“Cop yourselves on and cut the bloody grass!” she says
The picture above tells its own story, it’s a children’s playground which, although in need of a bit of a clean-up, is perfectly functional except that some idiot has dumped a couple of mattresses in the middle of it.
It tells you that there is something inherently wrong with the person or persons who thought that it could in any way be a good place to get rid of unwanted mattresses and other rubbish.
But it also tells another story, one of neglect by Louth County Council which has left the place looking unloved and uncared for. The grass on the open spaces is waist high and that in itself sends out all the wrong signals.
The playground is in Boice Court which is a council estate of 84 houses off the Cement Road that, when it was opened in 2013, was hailed as the next generation of local authority housing.
All the houses have their own solar panels and on the surface it has the look of a beautiful place to live and it should be. But shortly after the tenants moved in problems with damp and mould began to appear in most of the houses.
The Council promised to take the matter up with the developers but the problems persisted and to this day nothing has been done.
As a result many of the tenants have put their names on the Council’s transfer list but, given the lack of houses being built, their hopes of moving to new homes any time soon are slim.
Phase two of the development, another 69 homes, was promised for 2018 but nothing has happened so far but the Council is currently in negotiations with a builder.
Sinn Fein Councillor Joanna Byrne has been on the Council’s back for years on this issue and she raised it again yesterday at the monthly Borough meeting when she asked the Council to at least cut the grass on the public areas of the estate.
“There is a massive open space but the grass is as high as my shoulders” said councillor Byrne who is of average height. “This appearance has encouraged anti-social behaviour which could explain why people chose it as a site for their illegal dumping.”
Talking to Drogheda Life this morning Councillor Byrne said that the estate was in a shameful state. She said she had been ringing the Council for the past two weeks asking them to come and cut the grass.
“It’s shameful, the grass hasn’t been cut in years” she said, “It’s the school holidays and the kids can’t even kick a football around the grass is so long. It also leaves the place wide open for illegal dumping.
“My message to the Council is: Cop yourselves on and cut the bloody grass!”
Local Aontú representative Michael O’Dowd has also contacted Louth County Council requesting them to remove the mattress from the playground in Boice Court Drogheda and to give the rear of the estate a badly needed tidy up.
“This is a health and safety issue” he said, “children playing on an old mattress with rusty springs is so wrong on so many different levels. My question to Louth County Council, who have direct responsibility for the estate, is when did this become acceptable?
“Immediate action is needed to make sure that the playground remains safe for kids to play in. Boice Court has a fantastic community living there and they deserve better from their landlords. The rear of the estate also needs a bit of TLC with household rubbish that has been dumped removed and the roads cleared of grass and weeds.
“The Councils plans for phase two of the development have been put on hold because of delays during lockdown but they can’t just sit on their hands and ignore environmental problems such as rubbish and weeds. They need to take action now.
