There 'should be a ban' on building new homes in this Kildare town - until a park opens
Residents fear houses will be built on playing pitches
There were calls for a ban on new housing development in Sallins at a public meeting in the town, organised by the local community council.
Local residents packed the parish hall for the meeting and there calls for an effective ban on planning permission for new homes and the construction of any new housing developments - until the long- promised community public park is built.
The meeting heard a presentation on Kildare County Council’s new settlement plan which included a proposal that houses be built on football pitches that have been used by Sallins Celtic since its establishment in 1998.
“If and when these houses are built, without replacement pitches for Sallins Celtic, our club will be homeless. Hundreds of children will have nowhere to play or train “ said Joe Lenehan, Sallins Celtic chairperson.
Residents are angry with politicians over the delay in releasing €3m, the three million euro which was announced “to great fanfare” in 2024 to develop the park.
“There has been a seven fold increase in the population of Sallins in the last 30 years” said Mr Carpenter.
He added that apart from a playground built with local property tax monies, there has been zero social infrastructure provided for the people of Sallins.
“We know housing is a major need and we want homes built in Sallins. But central government needs to release the money for our park to be built now. No more houses until the park construction commences “ he said.
The Sallins Community Park Action Group say that following a campaign that saw local residents make over 2,000 submissions to Kildare County Council in 2015 little has happened.
A year later, in 2016, KCC bought 33 acres for the park and the Department of Culture, Communications and Sport approved a €3m grant under the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund in November 2024.
But since then the Department has been “in an unending paper exchange with the P KCC.”
The group's chairperson, Mr Carpenter, says that the level of checks and balances is “ridiculously lengthy” and KCC has built and managed numerous public parks and sports facilities and have considerable expertise in this area.
He said: “This is a greenfield site, all public consultations and planning permission processes have been completed some years ago, all stakeholders are eager to proceed and yet the council has to jump through the same hoops as a project as complicated as another recipient (Bohemians FC soccer club), which is a massive project in a built-up urban area.”
He said there’s a need for a separate, more streamlined process for more straightforward projects such as this.
He said KCC should “(feel) very undermined by this unnecessarily hyper-vigilant approach from central government”.
He also pointed out that the€3mpromised in 2014 is now worth considerably less due to construction inflation costs adding “(this isn’t) in the best interests of the taxpayer.”
Mr Carpenter said there is a clear need for the department to look again at the guidelines.
“The lands were bought in 2016. Significant funding was announced in 2024. But the lands look exactly as they did in 2016."