Progress on taking in charge of Killucan estates outlined

Concerns over the long-running delays in taking in charge housing estates in Rathwire and Killucan were raised by Cllr Denis Leonard at the November meeting of the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District.

Cllr Leonard asked for an update on the status of the estates, which have faced repeated delays in being taken in charge by Westmeath County Council.

In response, the council’s planning section reported that work is ongoing across a number of developments.

For Ivy Court Phase 2, officials said they are working closely with the developer to ensure the estate is being completed in accordance with planning permission.

“When this phase of 30 units is complete, the intention is to take in charge the estate in its entirety,” the response stated.

At Radharc an Mhuilinn, the developer has recently laid a wearing course of tarmac across the full estate, though some snagging works remain outstanding.

Once those are completed, “the formal taking-in-charge process will commence”, which is expected to happen in 2026.

Meanwhile, at Killucan Manor Phases 2 and 3, the planning section said it is liaising with the Mullingar Kinnegad Municipal District to have a final wearing course of tarmac laid over both phases.

This work is scheduled to take place in December 2025 or early 2026. Cllr Leonard was disappointed that there is still a wait ahead for so many residents:“A thing I've suggested many times is, why do we not have a list of builders at risk of not finishing the work that they committed to do; who do not adhere fully to the planning conditions,” he said.

“Why are we going back to do work that the developer should have done to begin with?”

He said the list showed that resurfacing works were still required and that snags remained outstanding. He asked: “Where does the council stand on these issues, and what is the situation with regard to the bond paid by developers in such cases?”

Cllr Leonard said he was particularly aggrieved over three housing estates in Killucan which have had “issues with sewage, with ramps, with signage and other matters.” He questioned how such problems had been allowed to persist and asked that “anything we can do to expedite these particular estates” be done, given how long residents had been waiting.

At the same meeting, Cllr Leonard sought an update on the promised additional litter bins for Killucan and Kinnegad and was informed that new bins will be installed along Boreen Bradach in Kinnegad and at the new bus shelter in Killucan. Cllr Leonard welcomed the move but said more could be done, admitting he knew there was some hesitancy about installing bins. He explained that he recalled when Cllr Ken Glynn had requested bins at a particular location in the past, the council responded that if more bins were installed, “you create litter in different places where we didn't have it before”, he said.

He added that a targeted assessment could help identify where additional bins are most needed. “But I really think in Killucan, if we did an assessment, a heat map like we do in the streetlights, we would find very few litter bins in Killucan and Rathwire.”

He remarked that he was pleased bins are to be installed on the Boreen Bradach as everyone's walking it since it became a tourist trail.

“But I just would like to see more in Killucan in addition to that one there at the bus stop,” he said.