‘A fabulous facility for this generation and for generations to come’

The Dermot Early Centre of Excellence will be a “a fabulous facility for this generation and for generations to come”, a special meeting of Roscommon Municipal District heard last week.

At the outset of a meeting held last Thursday, Cllr Nigel Dineen proposed that the material contravention of the Local Area Plan be approved while the proposal was seconded by Cllr Marty McDermott.

Noting he was a former county player, Cllr Dineen said the Centre of Excellence would be very good for the county, was in a very central location and would benefit many people and players, including those from other counties.

Cllr Marty McDermot described it as a magnificent development for the county, saying it was “a fabulous facility in our county for this generation and for generations to come”.

“This is fantastic for the development of GAA in the county, is ideally positioned and it is no more than we deserve,” he said.

Cllr Kathleen Shanagher said it was a great project but did note that with the material contravention going ahead, land was being zoned from enterprise, and two industrial sites were being lost as a result.

The Independent councillor went on to describe the new Centre of Excellence as a very good news story for the county, and that there would be spin-offs in terms employment and for local businesses.

As a former chairperson of a community sports park, Cllr Orla Leyden said that she was supportive of the development of local sports infrastructure, and wished the Centre of Excellence every success.

She said she was not going to vote against a recreational facility for the town but did want to raise a number of her own concerns. Cllr Leydon believed that making a decision on a local area plan that was out of date “was not a good way of doing business”, though she did concede that this was permissible.

She said that in the planners report in relation to the project, the Northern and Western Regional Assembly had highlighted that the Roscommon Local Area Plan 2014-2020 had expired. Senior planner with Roscommon County Council, Mary Grier informed the meeting that until there was a new area plan, the old plan remained relevant.

Among a number of other concerns, Cllr Leyden highlighted the need for the developer’s pesticide management report to give due regard to the latest EU legislation. Under this legislation, there is a ban on all pesticides in sensitive areas, which includes sports grounds.

One of the 27 conditions attached to the planning permission stipulates that nutrient and pesticide management plans be submitted for the written agreement of the council prior to the commencement of the development. This conditions states that all pesticide management plans must be site specific, and detail the use of all fertilisers and pesticides on all playing surfaces and grounds within the development site.

Cllr Leyden also echoed the sentiments of Cllr Shanagher about the need for more serviced sites, and fellow councillors later supported her proposal that they write to the council chief executive in order that up to twenty new serviced sites could be identified and secured to replace the ones that had been lost.

Seconding Cllr Leyden’s proposal, Cllr Shanagher said it was about looking to the future and encouraging people to set up business in the town. She also supported Cllr Leyden’s position on the importance of the pesticide management report.

Chairperson of Roscommon Municipal District, Cllr Tony Waldron welcomed the project and said such a development had been spoken about for a long time. Explaining that his first job in GAA administration was as a secretary of his local club St Croan’s, he said he was proud to be associated with the GAA, and expressed his admiration to the many volunteers in the Association.

The project was also welcomed by Cllr Paschal Fitzmaurice.