My first motion at yesterday’s (11th December) MD meeting; ‘That the council allocate the unspent 2019 LPT allocation of €236,000 to Building and Development Control to expedite the work required to bring estates not yet taken in charge around the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District area or at least bringing them closer to the taking in charge standard, detailing ball-park figures for estates that might benefit were the fund is allocated in such a way’.

Report issued by: Ms C Barrett, Chief Fire Officer, Building and Development Control: This is a matter for the members to agree. The Development Control Section sent an e-mail to all members of the Kildare-Newbridge Municipal District asking them to consider allocating LPT money to this Section to assist with the Taking in Charge process. The following estates and estimated costings were suggested in that mail and these estates would be the ones that we would try to progress should the members agree to this motion:

• Walshestown Abbey, Newbridge. This is a medium sized development where an investment of €15,000 should be sufficient to address the remaining issues to get the estate to the Taking in Charge standard.

• Beechmount, Newbridge is a small development that would require an investment in the region of €10,000 to progress to Taking in Charge

• White Abbey Court in Kildare is also a small development that would require in the region of €10,000 to progress the estate to the required standard.

Millfield is a large development with apartments and houses. It is more complex than the other developments above and would require funding over 2-3 years to resolve the retaining wall issue. The Development Control Section are in the process of getting quotes for this work at the moment. Millfield also has a Management Company in place for the whole development and this company would have to be reduced to cover just the apartments before the estate could be taken in charge. A request to take the estate in charge has not yet been received.