Labour leader"s Kinnegad bound

According to the polls he"s the most popular political leader in the country, and on Saturday next, Labour Party leader Eamon Gilmore will set foot in Kinnegad to win hearts and minds locally.Mr. Gilmore will be in town to officially launch the electoral campaign of Kinnegad"s Denis Leonard, who is running on the Labour ticket in Mullingar East for the June local elections.Mr. Leonard"s candidacy was announced at a meeting in the Mullingar Park Hotel late last year, at which the party announced the official launch of its 2009 conference, which will take place in the Mullingar venue on March 27-29.This is the Labour leader"s first visit to Kinnegad, and as well as giving his candidate backing on Saturday night, he will use the visit to promote the forthcoming conference, which is expected to attract the support of over 1,200 Labour party members.Mr. Gilmore will arrive at the Hilamar Hotel, Kinnegad shortly before 10pm on Saturday night for the campaign launch.Denis Leonard - who is involved with local groups, Kinnegad Community Council and the Killucan-Kinnegad Transport Lobby Group - is one of three local election candidates from Kinnegad running for the local elections in Mullingar East.The other two are incumbent Fine Gael councillor Pat McLoughlin, and Fianna Fáil"s Georgina Bagnall.In nearby Raharney, Westmeath hurler John Shaw is running on the Fianna Fáil ticket in the Coole constituency.Bord overturns Council decisionAn Bord Pleanála has overturned a decision by Westmeath County Council to refuse planning permission for a new betting office and mixed commercial development on Main Street, Kinnegad, granting permission subject to eight conditions.On July 3 of last year, the Council refused Paddy Sweeney permission for a change of use and erection of mixed use commercial units, including the demolition of an existing two-storey semi-detached dwelling and rear out-building; and the erection of two two-storey mixed commercial units (256 square metres).The Council ruled that the development of a new bookmakers would lead to a 'proliferation of betting offices in a relatively confined area and would set an undesirable precedent for future development of this type'.The local authority also said that the demolition and change of use would result in the removal of a residential property of 'townscape character', and ruled that the proposed building design would 'lack design reference and context'.However, An Bord Pleanála recently overturned the Council"s decision on the grounds that the development 'would not seriously injure the amenities of the area or of property in the vicinity', and 'would have an acceptable impact on the townscape character of Kinnegad'.MEPs invited to second Killucan station meetingLast month, inclement weather conditions in Europe halted MEPs from visiting the Workman"s Hall at Killucan, to meet members of the public and local transport lobbyists seeking to have the dormant train station at Killucan re-opened.With the Continent now enjoying more favourable weather conditions, MEPs Marian Harkin (Independent) and Jim Higgins (Fine Gael) will attend a rescheduled meeting on Thursday, March 12.Everyone is welcome to the meeting, including all local and national politicians, and community groups and businesses from the Coole and Mullingar areas, who would benefit greatly from the re-opening of Killucan Station.The current objective of the Killucan-Kinnegad Transport Lobby Group is to convince national and European-level politicians to ensure that Killucan Station is included in the forthcoming review of Transport 21.The group is also anxious to look at support from the EU in terms of getting more people off the road, and transporting more goods by rail.In the meantime, people looking for information about the campaign check out the website, www.reopenkillucanstation.org.Cash stolen from Kinnegad shopGardaí in Kinnegad and Mullingar are investigating an incident in which an individual stole money from a shop on Main Street, Kinnegad.At around 8pm on Friday last, February 27, a man described as being around 5"9' or 5"10' in height walked into a shop on the town"s main thoroughfare. He was wearing a blue jacket and a dark trousers.The man asked the shop assistant for sweets, before proceeding to grab a substantial amount of cash from behind counter, before making his escape.Gardaí are seeking the aid of witnesses in their investigation, and if anyone has any information which may be of help, please contact Gardaí in Kinnegad on (044) 9375112 or Mullingar on (044) 9384000.