Over €20 Million Invested in Dunmanway
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Dear Friends,
Every election is a challenge and I never take the support of the people who have elected me for granted. I believe in hard work to get the right results. My track record to date proves this and with your support in this year’s local elections, I wish to continue to work and deliver on behalf of Dunmanway and the surrounding areas. Since my election to Cork County Council in 2009, DUNMANWAY has benefited from over €20 million in investment in local infrastructure and facilities. I have a strong history and reputation for getting involved in our community and making things happen. I look forward to your support on May 24th and ask for your Number 1 Vote to be elected as your Local Independent County Councillor and continue to deliver for Dunmanway.
Yours truly,
Declan Hurley
Dunmanway Swimming Pool Redevelopment
The long awaited €5.5 Million state of the art Swimming Pool opened its doors in May 2017 and was the culmination of many years of lobbying and hard work on my behalf in bringing this fantastic, modern amenity to Dunmanway. The project consisted of the construction of a new state of the art Municipal Swimming Pool housed within a modern green architecture building including a 25-meter Pool, Toddler Pool, Hydrotherapy Pool, Sauna and Steam room. The gym will open to the public in the coming weeks with a further investment of €115,000 for the kit out and purchase of equipment. Overall the new Swimming Pool complex is a vital piece of infrastructure for the town of Dunmanway, being a huge attraction to the area and acting as a catalyst to put Dunmanway at the centre of West Cork for activity tourism, recreation, sport and competition.
Community Enterprise Centre (Brookpark)
As Mayor, I had the privilege of officially opening the €1million Brookpark Enterprise Centre with Minister of State for Trade, Pat Breen. The project received €355,000 from Cork County Council which I lobbied for and a further €450,000 from Enterprise Ireland. This was all done on the promise that the community raise and invest €85,000 which they remarkably did. The centre has 1 gigabyte broadband and boasts conference, training, office and hot desk facilities, as well as three start-up industrial units which provide a high-tech facility to attract businesses and start-ups to Dunmanway.
New Children’s Playground
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I have been highlighting the need for the upgrading to the town’s playground, since being elected to Cork County Council. A total of €140,000 will be invested in the layout and purchase of new equipment for an all inclusive playground in Dunmanway. Along with the €50k already raised locally, I am currently guiding the Dunmanway Playground Re-development Group with funding applications for the remaining finance. I am also liaising closely with Cork County Council on finalising the plans to upgrade and re-develop the town’s playground. As it is a much needed upgrade of the existing amenity, it will greatly enhance the quality of life for the children and families who use it on a daily basis.
Sam Maguire Brand
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I am delighted to see, over the last number of years that Dunmanway is proudly being recognised as the ‘Hometown of Sam Maguire”. As one of my many official duties as County Mayor I had the privilege of launching the new Sam Maguire Community Bells, Dunmanway’s new website www.visitdunmanway.ie and tourism brochure along with the Sam Maguire exhibition at Dunmanway’s new swimming pool complex. This is the start of something exciting for Dunmanway and I have a number of other initiatives around Sam Maguire which I would like to develop in the coming years with the support of Cork County Council. These include making Dunmanway an exceptional centre for activity tourism with respectful recreational inclusion of its natural environment.
Sewage Plant Upgrade
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The town sewage plant has been upgraded at a cost of €400,000. The old sewage scheme had reached capacity and this was preventing further development of the town. This problem has now been resolved. Sewage is being properly treated and further development of the town can now go ahead.
Dunmanway Town CCTV
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With the help of Cork County Council I was the driver behind the installation of a state of the art community CCTV system with an investment of €45,000. The project involved the installation of 18 security cameras throughout the town of Dunmanway and it is planned to further extend the number of cameras in the town in the years ahead in a bid to deter anti-social behaviour and prevent crime in the locality, thereby providing a safer environment for the whole community.
Reclassification of the R586 to National Status
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West Cork is in need and deserving of a high quality direct route for the transport of goods and people to and from the hub of Cork City and onwards to the national motorway network. I am currently negotiating with the Department of Transport to have the R586 Bandon to Bantry (via Dunmanway) reclassified as a National route because this road serves as a crucial gateway to West Cork providing access to the main towns of Dunmanway, Bantry and Castletownbere. This will greatly lend to potential further economic and tourism development along this important corridor.
Housing
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In recent years, significant progress has been made in bringing many unoccupied council properties up to standard for full occupancy in the town. I am excited to be involved in a new initiative whereby Dunmanway has been earmarked as a location for a national ‘demonstrator site’ to develop an innovative model of housing for older persons with a new Meals on Wheels service incorporated on the site. The multi-million euro project will be one of the first of its kind in the country. The project is currently at the design and planning stage with the aim of having a planning application submitted in the second half of this year. In addition to this, I am delighted to welcome an €8 million investment in the building of 39 new social houses in Dunmanway in the next three years. 20 units are already under construction on St Mary’s Road and a further 19 units will commence construction on a Greenfield site on the Spa Road later this year. In addition, I am satisfied that the flooding of houses in the Lakelands, Chapel Street & Castle Street area has been alleviated by a pumping system but it is my intention to see that a future plan is put in place for a permanent solution.
Footpath Repairs
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Dunmanway has its fair share of damaged footpaths, which pose a daily hazard to many pedestrians and wheelchair users. Cork County Council has a €1 million County Footpath Repair Programme, which aims to repair and upgrade some of the most dangerous footpaths in our County towns and villages, which have been neglected over the years and have become a serious danger to pedestrians. I have been working closely with the local engineer in prioritising Dunmanway footpaths, which are in urgent need of repair. I appreciate this allocation won't address the real scale of neglect of our public footpaths, but I believe it is a positive move in beginning to address the poor condition of our public footpaths in the town.
Upgrade to Town Water Supply
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The upgrade of Dunmanway water supply is ongoing and when completed, an estimated €8 million will have been invested in improving the town’s water supply. So far, approx €1 million has been spent on the first phase of the work on the town’s supply by upgrading the water treatment plant. Phase 2 of this project will bring a major increase in the amount of water being pumped into Dunmanway and involves pumping water from Curraghalickey Lake in Drinagh. The quality and supply of our public water is essential and I want to continue to see Dunmanway water infrastructure being upgraded to ensure clean and safe water is available to everyone.