Leixlip chat

jorry

Hopefully many in the community can support and benefit from our pop-up pool.

https://www.swimireland.ie/get-swimming/pop-up-pool/pop-up-pool-programmes

I recommend a visit, very clean and safe.

Mikros

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120637604#Comment_120637604

From my reading of the plans there is no access across the lands owned by Guiness, except to enable services (water etc.) to be connected. There is an "indicative" link shown where a potential route could go to, but I don't think the neighbouring land owners gave permission. Which is a shame, as you could have had a cycle/pedestrian path that goes from the village, past the castle, into this new estate and then connects into the new planned pedestrian bridge from the Wonderful Barn up to Castetown house estate. Literally anything that can bring more footfall into the village is a good idea as the main street is nearly derelict at this stage.

RayCon

Only just realised the Hospice Charity Shop at the Salmon Leap Inn end of the Main St has closed. That's a pity - I picked up some good stuff in there over the years.

jorry

Can we all support this petition to prevent closure of castletown access from M4 / Leixlip please !

It probably scuppers planned foot/bicycle bridge between Wonderful Barn and Castletown lands...

https://www.change.org/p/stop-permission-being-granted-to-develop-historic-castletown-celbridge-co-kildare?redirect=false

Similarly anyone has anyone heard any news lately on pending Deey bridge level crossing (opp. Intel) threatened closure ?

Mikros

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121102955#Comment_121102955

Incredible that the OPW did not secure some form of permanent access to the existing carpark off the M4, or go through the planning process / consultation for a new carpark elsewhere before now. It seems very poor risk management to rely on the goodwill of a 3rd party landowner indefinitely for the main vehicle access to your site. A completely avoidable mess of their own making.

2011abc

Absolute 5h1t show by all involved .It seems companies can do literally whatever they want and meanwhile people cant build a shed in their own back garden or a bungalow on a country site for their kids to live in .

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121104849#Comment_121104849

It's not great planning, but I'm not sure they had much choice. My understanding is that they asked the Dept for money to buy the land when it went up for sale, got an amount and bid over the asking for the land, but were still outbid (it's not known by how much). Given the land is zoned recreation/open space and it would take a while to get planning for anything (e.g. a pool) and even longer to get it rezoned, then there was very little reason not to expect the new owner to continue leasing the land to them for the short to medium term.

They asked the OPW to pay premium rates to continue leasing the land - far more than its worth. So if they had agreed, there'd be uproar over wasting public funds. If they'd started building another car park at any point before this, they'd also have been accused of wasting money when there was a fine car park already in use.

This is all a power play by the new owner (and I've had some dealings with them) to either force the OPW's hand into purchasing the land at an inflated price (i.e. flip the asset) or blackmail them into getting some of the land rezoned by KCC.

Hopefully a CPO process can be started promptly for the whole lot, and the developer makes the bare minimum in profit at best.

emo72

Absolute **** show is right. There's no way they'll get planning for anything there. Too much bad feeling and anger. That land should be lungs for the surrounding towns. The fields with crops should be planted up as deciduous forests. Let's see what happens.

jorry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121105449#Comment_121105449

I speculate the carpark and access was their Trojan horse to achieving zoning/planning for desired development.

This same developer in Westfield Leixlip, got silly with many failed attempts to up storey's of apartment buildings having received initial planning on houses, then in subsequent planning applications and having initially given assurances that they would not overlook neighbouring estate (Glen Easton), or exceed 3 storey's. Eventually they settled with the boyo's in Kildare CoCo on 4 storeys. And 1 block impose on GE. So form there to push the envelope...

jorry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121106398#Comment_121106398

Incredible that the views down avenues that look towards Wonderful barn and the Folly would be possibly obstructed by a residential development. I am pleasantly surprised of the local unity this single issue has stirred up. A sleeping (green) giant has been awoken from its slumber, there was no such dismay to the development in Wonderful Barn!

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121107289#Comment_121107289

They got permission for four storeys by GE and five storeys at the other end, but only built four because the fifth wasn't financially viable/profitable enough (ABP condition that it be set back).

From the meeting with the OPW, it sounds like the short-term is to try force an asset flip. I'd say he paid about €7m and was asking for €18m six months later. If KCC can establish a historical RoW (pre-1997) or get an injunction to prevent the closure, it would take the bite out of his negotiating power.

Long-term, he just has to sit and wait until someone is desperate enough for housing or jobs that they rezone it. Might take 20-30 years, but he'll still turn a profit. It'd be political suicide to rezone it in the near future.

edit: the only possibility in the near term is a CPO, hopefully KCC/OPW push ahead with it pronto! They're currently seeking legal advice.

emo72

Gates stay open for now. Negotiations ongoing.

emo72

All gone Pete Tong again. CPO it and make a nature reserve please.

Big Pussy Bonpensiero

Any one have any interest in setting up a regular 5-a-side group? Or even if anyone part of any group is short a player on the regular?

jorry

https://tenor.com/bh9fj.gif

There will be killings how this will be doled out. Personally I would suggest a chunk on sports facilities at the Leixlip Amenities, lighting and weather proofing. It is an underestimated sports facility. A pedestrian bridge over canal from Loughnamona or Glen Easton (Residents probably object) or from Matt Goff Bridge into Amenities....

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121203556#Comment_121203556

Swimming pool at Amenities seems like the obvious one. It's been promised for decades!

...although if it's built, then where will the Intel staff park?

Seth Brundle

A million euro won't build much of a pool tbh

jorry

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121206041#Comment_121206041

Earlier this year I recall reading a letter to the editor in the Champion where the letter poster queried where a reported €300k - €400k was currently resting. it was meant to be the proceeds of a fundraising account setup as far back as the 70's specifically for a Leixlip pool.

I had thought a cheap solution to this would of been to immerse an enclosure somewhere in the Leixlip reservoir, but when I looked into it further why it is not a 'thing' - there can be undisclosed issues with water quality - undisclosed effluent dumping upstream 🤢 Weil's disease even...

buffalo

Main Street reimagined... how much time would you spend here compared to the existing one?

https://storage.googleapis.com/dutch-cycling-lifestyle-images/results/57772818-051c-4e48-81a8-cb06dd76a560

edit - created with https://dutchcyclinglifestyle.com/imagine

2011abc

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121256343#Comment_121256343

Not in favour of being forced out of the town by Interchange(would cause traffic mayhem during rush hours -especially with apparently unbridled apartment building up at Westfield/Harpurs Lane )) and pointless with current number of derelict unused premises

buffalo

There's already traffic mayhem at rush hours - the village is totally congested and the motorway is the same. As for the derelict premises... do you not think this would result in them getting a new lease of life?

Mikros

If they ever do develop the lands at Confey as planned hard to see how the traffic down the Captains Hill and through the village would cope. Problem with closing off Main Street like that is that people would still look for somewhere to park down there. The whole planning in Leixlip with medium-high density apartments getting built on the very edges of the town (Westfield, Harpur Lane, etc) while the core of the town goes derelict is a lesson is how to promote car dependency.

jorry

Siro product available shortly, Siro contractors are actively doing ground works in Gleneaston & Beech Park.

https://siro.ie/news-and-insights/siros-full-fibre-broadband-on-the-way-to-celbridge-and-leixlip/

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121435834#Comment_121435834

Virgin has been installing fibre-to-the-home on behalf of Sky in a couple of estates as well.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121436355#Comment_121436355

Virgin are installing it primarily for themselves; Sky are just a customer of theirs

Virgin want to get rid of the coaxial network entirely.

SIRO skipped entire estates in Maynooth so don't expect them to go everywhere.

buffalo

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443692#Comment_121443692

The only people I know in Leixlip who've gotten FTTH installed are those who switched to Sky. No VM customers.

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121444353#Comment_121444353

That doesn't change that Virgin are building the network first and foremost for themselves. At some stage every customer on a given cabinet will be made move, so they can decommission the coaxial.

Sky offer service over all three fibre networks - SIRO, Eir and Virgin - the only provider to do so.

Subutai

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121443692#Comment_121443692

SIRO find it difficult to go into areas where the electricity cables were buried without ducts - involves digging the whole thing up as they can't blow fibre through the ducting.

Unfortunately that means a lot of 1970s estates may be missed - which is a lot of places in Leixlip.

Mikros

The new Confey development master plan is now out for public consultation:

https://consult.kildarecoco.ie/en/consultation/amendment-no-1-leixlip-local-area-plan-2020-2023-extended-2026

The plan is proposing fairly significant development on the far side of Cope Bridge. With good links to the Confey train station it seems like an ideal site for more sustainable development but I think the traffic implications are the big hurdle. May be of interest to some here.

Seth Brundle

This will surely bring the suggestion for a new road via St. Catherines back to the table (which completely I'm opposed to) as Cope Br. along with Collins Bridge to Lucan and the bridge over the Rye at Kellystown simply cannot sustain that level of development.

As for other locations, there really only is one and that is between Intel and the canal but with the Sap, etc there, I can't see it going there.