OVER €170,000 has been spent by the local authority to date converting Janesboro’s Boro Field in the city into a park for local residents and the wider community.
This was the answer from Limerick City and County Council to a question from Fine Gael councillor Sarah Kiely, herself a Janesboro resident, at the last Metropolitan District meeting.
Speaking at December’s meeting of the Metropolitan District, Cllr Kiely called for the proposed modular housing development for Boro Park, put forward and supported by Mayor John Moran, to be reversed.
In response to Cllr Kiely’s query on monies spent to date to convert Boro Field into a park for the community, senior engineer at the Council’s Environment and Climate Action Department, Aidan Finn, revealed that €52,353 has been spent from councillors General Municipal Allocation (GMA) and €90,815 in National Transport Authority (NTA) funding.
Mr Finn explained that there was also drainage maintenance of the former pitch area undertaken 18 months after the opening of the park at a cost of €29,283.
Councillors made it very clear to Mayor John Moran at their December meeting that he would not have their support for his SMART modular housing plans in Janesboro’s Boro Park.
“I have reviewed the figures and €172,000 has been spent on developing this park, not including the considerable voluntary contributions made by residents, such as the planting of memorial trees for loved ones. These contributions reflect the deep emotional connection the community has to this space,” Cllr Kiely commented at the time.