Cllr Ronan Moore, Social Democrats, has welcomed the news that Meath County Council has received €3,105,000 from National Transport Authority (NTA) under the July Stimulus Programme 2020. Within this, €135,000 in upgrade works has been secured as a result of walkability studies that Cllr Moore, along with Enfield Development Group and Summerhill Development Group, carried out last year.

Cllr Moore said:

“Securing €135,000 for upgrade works for Summerhill and Enfield is a major win for these towns. Simply put, the accessibility studies we carried out led us to identify many issues like broken footpaths, and uneven road surfaces that needs to be dealt with in order to make the town safer for older people and those with mobility challenges and disabilities. The Council have now taken the results of our report and secured additional funding to fix these issues. This is a great example of strong local community groups, supported by a hard-working local authority, directly improving local facilities.”

Cllr Moore continued:

“Last year, along with Summerhill Development Group, Enfield Development Group and several committed volunteers; and inspired by the success of a similar study in Trim; we undertook a Walkability (Accessibility) Study of both Summerhill and Enfield to identify mobility challenges in and around both locations. We identified issues along the footpaths of these villages that proved difficult to those in our community who might have mobility problems. Supported by the Council, we took on the role of logging, photographing and mapping the defects, as well as suggesting resolutions. These were compiled into a report and presented to the local area engineer, Maura Daly, to review, and add to the Council’s annual scheme of work. It is a great tribute to the Council that they were able to successfully apply to the NTA under the July Stimulus Package and obtain funding so as to progress with this work at a much quicker rate.”

Cllr Moore concluded:

“I hope to continue this work in other towns in Trim Municipal District in due course and would welcome hearing from volunteers in other areas who would like to be involved.”

ENDS