< PreviousJanuary 2017 The Meath Coaster ©10Council Update by Cllr Stephen McKeeLease On Lands At Seafield - St.Colmcilles GAA ClubAt our December meet-ing of the District Coun-cil, I strongly advocated that Council lands at Seafield be leased to St.Colmcille’s GFC to facilitate the Club building new dress-ing rooms/meeting rooms to cater for the ever-expanding numbers in the Club and for the overall benefit of the Community. I am pleased that following my request, Meath County Council have issued a let-ter of support to the Club to help with their application for funding under Meath Leader in January to develop the facility. Furthermore, the Club's plans have re-ceived the written support of Laytown Pitch and Putt Club, Cilles Athletic Club and Laytown United FC who have all praised the collaborative and inclusive approach taken by St.Colmcille’s on the matter and who will all benefit from the proposed community facility. I am full square behind St.Colmcille’s and will push to have the lease granted as soon as possible in the new year with hopefully the support of other Council-lors. Aldi Store For Strand Road,Laytown, Granted Planning PermissionThe application by ALDI for a super-market on the former Creevlea Nursing Home site at Strand Road, Laytown, was recently granted planning permission by the Planning Department of Meath County Council. The application has caused concern in the locality with some people of the view that the Strand Road is not an appropriate location for this development. Other residents will be pleased with the prospect of having the conven-ience of an ALDI store close by. Anyone who feels aggrieved by the decision may appeal to An Bord Pleanala, 64 Marlborough Street, Dublin 1.The closing date is January 13th 2017. Please refer to www.pleanala.ie for more details if required.Whitecross National SchoolWorking with my colleague in the Dail, Declan Breathnach TD, we are seeking the accelerated delivery of the new school building which the school community in Julianstown have already been waiting 13 years on. As a Secondary school teacher, I am appalled at the conditions that staff and pupils have to presently endure which are totally unacceptable. Alverno FootpathsFootpath works are ongoing in Alverno Heights with phase 2 of the works to be-gin early in 2017. Social HousingApproval has been received from the De-partment of Housing, Planning, Commu-nity and Local Government for 12 hous-ing units as part of phase 2 on the Narro-ways, Bettystown. Further InformationStephen McKee is reminding residents that they can contact him directly on his mobile 086 0432760, by email stephen-mckeeff@gmail.com or through Face-book at Cllr Stephen McKee. §January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©11EXPRESSION OF INTERESTPURCHASE OF HOUSE SCHEMES AND/OR LAND FOR SOCIAL HOUSINGMeath County Council is seeking to purchase schemes of houses and/or land for Social Housing purposes by public tender in the following areas across the county:AshbourneKellsNavanTrimBettystownLaytownDuleekSlaneDunshaughlinDunboyneRatoathEnfieldAll other towns/villages in County Meath where there is a social housing needThe house types needed are as follows:• 2-bedroom - 66% • 3-bedroom - 27% • 4-bedroom - 4% • Larger and other accessible houses for addressing specific needs -3% The proposed housing schemes/land should ideally suit the size of the town or village and comply with the following guidelines:• Towns and villages with populations up to 1,000 - Scheme size up to 20 houses• Towns and villages with populations > 1,000 up to 5,000 - Scheme size up to 30 houses• Towns and villages with populations >5,000 up to 15,000 - Scheme size up to 40 houses• Towns and villages with population over 15,000 – Scheme size up to 50 housesHouse schemes/lands to be considered must be close to services in a town or village, ideally within one mile (1.6km) from shop, school and local amenities. House schemes should ideally comply with the publication ‘Quality Housing for Sustainable Communities’ and other relevant guidelines and be in compliance with Building Regulations.Land to be considered must be zoned as A1 (Existing Residential) or A2 (New Residential).Please visit www.etenders.gov.ie for further information and required forms. Submissions to be made by 4:00p.m. on Thursday, 2nd February, 2017.House scheme purchases/lands are subject to the approval of the Department of Housing, Planning, Community & Local Government. Meath County Council is not obliged to purchase any schemes of houses or lands submitted as part of this process. Any queries in relation to the advertisement should be directed to Liz Byrne at 046 9097257 or via www.etenders.gov.ie .January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©12Scoil an Spioraid NaoimhA month of festivities and celebrationsDecember has been a very busy month in the school with lots of exciting activities such as plays, concerts, carol services, Christmas jumper day etc. But Christmas hasn’t been the only thing that has been celebrated- Mr Marcas Morri-son got married on Friday 16th December. Congratulations Marcas and Mary from everyone here in Scoil an Spioraid Nao-imh!Gaelic Football end of term blitzSince September the girls and boys GAA teams have been training hard during lunchbreaks on Tuesdays and Thursdays. To finish off the term of hard work and dedication the children had a lot of fun participating in a blitz on the race course. Well done to all the children who train at lunch time and thank you to all the teach-ers involved – Mrs Garry, Mr Morrison, Mr Corcoran, Ms Kearney and Ms Kil-coyne.Christmas Carol Service 2016Scoil an Spioraid Naoimh had their an-nual Christmas Carol Service in Laytown Church last Monday evening at 7.00 pm. Our choir and pupils told the Nativity Story through words, song and drama. Following this, our sixth class pupils gave a lively rendition of three German carols which they had learned as part of the Eu-ropean Erasmus project that they are par-ticipating in.The evening ended with all our pupils singing a lively Christmas Medley. Par-ents and guests were in full voice joining in with all the old favourites like White Christmas and Winter Wonderland.The night was a huge success with a packed church and the children really enjoyed performing and getting into the Christmas spirit. Laytown/Bettystown Community showed their generosity once again by giving a voluntary donation to support two local charities – St. Vincent De Paul Society and East Meath Hospice. A total of almost €700 was collected on the night. So a big thank you to all and we wish all our pupils and their families a peaceful, Happy New Year. §January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©13January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©16News from JulianstownIt was a beautiful evening in Julianstown on the 13th December and right in the centre of the village, at the Lime Kiln Pub, the wonderful Mornington Gospel Choir sung their hearts out with Christmas Car-ols for an amazingly large crowd of boys and girls with their mums and dads. But lo and behold there appeared coming down the village a little red tractor and trailer and who should be in it only Father Christmas and Mrs. Claus! There were cameras flashing and such large smiles on all the little faces when they saw who had arrived. Into the Lime Kiln every-one went and Santa and Mrs. Claus had a word with all the children and gave them a wee gift! The mums and dads could then relax and ate mince pies, swallowed down with Mulled Wine. I have to say Head Chef Rob surpassed himself and I hear Mrs. Claus is looking for the recipe). This annual event is growing and growing and many thanks to The Lime Kiln and Julianstown & District Community As-soc. for putting it all together. They did a fantastic job and deserve a great big Thank You from all of us. We finished the night off with a super raffle and many thanks to the sponsors Stephen & Stella Hoey, Dunnes Stores, Blacks Garden Centre, and McLoughlin’s Oil. Tesco BettystownA great big thanks to Stephen Barscale of Tesco Bettystown for including Julianstown Tidy Towns in their Commu-nity Fund. Many thanks from Jackie and Niamh, who accepted the Cheque on be-half of the tidy towns. The monies will be put to good use in our village.Helping the Drogheda HomelessLast year a young parishioner collected hot water bottles for distribution to the home-less and there was a great response. This year she is collecting toiletries for distri-bution. Parishioners are invited to leave donations in the boxes provided in each church. All items collected will be given to Homeless Aid Drogheda.Julianstown Tidy Towns are looking for new volunteers to keep our village spick and span. Pat, Lenny and Anise have re-cently joined us. We’re all a great happy bunch doing a really worthwhile job and enjoying the craic. Thank you to all our volunteers who give up their Saturday morning to weed, plant, and help with January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©17projects in the village. We are looking forward to our new entrance to the village garden to be installed soon and which is being made by our local man Jim Roth-well . A big thank you to all the people who take the time to pick up litter in their area it’s very much ap-preciated, you know who you are. We would also like to take this opportu-nity to thank our Tús Work-ers Stephen & Aaron, Meath County Coun-cil (especially Christy Clarke, Michael Gallagher & Johnny), our Councillors Eimear Fergu-son, Sharon Tolan, Sharon Keogan, , Tom Kelly, Wayne Harding for their support .Did you know that they have allocated the funds for the new Gar-den Furniture in our Com-munity Gar-den? It looks just super! We in Julianstown would like to wish all the readers a very happy peace-ful New Year. Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh!January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©18Samba and 6th Class Quiz time with Mr Arthur. §Bunscoil Buachaillí Réalt na MaraOur annual cake sale and hamper raffle which took place on the 9th December and was a wonderful success. We would also like to thank our wonderful parents and sponsors for their generosity. Also here are a few photos of Christmas Con-certs Junior & Senior Infants, Christmas January 2017 The Meath Coaster ©19Now enrolling for our Spring term 2017 Classes recommencing week of Monday 9th January in all Venues.For details on classes in your area call Jane on 086 4113301jojinglesnortheast@gmail.com www.jojingles.ie/northeastTuesday (9.30,10.30 11.30am & Saturday’s (9.30,10.30 11.30am & 12.30) Barlow House, Narrow West Street Drogheda Monday’s (9.30,10.30 & 11.30am)Drogheda Presbyterian Church, Colpe, opposite Grange Rath. Ireland Regional Franchisee of the Year 2014Next >