LAND that was bought for social housing and lying idle since the recession should be given to local communities for the development of sporting amenities.
Fianna Fáil county councillor Kevin Sheahan told last week’s meeting of the local authorities cultural and sporting committee that towns and villages across the county were littered with sites where social housing was once planned. But with no funds available, there’s not much likelihood of them being developed in the foreseeable future.
Many of these sites were now being used by horse-owners and he believed that this impacted negatively on local communities.
“I’m sick of these batty horses myself. They are a threat to people and road users. People driving through towns and villages in County Limerick see these horses and it gives a negative reaction of the area,” he claimed.
He said that unused council sites would be better served as playgrounds and sporting amenities for local communities and this should be done with the council’s full support and blessing.
He suggested sporting equipment and goalposts could be loaned to residents at weekends so that empty land beside estates would serve a better purpose than its current use for “corralling” horses.
“We must look at the positive side. This would afford families with horses the same opportunity for their children to play and integrate better,” said Cllr Sheahan.
Phelim Macken of the Limerick Sports Partnership told council members of a similar project called ‘Camp on the Green’, which he said had been a huge success in residential estates in Limerick.
