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Ongar residents in talks with developer

Following the recent well-publicised protest meeting by Ongar residents at the launch of the new Barnwell housing development, members of the Ongar Residents Association Committee (ORAC) have announced they are pleased by the progress made in regard to the unfinished areas of their estate.

Talks between ORAC, Wallis Property Management (WPM) and Manor Park Homes (MPH) have been ongoing since the demonstration in February in which local Labour party politicians joined residents on the picket line. The residents alleged that their estate had been left unfinished and much of the promised work had not been completed. Ongar village

However, following recent meetings by the parties concerned, ORAC has expressed satisfaction at the resolution of a number of issues and the impending completion of others.

“The drainage is finished and ready for Fingal County Council to take over,” said Samantha Dooley, ORAC Chairperson. “If they do not do so, Manor Park Homes will be obliged to employ a new contractor to maintain them. Lights are all on in the areas around Leahy and Ongar House which is a big thing. The communal garden in Manor Square has a light on but the small ground lights are still pending.

“The roads are still under the remit of MPH, so yellow lines will be implemented shortly through the main street of Ongar and a roundabout will be constructed in front of Vision Express and the off licence. These works should commence during the summer.

“One area where great concern has been raised is the fountain area which, as most people know, is damaged and not working due to anti-social teens coming from other areas of D15. The ground floor apartments walls and connecting walls are constantly dirty and written or painted on graffiti, noise being the other unbearable consequence.

“We looked at putting rails up on North Street to protect the fountain area and also at the feasibility of having rails installed around the back of ground floor properties in Chipping Terrace, which have cars parking against their bedroom windows,” said Samantha.

The site behind Ongar House, which is designated to have football fields, tennis courts and a kick about area for young children is due to commence development this month. All this is good news for Ongar residents, though Samantha Dooley warns there is still a lot more to be done.

“The rails issue has been a thorn in our side for a long time now and we are looking for a quick resolution on this in regards to both the fountain and the ground floor properties,” she said. “Last year a car actually went through a residents window and could have killed her whilst she slept in bed.

“We also looked at all the graffiti, which WPM should be cleaning. One of the reasons they gave for not doing so is the fact that not everybody has paid their management fees. There has been graffiti on walls for over the last year now. The Crescent and the tunnel on North Street are now full of it.

“Any person investing in Ongar Village or Green should be seriously concerned at its degeneration and the likelihood of it becoming a ghetto if this trend continues,”she said.

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