Bray Town Council needs to clean up their own backyard

Sinn Féin councillor John Brady has called on Bray Town Council to put a maintenance plan in place to deal with the considerable land banks they hold around the town. Many of the land banks were obtained by the council for housing purposes, however a change of government policy has resulted in no new social housing being constructed, so not only is their policy creating a housing crisis it is also resulting in urban blight. The councillor made his comments after meeting with concerned residents from the Parnell Road area in Bray town centre.

Cllr Brady said "Over the the few months i have received a large number of complaints from residents from throughout the town about the condition of council owned properties and land. Unfortunately little or no action has been taken by the council to address the concerns expressed by the residents. Recently i met with residents from the Parnell Road area in Bray town centre, they are looking for the old Central Garage site on the road to be cleaned up. They where shocked when i informed them that the site is owned by Bray Town Council."

Cllr Brady continued "The old Central Garage site was acquired by Bray Town Council under Part V of the Housing Act and it was intended for the construction of social housing. Unfortunately a change of government policy has resulted in the curtailment of the construction of all social housing. This has resulted in the site on Parnell Road and other council owned sites that were acquired under the same process becoming derelict, overgrown, full of rubbish and magnets for anti-social behaviour."

Cllr Brady went on to say "Only this week we got some positive news that Bray has improved its score in the Tidy Towns competition, full credit must go to the council outdoor staff and the volunteers in the Bray Tidy Town group, however if action is not taken to tackle the serious problem that the site on Parnell Road and others around the town are becoming they could very quickly unravel the good work that is being done."

"Whilst we await a change of government policy to allow something to happen with these sites the council officials must direct additional resources and put in place a management plan to tackle the council owned eye sores which are located throughout the town, including the one on Parnell Road which is is just off the towns main shopping thoroughfare. The issue has been reported to the council, but unfortunately no action has been seen on the ground, people are now legitimately asking why they were forced to pay a property tax" concluded Brady