Millrace

Residents’ News
V o l u m e 2 , I s s u e 2 A p r i l / M a y 2 0 1 0

Special points of
interest:

• Neighbourhood Watch
Scheme for Millrace

• Committee Update

•
Neighbourhood Watch Proposal
National Spring Clean Day
Saturday April 24th

Following some damage to
property in the Millrace Estate
Inside this
the Residents Committee are
issue: hoping to enlist your support for
the introduction of a
Neighbourhood 1 Neighbourhood Watch Scheme
Watch
for the Millrace Estate. We have
Residents’ 1 approached the Gardai in
Committee & The main objectives of the
Update Rathcoole who are very
2 scheme are to improve
supportive of the idea.
Millrace 2 The scheme operates as a
Gardening Team
partnership between An Garda
Saggart Easter 3 Siochana and the residents. It
Raffle works on the basis that every
Clean Up & member of the community
Planting Day
should be active and keep a look
Bin Sheds and
Locks
out for neighbours and report
suspicious activity.
community safety, prevent
crime, develop links between
the Gardai and the community,
foster a caring environment for
older and more vulnerable
neighbours and reduce anti
social behaviour.
To get the scheme operational
each resident must fill out a
survey (this is enclosed with the
newsletter) and return it to
Rathcoole Garda station for
the attention of Frank Howe
before Sunday April 11th.
We would kindly ask all
residents to show their support
for the scheme and to take a
few minutes to complete the
short form. Details of the
Residents Information Evening
will be circulated in due course.

Local Childcare 4 Residents’ Committee Update

In the Garden
Since the AGM last Autumn, a actions agreed and subsequent income-debt ratio in the
subgroup of the resident’s activity: Saggart Management Company
committee has been working is very high, presenting a
The Committee outlined their
tirelessly to address the serious solvency risk and the potential
desire to work in conjunction
issues of public lighting on for the company to be trading
with Nevilles and OFPM in
Millrace Avenue, the quality of at a loss.
relation to enhancing the
the roads, traffic calming and
estate, reducing costs to the It was agreed that significant
other related matters.
residents and forming better improvement was needed in
After many representations relationships between all several areas and as such, the
directly to Nevilles and via OFPM, parties. It was made clear that 2010 AGM is to be brought
a meeting took place on February there is a high level of forward to May, the auditor is
4th between representatives from dissatisfaction within the to be present with the
the Resident’s Committee, Tony community about the quality of Directors, greater detail is to be
O’Farrell and Denise from OFPM services provided by OFPM, and provided in the notes to the
and Seamus Neville. The following the disproportionately high accounts, and quarterly work
is a summary of the meeting, costs associated with this. It reports along with costs and
was also highlighted that the budget
Cont.d >
 Page 2

Residents’ Committee Update continued

analysis is to be provided to the that speed ramps
Residents and Directors by OFPM. can only be put in on
streets under the
ROADS: The poor quality control of the
of the roads in the estate, management
particularly on the Avenue, company and not on
was addressed. The most the Avenue.
serious of the potholes
were filled in at the end of February but Double yellow lines and clamping are still
this is clearly only a temporary solution; options and need to be agreed between
Nevilles suggested at the meeting that OFPM and residents.
they could not tarmacadam the Avenue To relieve traffic pressure on the
due to Council plans to take over the Crescent, the possibility was raised of
road and create an access route through opening access from Millrace Green to
to the village. However as we understand the Avenue where it intersects with
this is now less likely to happen, we have Millrace View. We have written to SDCC
asked Nevilles to gain the necessary to seek guidance on this and will keep
permission to carry out this work as a residents informed of any progress.
matter of priority, and we will be
lobbying SDCC, local councillors and
PAINTING:
other elected officials to pursue this.
The poor quality of the work carried out
LIGHTING: last year was highlighted
noting in particular that it was
With regard to lighting on Millrace
paid for without any
Avenue further work is required to be inspection. It was agreed that
the painter would be brought
back on site to examine work
quality and redo any work necessary
at no cost to the management
company. On Feb 24th members of
the resident’s committee attended a
site inspection with Therese from
OFPM and the painting contractor.
Unsurprisingly, the contractor failed to
acknowledge responsibility. This has
been communicated back to Nevilles
as another example of carelessness on
the part of OFPM and funds belonging
to the Saggart Management Company
being wasted. We have requested
that OFPM procure the services of a
completed by Nevilles and their different painting contractor this year
contractors Sabre Electrical in order to
and insist that the Resident’s
reach the specification required by South Committee sign off the work, prior to
Dublin County Council. The issue is payment being made.
ongoing but the Resident’s Committee is
continuing to push for a resolution and is
keeping pressure on Nevilles to deliver
OTHER ISSUES:
on their obligations.
Finally, a number of other issues were
TRAFFIC CALMING: raised with Nevilles and OFPM at the
meeting to which we are still awaiting
Traffic calming measures and parking a satisfactory response. These include
were significant concerns to many
the green slime/sludge growing as a
residents at the AGM and were discussed result of poor water run off on access
at length during the meeting with stairs into apartments & houses, the
Nevilles and OFPM. We were advised landscaping plans for the pond, and
Millrace
the exposed man hole/ crater on land
between the Green and Slade Castle
development. In addition, Nevilles
informed us that they cannot remove the
sales board hoarding from the front of
the estate as it is their intention to
“embark on a further sales campaign
later this year”. At the meeting we were
advised that there are currently 52 units
unsold out of 320 completed units.
CONTINUED EFFORT:
As all Millrace residents will appreciate, it
can be extremely challenging to get
anyone to acknowledge responsibility for
the issues reviewed above, and then take
action to address them! However we will
continue our efforts towards achieving a
resolution and keep you updated as
progress is made. If there are any other
issues you feel need to be addressed by
the resident’s committee, please get in
touch with us via email
millracesaggart@gmail.com.
Millrace
Gardening Team
Got green fingers or simply
interested in making our estate an
attractive place to live? We’re
looking to
put a
small
team
together
to do
some
occasional planting across the
estate e.g. Summer bedding, bulbs
in the Autumn for next year etc.
Any resident who would be
interested and willing to invest a
few hours “gardening” — either
occasionally or for a once off
improvement project— is asked to
email the committee with their
details millracesaggart@gmail.com.
All skill levels welcome.
Volume 2, Issue 2 Page 3

Saggart Village Residents Association

In an effort to raise much needed
The Saggart Residents Association is
funds to clean and rejuvenate Saggart
a group focussed on building a strong
Village and the surrounding areas an
and productive relationship between
Easter Raffle will be held on
local businesses and the community
Saturday April 3rd in Jacobs Pub.
and to further enhance Saggart as a
Contact your local Association
place to live, work and visit.
member to purchase raffle tickets.
Saggart Village

As part of An Taisce’s nationwide Spring Clean Campaign, there will be a

National Spring Clean Day
Community Clean Up event taking place in Millrace and around Saggart Village
on Saturday, April 24th @ 11am. As part of the day we will also be getting our
first planting campaign going on the estate.
Refreshments will be provided afterwards in the Heritage Centre (building to
left of Church). All participation and help is welcome.

April 24th www.nationalspringclean.org

Landscaping & Planting Positive

Members of the Resident’s Committee recently met Skills
with OFPM and SAP Landscaping to look at areas within the
Estate that need immediate attention and to discuss a 5 year plan for
for ongoing improvements.
Areas needing remedial works include the entrance, existing Living
shrubberies, tree circles and communal gardens. SAP have
supplied a proposal for these works which is under review by the Pfizer, Sodexo, Glanbia and
Committee and OFPM. It is hoped to start work on these Business in the Community, in
improvements once available funding has been decided and partnership with Fettercairn
agreed with OFPM. Community Enterprise Company
have announced a second Positive
Skills For Living “Train the Trainer”
Binsheds & Locks course within the Dodder Valley
Partnership Area.
As you know OFPM have now put waste
locks on all the bin sheds in the collection bill
There is no charge for the course,
estate. and ask you to just a commitment to pass on the
be vigilant about dumping. benefit to others in the community.
This is an effort to reduce illegal
dumping in our bin sheds which has The lock codes will be changed again The course takes place in
been driving up the waste collection shortly to ensure waste services are Fettercairn C & Y Centre on
bill over the last few years. only available to those who have paid Thursdays from 10 am to 1 pm
their fees. from April 15 to May 27.
These huge waste collection bills
have had the knock on effect of Please call the South Dublin County For further information contact
increased management fees for all Council Litter Warden, Mark Sutton on
Mary Clare Wallace on 086 267
residents. The Residents’ Committee 01 4149220, if you see any illegal
9944 or 01 466 4299.
support this initiative to reduce the dumping.
South Dublin County Childcare Support
Free Pre School Year already set up but need some support to of a range of services on offer,
Over 4,000 pre school services have signed keep the group going? including training and development,
up to take part in the Early Childhood Care
South Dublin County Childcare themed workshops, information
& Education scheme. If your child was born
Committee are launching a grant scheme sharing, funding and network support.
between the 2nd February & the 30th June
and support pack for Parent & Toddler Neighbourhood Meetings for
2007 you are eligible for a place from
groups in April. For more details contact childminders are running in this area
September 2010 to June/August 2011.
Lindsay on 01-4570122. soon.
Contact your local childcare service to see
if they are running the scheme. For more Childminding & Grants If you are already either a ‘voluntary’
details contact South Dublin County The role of South Dublin County or ‘HSE’ notified Childminder you can
Childcare Committee on 01-4570122 or Childcare Committee is to support the apply for a once off development
www.southdublinchildcare.ie development of quality childcare, grant – up to a maximum of €1,000.
recognising the value of a ‘home from For further information on the
Parent & Toddler Groups
home’ environment. If you are interested workshops and grants contact Claire
Would you like to get involved in setting
in becoming a Childminder you can avail on 01-4570122.
up a parent & toddler group or are you

In the Garden ...

What can you do now?
Clean up leaves and give the place a good
Now is the sweep and tidy up. If you have roses these
perfect time of can be pruned or cut back. See where there
year to put a is a new shoot emerging and cut just above
that point. Climbing plants with dead stems
few hours in to
can also be tidied up the same way.
the garden to
Clean and wash any old pots, containers or
get it ready for
baskets you have and leave them ready for
the Summer planting up next month when the weather
months gets a little warmer.
ahead ... If you have space indoors you could sow
some seeds now to give them a head start.
Check out a local garden centre and see
what takes your fancy – choose from
flowers, herbs, salads and vegetables. For
some instant colour buy a mix of
spring flowers that are about to come
in to bloom. Plant them into pots and
place beside your front and back door
where you’ll see them everyday as you
pass.
A nice combination for this month
would include:
• Mini narcissi (often called Tete-a-
tetes) – yellow with orange centres,
nicely scented.
• Hyacinths - fabulous perfume, many
colours.
Hyacinths, Narcissi,
• Blue muscari and mini irises .
Tulips & Primula; the
• Pink primulas. essence of Spring
• Green and white ivy plants.

Local Garden Centres

There are a number of excellent and award winning garden centres within minutes of Saggart
including:
Newlands Garden Centre at Newlands Cross Clondalkin T: 01 459 2013 www.newlands.ie
Orchard Garden Centre, on the Dublin Road in Celbridge T: 01 6288903 www.theorchard.ie
Johnstown Garden Centre on the N7 just before Naas T: 045 879138
www.johnstowngardencentre.ie

Millrace Resident’s Committee

Working on your behalf as a liaison between all residents and the estate’s managing agent, O’Farrell Property Management (OFPM). Our objective is to
represent the views of residents on the major issues which affect Millrace and to encourage, support and drive for improvements which will benefit the estate
as a whole.
To contact us or subscribe to our newsletter please email millracesaggart@gmail.com