Wicklow Town Councillor Pat Kavanagh has expressed her concerns regarding the heritage of Wicklow Town. She is exceptionally concerned at what she describes as the postponement by Wicklow Co Council regarding planned alterations to Fitzwilliam Square.
She has already called on the Mayor to convene an emergency meeting to discuss Wicklow Co Council’s postponement of planned meetings.
Cllr Kavanagh told wicklownews.net “I am alarmed by this postponement to the Part 8 planning application. This means that Wicklow Town Councillors may not get the opportunity to vote on the plans once the Town Council has been abolished by the Fine Gael/Labour Government in May. The people of Wicklow have paid €15,000 on the plans, with further expenditure on a public consultation process, and now it is being stalled month on month, and is in danger of being put on the long finger. This process must be completed before Wicklow Town Council disbands, so that local representation can be made. After May, it will be too late. I have emailed the Mayor to convene an immediate meeting to address this.”
Cllr Kavanagh has had a long standing interest in heritage and conservation, which was reflected in her 8-year commitment to the restoration of the Parochial Hall. “We might very well have lost this national treasure if we had not worked so hard to save the Hall; it is one of only 6 pre-Penal Reformation Churches left in the country” The restoration of the Parochial Hall was completed in 2012 and the hall is now up and running as a state-of-the-art Community hall.
Cllr Kavanagh was the only Councillor to submit 9 recommendations, approved by her fellow councillors, of local heritage interests for inclusion on the Register of Protected Structures to the new Wicklow and Environs Development plan. She also successfully led the campaign to encourage people to save the trees on Bachelors Walk which were threatened by proposals to put a cycle lane in their place.
“The people of Wicklow take great pride in their heritage, both locals and now people who have adopted Wicklow as their home. We need to preserve the unique character and rich history of owntown, and we need to fight for our heritage”
