The old Bray courthouse on Boghall Road requires significant upgrades before being used by the community, the report of an engineer has found.
Cllr Dermot O Brien raised the matter in a notice of motion at a meeting of Bray Municipal District held on Zoom. He called for the district to set up a working group to pursue the transfer of the courthouse into community ownership. The technical work, funding applications and community consultations required to realised the ambition of this project will require a concerted commitment from members and officials, he said in his motion. A working group will enhance the potential for success of this project.
Members of Bray Municipal District voted last week to ask the Oireachtas to have a full open and democratic debate before the Dáil votes on CETA ratification.
Cllr Joe Behan proposed a suspension of standing orders to discuss the matter, with support from Cllr Rory O Connor.
CETA is a trade deal between Canada and the EU. I have only in recent days become aware of the potential problems caused for the people of this country if it is fully ratified by the Government, said Cllr Joe Behan. We have all been contacted by people from our town and county who have environmental concerns, workers rights concerns, agriculture concerns and legal concerns about the implications of CETA, he said.
We promised we would come back to them regarding the removal of parking spaces, said Cllr Behan.
He said that people feel that they have been forgotten about.
District engineer Liam Burke said that he has identified two possible sites that could be provided. We don t own them, he said. I ve asked the law agent to look into the register for one site. The other is a known owner and we re trying to make contact, he said. We haven t forgotten but haven t made the progress we had hoped.
He said that it is a strategically important road. Mr Burke said that legally residents can t park up on the path. We will try to accommodate parking as best we can, he said.
A motion calling for a full and independent review of Bray Fire Service as a matter of urgency was passed on Monday at a meeting of Wicklow County Council.
The motion was submitted jointly by all members of Bray Municipal District Council. The report will examine existing services and capacity and look at other towns with a similar size to assess what services are available. It is expected that the report when completed will make a number of recommendations.
There was unanimous agreement among all members of Wicklow County Council.
Cllr Flynn Kennedy confirmed that agreement to the notice of motion will lead to the commissioning of a report.
A new transport interchange for Bray is currently at the design stage with Wicklow County Council.
A spokesman for Wicklow County Council said that they hope to get to site for the scheme in quarter three of this year.
The scheme to regenerate the existing forecourt at Bray Dart Station will incorporate sections of Quinsboro Road, Adelaide Road and Florence Road. The project will also incorporate some works to the footpaths, installation of parking, set down, and cycle areas.
The scheme includes a disabled parking bay close to the station, and all of the forecourt and surrounding areas will be made mobility friendly, with smooth transitions.