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Freshford goes to war over stagnant sewerage system
THE ENTIRE business population of Freshford has voted to withhold their commercial and water rates from Kilkenny County Council in protest against the town's "antiquated" sewerage system.
At a meeting of the River Flows Green Committee on Thursday last, all the business owners in the village agreed to refuse to pay their rates until a new sewerage treatment plant for the village is built.
And those who had already paid their rates were said to be very "sorry that they had".
Committee chairman Gerry O'Reilly said the business owners in the town, which numbered about 20, were fed up with delays which they blamed on the county council.
"They feel it's their way of keeping pressure on the Council to ensure that the Sewerage Treatment Plant goes ahead," he said.
Mr O'Reilly said the village's current sewerage system was an antiquated scheme which was built in the 1930s.
He said it consisted of a holding tank which flowed straight into the River Nueanna - a tributary of the Nore.
"The existing tank is non-functional so sewerage seeps on to the land and nearby river causing pollution," Mr O'Reilly said.
A new sewerage treatment plant to replace the existing one has been on the cards for a long time, but Kilkenny County Council didn't submit a plan to the Department of Environment until February this year.
"The county council led us to believe that the application had gone off last September and that construction would start later this year," Mr O'Reilly said.
"But we discovered in February that it had only gone off then and they announced at that time that the start date would be put off until 2010.
"That really got up the noses of the businesses here.
"They're very angry at the way they're being treated over this and they decided to escalate action to make their voices heard.
"We had to make a stand. "Some of the business owners have already paid all or part of their taxes and they're very sorry they did, because they're in full support of this cause."
The committee is expecting a decision in favour of the plant to be granted by the Department of the Environment in August, at which time they expect the council to expedite works on the plant.
"We want a clear, reasonable timeline as to when the new sewerage system will be built," Mr O'Reilly said.
"There hasn't been any so far and they just keep pushing it back and back."
Mr O'Reilly said the committee was in the process of notifying the council of its members' intention to withhold their rates and had scheduled a meeting with the council for August.
"The Committee will continue to monitor, liaise and keep pressure on Kilkenny County Council to ensure that this project goes ahead and that the people of Freshford and the surrounding area can be happy that they are living in a healthy environment," Mr O'Reilly said.
"They want to be sure that the sewerage system is effective and that their water is clean. They also want to see progress in the village which has been at a standstill as a result of this dreadful situation."
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Saturday 04 February 2012
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