter / e-mail could be along these lines:

Dear Sirs,

I wish to make a formal objection to the barriers that were recently installed on the platform at the Guillamene. The reasons for this objection are as follows:

1. In my opinion, these barriers create a greater risk to the Health & Safety of the public who use the area than the platform did prior to installation. Due to the sharp corners at the base of each post, toes will be stubbed and cut. Kids being kids will climb these barriers with wet feet further exposing them to the risk of slipping either onto the concrete platform 5 feet below or into the sea itself or onto the rocks.

2. In the event of an emergency, the rescuer will lose sight of a casualty in the water if they are prevented from fast access to the edge of the platform. The line of sight in any rescue in the water is vital. The rescuer will have to take their eyes off the casualty in the water to negotiate the obstacle course created with these barriers again breaking that all important line of sight. Enough time for a casualty to sink. Also the rescuer may be fully prevented from gaining access to the front of the platform as people now have to queue up to dive in off the front of the platform resulting in the rescuer having to completely lose sight of the casualty while they turn away completely to focus on running in the other direction to go down onto the steps to gain access to the water. Our kids are taught in water safety lesson to always keep that line of sight, seconds are vital in someone is in difficulty in the water.

3. The installation of these barriers may encourage people to climb the cliffs that surround the Guillamene and Newtown Cove in order to get that thrill of jumping into the water further increasing the risk of people slipping onto rocks or into the sea as has happened in the past.

4. The Guillamene has always been a place where the public have enjoyed swimming, jumping and diving into the deep waters for generations. It was up until now a public meeting place where people of all ages enjoyed this public amenity. I fear that this will be lost as the fun of going to the Guillamene will be gone.

5. These barriers also may restrict the view a parent has over their child while they swim

6. These barriers are completely out of place and not in keeping with the existing barriers and handrails that are already in place at the Guillamene. These barriers in their current form destroy the natural beauty of the Guillamene and would be more akin to a cattle shed.

7. The installation of the barriers in their current form may have an adverse effect on tourism to the area as the natural beauty of the Guillamene will be taken away and its reputation as one of the finest swimming locations in Ireland will be lost.

8. I further object to the manner in which these barriers were installed in a public place with no visible public consultation. Again this is a public amenity, a meeting place for all, a social outlet for all ages and the public should have had some input into how designs that affect the area. The Guillamene was there long before us and will be there long after us, we all have an obligation to hand it to future generations as we found it or better, not worse.

Kind Regards

_______________

This is only a draft letter but please take from it, copy and paste it, add to it as you see fit but do write your objection.

We will take copies of your letter to the meeting with Tramore Town Council on Tuesday night if you bring them with you or if you can't make the meeting or live anywhere and feel aggrieved about this you can e-mail the following people at Tramore Town Council with your letter;

kwalsh@waterfordcoco.ie
bwhite@waterfordcoco.ie

I would ask that when you have your letter prepared or your e-mail sent that you post up a simple "done" under this so we can get an idea of numbers. Thanks again for all your support!

looksee

Bricksession, where did you find that post? I don't see it on the SOG page.

Brick Session

looksee wrote: »

Bricksession, where did you find that post? I don't see it on the SOG page.

Have a look at the post from 9 hours ago today, second down on the left side of the page, click more to expand it.

Brick Session

Hi All,

There has been a slight time change for the silent protest to be held at Tramore Civic offices in Tramore this evening, the Fix our Guillamene folks are asking people to turn up for 6pm instead of 6.30pm to collect letters of objection and to make sure we catch any councillors who may arrive early for their meeting.

The early bird gets the worm!

allthedoyles

There is a letter worth reading in the local ' Waterford Today ' newspaper edition of 6th March , from an International Water Risk Assessor .

Brick Session

allthedoyles wrote: »

There is a letter worth reading in the local ' Waterford Today ' newspaper edition of 6th March , from an International Water Risk Assessor .

Yes the gentleman who wrote the letter is indeed highly experienced and highly respected when it comes to water safety. However, this same gentleman is also a member of the swimming club who are at the centre of this debacle so it can not be seen as objective in my opinion.

There is no doubt that we live in a culture where Health & Safety has gone a tad over the top but how far do you take it? No matter if they rail off the whole coastline of Ireland someone would still manage to fall in. There is a degree of personal responsibility that has to come into play.

maltese falcon11

I came accross this on facebook: https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=427202904040838

allthedoyles

Heard some of the railings will be taken down

Brick Session

After a long meeting with the Town Manager, Town Engineer, town Mayor and Newtown & Guillamene Swimming club and a further risk assessment carried out by a different International Risk Assessor it was agreed to remove the 3 "chicane type" arms that protrude along the chute that lead to the diving board. A further review is to take place after the summer by which time alternative suggestions as put forward by the Fix our Guillamene team will have been explored and costed by the County council Engineer and we will again sit to discuss what happens next.

In the meantime, I can say that we on the Fix our Guillamene side learned a lot about the Swimming club that we were unaware of. They told us of their difficulty sourcing diving boards. When they sourced the last wooden diving board they were told that it would be very difficult to obtain one again. Unfortunately, that board only lasted a month before a storm took it away.

Now the club have sourced 2 fibreglass type boards which they hope to fit around May time but it is important to note that these boards will only hold a maximum weight of 110kgs (or 250lbs or 18 stone in old money).

As one of the people behind the Fix our Guillamene campaign, I would plea to all who use the Guillamene and Newtown Cove to either swim or just sit and take in its beauty to consider joining the Newtown & Guillamene Swimming Club to help them with funding to maintain the area. The cost of membership is €20 and you can join up by going to the Green portakabin any Sunday around midday and they will give you a membership card there and then. you may even be offered tea and freshly cooked black pudding. Ask for Adrian for that one!!

The people of the N&G swimming club have maintained the area for almost 80 years now and do trojan unseen work and do need our support to keep up this sterling work.

allthedoyles

Thought it looked a bit much today all right

Gin77

Brick Session wrote: »

Has it been confirmed that it was the swimming club and not the council yet? I am waiting on a call back from the engineer with responsibility for Tramore to try and get clarity as to who exactly is responsible. I will update as soon as I get more info.

But yes you could be right about old men trying to take away the fun factor for our younger ones. I hope not.

I was there last year when a woman slipped and split her head open Ambluance was called. Maybe thats got something to do with it?

reni10

Looks like someone removed these railings last night:
http://www.wlrfm.com/news-and-sport/waterford-news/182240-tramore-town-cllr-critisizes-vandalism-at-guillomene.html

Anyone got any pics of what it looks like now?