'Free land' for footpaths would help Athgarvan/Lurg Lane link
A report to a motion by Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer at this morning's meeting of the Kildare-Newbridge MD noted that there is no funding available in the 2019 budget for a 'long stretch of footpath that potentially would require land purchase'.
Cllr O'Dwyer asked that the matter be kept on the Progress Report, as the residents of Lurg Lane had been asking for the completion of a footpath linking the two communities 'for 30 years'.
“In an era when we are asking people to leave their cars at home, and have children walk to school safely, it remains a very worthwhile project,” she told the meeting. She asked the Council to consider asking the relevant landowners if they would give the necessary land free.
Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy supported Cllr O'Dwyer on the matter, saying that in this time of climate change, 'we should be putting our money where our mouth is' on such issues. She suggested that the project should be included in the planned 'Health Check' for Athgarvan by the Council.
The officials responded that 'resources are always our fallback position' and suggested that if there could be 'a coming together' of community and landowners, and if land were made available at no cost to the Council, it could result in a 'more informed' response.
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