12th March, 2024
You might remember the public park we were promised out at the former illegal dump at Kerdiffstown. This park will have sports pitches, a 5km walking/running track and of course trees, planting, landscaping and so on. It will be very welcome indeed, when it opens…
We were told that the park would open in October last year. Some five months later, not only is it not open yet, but I have heard that the contractor is not in a position to issue a certificate of substantial completion. Reaching substantial completion is an important milestone in construction projects. It means that, while every little detail may not be finished, the site is fit for its intended use.
The fact that the site is still not fit for its intended use some five months after it was projected to be, leads me to speculate that there may be issues with landfill gases, odour and leachate arising from the former dump. I asked Kildare County Council to address these health and safety queries at today's Naas Municipal District meeting. I am waiting for an update, and hoping I'm wrong at the same time.
Is more remediation at taxpayer’s expense required? The bill is already at €61 million.
Update from Kildare County Council, as of 16th April, 2024:
With regard to Kerdiffstown, there are landfill infrastructure issues to be resolved, and the site is effectively still a construction site.
Final snagging on the landfill infrastructure is being completed ahead of issuing the substantial completion certificate to the contractor.
Odour assessments are being carried out and are required to continue to meet the terms of the license (The license provides for different threshold levels for different parts of the site).
The opening date remains ahead of the original schedule, and we currently hope to open the park in the next quarter.
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I will keep this issue front and centre over the coming three months.
Cllr Bob Quinn
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