MEATH COUNTY Council staff yesterday began to dismantle a pet farm and playground which the local authority said was built without planning permission on a green area in an estate in Kentstown, outside Navan.
Council staff were accompanied by gardaí, including members of the armed regional response unit, yesterday. It is understood they arrived at 7.30am with a mini-digger and flat-bed lorries.
The council said in April 2010 it had written to the landowners about the unauthorised development. The owners said they had not built the facility. The council said it could not “firmly establish” or “prove” whose development it was and wrote to every resident in the estate and said it would be “removing the structure”.
Pet animals such as rabbits and ducks were loaded into cages to be taken away by the council, much to the anger of locals. Later, the animals were handed over to the residents, who said they would take responsibility for them.
The pet farm site is in Churchfields estate, directly across from the home of resident Alan Bradley, who strongly criticised the council yesterday. He said it was the only amenity for children nearby, another playground being some 8km away in Duleek.
“It’s a disgrace what they are doing here. We were ringing the council about cleaning it [the site] up – the council wouldn’t clean it up and they had no interest in it,” he said. When it was cleaned up and “a playground and a bit of a pets’ corner put in, they have a problem with it. We all chipped in together – the fence was €3,500.”
Mr Bradley said the only resolution would be to reinstate the amenity. “All we care about is the safety of the children. They don’t seem to give a s**te about the safety of anybody, they just want to enforce their planning laws.” Locals said the amenities were built for the children by the residents’ association.
There was a large sheltered terrace with picnic tables and other seating at the site yesterday which appeared to have been used for a children’s party. Beside these was a wooden playhouse and the area containing the small petting animals. It was accessed by a tarmacked driveway.
Council staff took down fences around the farm and play area. Mr Bradley ran to remonstrate with them as they took down a gate forming part of the fence closest to a steep part of the embankment. Gardaí intervened and helped to keep the situation calm.
Amanda McCarthy, who said she was secretary of the estate’s residents’ association, said: “I feel absolutely devastated, the residents feel devastated. They have decided to take the little petting area away – we had geese, rabbits and ducks. It was for the whole area . . . When we first took stuff out, there was washing machines – it was a tip.” Joseph McEntaggart said: “We have put thousands into this,” while grandmother Anne Byrne said: “My grandkids live in this estate and it’s despicable and disgraceful what they have done here this morning.”
Later, a council spokesman said contractors had secured the site and made it safe.