New Woodstock Committee formed by Kilkenny County Council

The potential of Woodstock Estate and arboretum is to be supported by a newly established committee.

A collaboration between Kilkenny councillors, Coillte and the local community, the new committee will input ideas and make recommendations to Kilkenny County Council.

At the recent meeting of Callan Thomastown municipal district councillors, Senior Engineer Frank Stafford said it had been decided following a workshop in December to reestablish a committee that had previously been in place.

Terms of reference and membership guidelines have since been drawn up, he added.

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With a maximum of 10 members, the new committee will make recommendations to the County Council on matters concerning Woodstock Arboretum and the wider estate.

Kilkenny County Council has invested a lot in Woodstock and it has great potential for the future, Mr Stafford said.

Among issues to be considered by the committee will be infrastructure and connectivity between Woodstock and the South East Greenway.

It is proposed that a greater partnership between Woodstock and the wider community will be encouraged with a ‘Friends of Woodstock’ type group.

The committee will report back to the County Council at least once every 12 months and will meet a minimum of two meetings a year, at the Woodstock Tea Rooms.

Members of the committee will be Cllrs Deirdre Cullen, Peter Cleere and Michael Doyle. They were proposed and seconded at the municipal meeting.

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Also on the committee will be two representatives from Coillte, Mary Clifford and Jesper Petersen. Five community representatives will also join the committee.

Staff from the council will support the work of the committee.

The first meeting of the new committee will take place at Woodstock on May 12.