Change in way grants are calculated for Kildare estates
Kildare County Council wants to use the size of green areas to calculate grants paid to residents in housing developments.
These grants are used for the upkeep of the areas, including grass cutting.
Up to now the grants were based on amount per house, the area of the estate and the amount of green space - with a minimum of €100 being given over.
Now the council wants to allocate the money based on the amount of open space - and these must be certified by a “suitably qualified surveyor, engineer, or similar professional.”
The €100 minimum grant still applies.
The council was also seeking that new estates seeking funding must be taken in charge by the council. Taken in charge means that major infrastructural work such as drainage is the responsibility of the council.
Local authority estates are treated differently. These get a standard amount of €12 per house, subject to a minimum of €300 and a maximum of €1,200.
Cllr Tracey O'Dwyer
Cllr Tracey O’Dwyer called for public and private estates to be treated similarly and she pointed out that some estates have “vast amounts of grass but few houses.”
And Cllr Noel Heavey criticised the suggestion that estates not taken in charge be omitted from the scheme.
Cllr Padraig McEvoy said that the measuring of the open spaces could be done by council staff working on taking estates in charge.
KCC official Marian Higgins said the cost of the survey was about €100, which Cllr Suzanne Dole said is “rather optimistic”. She said the work needs to be done by the residents groups.
Cllr Ivan Keatley said the estates can be left for years without being taken in charge and he said that once estate residents are paying property tax they should be entitled to apply for the grant.
The new proposal was agreed , with the proviso that estates not taken in charge and not maintained by a developer but where residents are paying property taxes are entitled to the grant.