Page 14 - Simon Bourke News Today

With just hours until its official launch serious concerns have been raised about the Enniscorthy Town Centre First Plan. Details of that plan were revealed last September with Wexford County Council (WCC) confirming its intention to remove 75 on-street parking spaces and focusing on installing more accessible parking.

Funding to protect an old church and graveyard containing the remains of people from south rural Wexford is to be provided by the local council despite locals’ claims they can maintain the cemetery for a fraction of the cost. Located in Ballingly by the Corock River, the church and surrounds is currently in a state of disrepair with those living in the area concerned about the graves of their loved ones.

Having recently been outbid for two vacant houses in Clongeen, Wexford County Council (WCC) has said it is “fairly limited” when it comes to purchasing public properties for social housing. Citing a change in government policy, housing officials say the fear of “inflating the market” has prevented the council from entering auctions for homes in the county.

Wexford County Council (WCC) has launched a new Local Economic and Community Plan (LECP) which will guide the county’s development until 2029 and create a county that is “prosperous, sustainable and inclusive with an excellent quality of life.”

Yet another part of south Wexford’s coastline is in danger of collapse as the county continues to suffer from the ravages of coastal erosion. Ballygrangans, which is situated between Kilmore Quay and Kilmore village, has been losing metre upon metre of coastline in recent years and, at the January meeting of the Rosslare Municipal District (RMD), Councillor Jim Moore called for works to be carried out there.

It slightly hinders one’s enjoyment of a radio show when you find out how much the host is worth. That cheery discussion, reminiscent of a chat round the kitchen table, becomes less cosy, less warm, when you realise the person asking the questions earns more than any almost any journalist in the country. He may sound like one of us, act like one of us, but he’s not really.

The number of new homes delivered in Wexford last year was the highest annual total since the CSO data series began in 2011.

A project which enabled people across Wexford to remember their loved ones during the festive period has raised almost €9,000 for local charities. The Rotary Tree of Remembrance was erected on the Quay in Wexford during December allowing the public to place yellow and purple ribbons with a name or a message dedicated to lost loved ones on the tree.

An international exhibition of sound and ceramics will be officially opened in the Wexford Arts Centre on Saturday, February 17 and will be available for the public to view until March 22. Edges is a group exhibition featuring work by Kay Aplin, Juss Heinsalu, Pille Kaleviste, Linda O’Keeffe, Patrick Tubin McGinley, Suzanne Walsh, Katharine West, and Joseph Young.

A deceased Wexford man whose remains lay undetected in a London apartment for an undetermined time is to be the subject of a special investigative piece by BBC journalists. Patrick Redmond’s body was found in his Ealing home in 2020 where he lived alone.