Tackling obesity will form one of the main considerations in a master plan which is to be formulated for the Kilrush Active Sports Facility.
Development of a master plan for the facility was sought by Cllr Ian Lynch (IND) at a recent meeting of the West Clare Municipal District. A series of “interested party and community engagement events” were required he felt to see how Kilrush Active could be improved.
Plans to re-expand the facility as a multi-purpose centre sports hub are already in the pipeline, acting senior executive officer John O’Malley responded. He said the consultations with interested parties were at an early stage.
Recalling his time on Kilrush Town Council, Cllr Lynch praised former colleague Tom Prendeville for having the vision to develop a sports hub in the town. Greater community involvement is needed, he believed to boost its offering, “we need to ask the wider community what they want in order for us to be progressive. If we want to get a community to be future proofed we need to ask the people what they want”.
Cathaoirleach of the West Clare MD, Cllr Joe Garrihy (FG) admitted the topic of providing sustainable facilities in the right places to serve the population base was a topic “close to my heart”. He stated, “Too often we’ve seen well-meaning passionate people deliver facilities in areas where they couldn’t be sustained. We have to provide the vision, the provision of facilities at every cross road is a detriment to what you are talking about because it encourages people to disperse. This is what we are about as a Municipal District, we have to set the lead and be the adults in the room. Let’s prioritise Kilrush and put the facilities in because it is the right location”.
Kilrush was in need of a multi-purpose hub, Cllr Joe Killeen (FF) maintained. “The gathering of facilities is the way to go and not to have them scattered. Kilrush is the centre of population in West Clare and is a town with a great sporting history”.
Concluding the discussion, Cllr Lynch remarked that the demographic of residents in the town prohibited certain grounds being access. “Facilities outside the town for kids to travel to isn’t an option, they haven’t a way to travel to them”. He acknowledged that the national obesity plan was “a big thing” for urban areas such as Kilrush.
