Analysis of the Village: Ballycanew

Strengths:                                                                                                                   

• Village Core

• Landscape and setting – Ounnavarra River, Mt Lenister Views

• Village is traditional centre of rural hinterland

• Good range of local services (i.e. pubs, shops post office)

• Good accessibility to nearby larger towns.  The R741 connects to Gorey, connects to Main M11 just before Gorey Town, and South to Wexford on to Waterford

• Recent new developments

 

Weaknesses:

• Traffic Volumes (due to Enniscorthy Flooding, and traffic in Enniscorthy)

• Lack of infrastructural capacity to allow expansion of urban area

• Lack of amenities for all

• Sewage scheme needs to be update

• Narrow Roads

• Pedestrian Safety

• Lack of Facilities (local school Children have to perform Christmas concert in Gorey)

 

Opportunities

• Development of amenities for the area, including a Community Centre, where recreational facilities are encouraged for all sectors of the community

• Infill development opportunities (derelict houses, Creamery Gardens could easily be turned into community facilities.

• Villagescape could be improved (Foot paths and lights could be extended)

• Widen road which would alleviate pedestrian safety problems)

• Extra Pedestrian safety measures

•  

 

 

To ensure the sustainable development of Ballycanew, the strengths and opportunities outlined above need to be encouraged, protected and developed.  The Weaknesses need to be addressed and monitored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Analysis of the Village: Ballyoughter

Strengths:                                                                                                                   

• Landscape and setting –Mt Lenister Views

• Village is traditional centre of rural hinterland

• Good accessibility to nearby larger towns.  The R741 connects to Gorey, connects to Main M11 just before Gorey Town, and South to Wexford on to Waterford

 

 

Weaknesses:

• Village Core

• range of local services (i.e. pubs, shops post office)
• Lack of infrastructural capacity to allow expansion of urban area
• Lack of amenities for all
• Narrow Roads
• Roads in Dis-repair
• Lack of Facilities (local school Children have to perform Christmas concert in Gorey)

 

Opportunities

• Development of amenities for the area, including a Community Centre, where recreational facilities are encouraged for all sectors of the community
• Infill development opportunities (The old School could easily be turned into community facilities).
• Villagescape could be improved (Foot paths and lights could be extended)
• Extra Pedestrian safety measures

 

 

 

To ensure the sustainable development of Ballyoughter, the strengths and opportunities outlined above need to be encouraged, protected and developed.  The Weaknesses need to be addressed and monitored.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community Facilities:

The provision of good quality accessible, socially inclusive, community facilities is

Essential. These facilities promote community cohesion and identity, and this in

Turn helps combat social isolation. Community facilities include educational,

Religious, health and sporting clubs. At present, there is a basic range of

Community facilities in the plan area. The local Garda station is situated in

Courtown, a community centre to fit the populations need would send us to Ballygarreth , graveyards are located in Ballyoughter. The day-to-day health care needs of the local community are currently provided for in Gorey Town including GP and dentists. Public healthcare services are also provided in Gorey Heath Centre and HSE centres in the Palms and Gorey Medical Centre.

 

 

 

*Below is the Survey Questions Asked?      

Question 7 Community Facilities/Infrastructure

 

We asked everyone to rate, the following as Most Important, Very Important, Important and Least Important.

 

The above shows the Most Important, Very Important, Important and Least Important as a standalone.

We can see that Neighbourhood Watch, Elderly Care, Community Centre, Public Transport, Park-Playground are the top 5

The above is the full results of the 4.  Points were awarded to the Value of

 8 (Most Important)    4 (Very Important)    2 (Important)      1 (Important)

• Neighbourhood Watch (262 points)

• Community Centre (260 Points)

• Public Transport to Gorey (252 Points)

• Walking Trails (252 Points)

• Improve Roads(251 Points)

   

   

   

   

  We can now break it down into Activities and Infrastructure

   

Activities

Infrastructure

Neighbour Hood Watch

Community Centre

Elderly Care

Walking Trails

Public Transport

Medical Centre

Improve Roads

Community Park/ Playground

               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To Drill down even Further, we look at the results for Most Important and Very Important:

 

The following Values were used again:

8 (Most Important)    4 (Very Important)           2 (Important)     1 (Important)

The Top 5 here is as follows:

• Neighbourhood Watch(229 Points)

• Community Centre (210 Points)

• Elderly Care(208 Points)

• Public Transport to Gorey (189 Points)

• Improve Roads(175 Points)

   

  To summarize when all accounts are looked at, the top 5 remain the same.  What I do see from this is the lack of both Activities and Services in the Ballycanew-Ballyoughter area at present.

  The following is the Results for the Ballyoughter area only:

   

• Neighbour Hood Watch 4. Community Centre

• Improve Roads5. Public Transport to Gorey

• Elderly Care

Facilities:

  

 

 

The Current Parish Hall, Which was once the Old School House in the Village.  A Back Extension was put on in the ‘80’s.  The Hall also acts as a Playschool for Little Ducklings, so currently it is out of bounds for other users, due to the lay out of the Facility.

 

Recreation Facilities for Teenagers:

Teenagers and young adults have different play and recreation needs to younger

children. Within the plan area the introduction of sports facilities would provide an

opportunity for them to get involved in various sports or to just ‘hang out’. Other

appropriate facilities which the Council will encourage are a youth cafe and youth

clubs. The community facilities could also be used for the purposes of providing

Invaluable health, education, mentoring and life skills training for teenagers and

young adults.

 

Recreation Facilities for Older People:

Alongside outdoor recreation activities such as walking and cycling, a range of

indoor recreational facilities could be provided for older people such as fitness and

exercise classes and clubs focusing on communal interests like arts, music, cooking

and craft. Older people can enjoy lifelong learning including training on digital

communications, internet, mobile phones and computers. They can also play a vital

role in the mentoring of younger people and families. The provision of additional

community facilities would provide a valuable space for carrying out these activities.

 

As you can see from above, the greatest need for Ballycanew- Ballyoughter area is Facilities, below is a Community Centre, to meet the needs of the Entire Community, which would encourage Jobs in the area, by encouraging, training, Local Youth Café/Coffee Shop, and a place to provide social Activities and Social Inclusion into our community.

 

If we could also put a dual purpose pitch, it would provide much needed Community owned land at our disposal

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Future Facilities:

The above, would provide numerous facilities for all members of the community.  As you can see the Meeting Rooms, Office, and the main body of the Hall, could be adapted for Indoor Basket Ball, and Badminton.

 

 

This could also provide new facilities for community, social and educational uses.

 

• We would hope that all plans above would protect and enhance the village’s physical character and natural environment.

   

• We hope not to significantly affect neighbouring properties, residential amenities and those of the surround area

   

   

• Not to create traffic hazards.

   

• The above developments would contribute to the revitalisation of the village in a manner that is sympathetic to its character and surrounds through:

  Promoting the redevelopment of derelict, obsolete and brownfield sites and ensuring that the design of new development would be in agreement with Wexford County Development plan.

Education Facilities

The existence of high quality educational facilities can attract families, businesses

and increase the general development and prosperity of an area. There is currently

two schools within the plan area, Ballycanew National School, and Ballyoughter National School. Ballycanew School had an enrolment of 425 pupils in the 2013/2014 school year.  Ballyoughter School had an enrolment of 41 pupils in the 2013/2014 school year.  The nearest secondary schools are located in Gorey Town.

 

Childcare Facilities

The Government’s guidelines on childcare facilities emphasise the importance of

Local assessment of the need to provide for such facilities at the plan preparation

Stage, having regard to the provision of existing facilities in the area. The location of

These facilities should be easily accessible for parents and the facility may be

Combined with other appropriate community uses.

There are currently two childcare facilities in the plan area

Puddle Lane in Ballycanew offers full day care and Little Ducklings offers half-day pre-school care.

Changing economic times may present a demand for additional facilities in the

Future. The Development Association will continue to support the changing needs of the community in terms of childcare demand and services.

 

 

Vacant and Derelict Buildings:

Several vacant or derelict structures exist scattered throughout the village, these buildings can have a negative effect in terms of urban design and the overall character of the village.  We in the Development association would look to turn these areas into community projects, including a playground and a public park.

 

Creamery Gardens, since the Council is investing money for demolition, we in the community think it would make the perfect spot for a public Park, with parking already available in the Village.

 

 

 

 

The above, is a house now deserted for at least the past 12 years, this site would make a great addition to the community if it could be turned into a Playground.  Parking is already available across the road at the layby for the school.  A pedestrian crossing is also located straight across the road from this site.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ZONING FOR OPEN SPACE AND AMENITY:

 

Currently, zoning changes would have to be made, to change the use of land.  We the community do have some ideas of where we could build a new Community Centre, inside the Village, to allow greater access for all community Member to be able to use.  This would allow for zero addition of Footpaths and Street lighting.

These Areas would provide for 4-7 acre Green Field/Edge of Town in an existing Residential area.  This would allow for the protection and improvement of the residential amenity and the provision of new and improved ancillary services.

As you can see from the above floor Plan of the Community Centre, we have separate shower areas, which would allow for a Pitch to be built in conjunction with the community Centre.  This would allow for better facilities for both the local Clubs, Local People and an enhanced addition for young people in the area.

This addition would also allow the Local School to be able to provide more activities for the local Children.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ballyoughter Area Community Facilities:

 

 

 

We are hoping that we can re-develop the old School (above), to facilitate the local population of Ballyoughter, at present it is currently owned by the Church, but has now had the Electricty and Water turned off for the past 2 years, this is a complete waste and could be re-used for community purpose.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vision:

The availability and ease of access to recreation, amenity and open space facilities

Is an important factor in maintaining the area as an attractive place to live and visit. It

is important that all members of the community including children, older people and

people with specific design needs continue to have access to high quality public

open space, recreational and sporting facilities in order to maintain and enhance

their quality of life.

Community Involvement

 

BASIC POLICY

As a responsible Group, the Ballycanew-Ballyoughter Community Development Association will actively promote community involvement and other social activities. When engaging in community activities, the Development Association will select themes of activities that suit the culture, social preference of the entire community. Based on this, the Development Association aims to take the best action available, such as collaboration with communities and related Schemes (Such as the Artist in the Community). The Development Association will also work to encourage and support members of the Community to individually take part in community involvement and other social activities on their own initiative.

Basic Services:

·General:

• We would also like to extend the range of Footpaths in the village to Fox’s Engineering, with appropriate Street Lighting, in Ballycanew.We would also hope that we could provide Footpaths in the Village, Running from Fox’s to Ounnavarra Estate, and down to the river, covering the entire village of Ballycanew.

• There is currently no street lighting at Puddle Lane

• We would welcome more street lighting outside the school and church in Ballyoughter.

• We would like to see an improvement in the Roads around the Ballyoughter Area, and some parts of Ballycanew area.

            Pedestrian Safety

• The Pedestrian Crossing is not having an effect, we would hope to campaign for a stop go system on the crossing, as several parents have informed us of near miss’s at School at 2:40pm.

• We suggest the moving of the Speed Limit Signs to be placed at Fox’s, Moving further out at the approach road to the village Via the Church Road, and the killeanagh road past the Bridge.

 

·Bus Service to Gorey:

• We are fully aware in Ballycanew the dependence of the Local Bus Service, however, CIE the National Operator pulled out of Ballycanew over 2 years ago at the detriment of both Young people trying to gain independence, and Older People trying to maintain Independence.

 

 

 

 

·Tourism:

• We would also hope to develop the area to attract tourism in the area, the 1885 Griffiths Valuation reads “A Village which in 1881 had a population of 233, and is situated on the side of hill sloping to the Owen-a-varra River.A small tannery and a grist mill help to provide occupation for the people.

   

  The Current Church of Ireland was built in the 1600’s, and in later years a Mr John Beatty, a Mill Owner, gave the Catholic people land beside the Church to build their own Church.  This Church is still standing today, however was converted to small houses.  This Church was the Church were Fr. Michael Murphy was the Priest, who was later killed in the Battle of Arklow in 1798.  Currently a statue outside the Church in Arklow is in recognition to him.  The people of the area here would also like to commerate him.  (His body was rescued by his sister, and brought by horse and Cart for Burial in Castle Ellis where his grave can still be found). It is with regret that we do not have any dedication here in Ballycanew.

• We currently have the service to encourage more tourism in the area, with the Caravan Park and the B & B, both located on the Killanagh Road.We are also in a close proximity to many of the Blue Flag Beaches in Wexford.