On Monday next Kerry County Council will vote on a plan which could leave Dingle with one-third of its town park cemented over as a car-park.
The council owns the park - the only public green space in the town - but for some years, the local authority has allowed it to fall into a state of disrepair. Cider parties are more common these evenings than the sight of local people enjoying an amenity supposedly held in trust for them.
When the council members cast their votes next Monday, they will be deciding whether to ratify a fundamental alteration to the Kerry County Development Plan.
The proposal is that one-third of the town park, a site comprising less than two acres, will lose its designation as an amenity area, allowing it to be used for roads and car parking instead.
An Taisce in Kerry has objected, as have groups of locals who have made known their feelings in submissions to the council. A report containing these views, together with the proposal and future development plans deriving from it, will be before the councillors at the meeting.
The park is known locally as the Orchard, but its more ancient name was the Archard, reflecting the fact that in medieval times the art of the bowman was practised there. Dingle was the only completely walled town in Co Kerry and part of the original medieval wall runs through the site of the proposed car-park. That is another reason, according to An Taisce and others who are against the plan, why it should not go ahead.
In its submission, An Taisce says alternative space for car parking is available and Kerry County Council could refurbish the town park while at the same time meeting the obvious need to create extra parking.
"The proposed development of a car-park would lead to a significant loss of amenity and a damaging intrusion into the historic core of the town. The effect of the development is such that it merits an environmental impact study which would quantify not only the damaging effects but also identify the alternatives which could be used.
"The town park is the last open space in the centre of Dingle. It is badly in need of refurbishment but it could be improved at small cost to make it an attractive, quiet corner where children come to play and old people relax, away from the bustle of the town.
"The proposed car-park would take up more than one-third of the existing park, would reduce the amenity area significantly and the noise of traffic from it would destroy local people's enjoyment of the park," the An Taisce submission says.
For more than two decades, Kerry County Council has owned the site which became the town park. However, its record of looking after the amenity is poor: so poor that Mr John Moriarty, chairman of the Main Street Traders' Association which supports the local authority's plans for a car-park, has described as "a disgrace" the manner in which the park has been neglected.
There were minor gestures by the council, such as the provision of playground equipment, suggesting the park was in municipal care, but it never really was.
One group of locals protesting against the plan has made a submission carrying over 100 signatures. A group member, Capt James Milhench, says the park was purchased by Kerry County Council in 1973 with a small contribution by the Dingle Chamber of Commerce. It was to be maintained for the benefit of the Dingle community as a town park.
But, Capt Milhench adds, it has been allowed to decay into a state of disrepair to the point where it has become a blot on the landscape and a disgrace to the council and the town. The council, in response, appears not to want to dwell on why the park was not maintained, although some council sources cite lack of funds, and argue instead that the most pressing problem is to deal with traffic congestion and the need to get cars off the streets.
By dealing with the traffic issue, a spokesman for the council said, the way would be cleared for the remaining part of the town park to be improved on a self-financing basis, using the revenue generated by the car-park. An archaeological assessment of the site would also be prepared, he added.
"Kerry County Council say they have no money to maintain and develop a park. I say the social implications of not keeping our park and the contribution it would make to our local community will prove much more costly," Capt Milhench said.
He is supported by the chairman of An Taisce in Kerry, Mr Bernie Goggin, who says the park should remain as a facility for the people of Dingle. "I'm calling on the council even now to scrap the plan and restore the park to its full potential for the benefit of all the people of the town," he said.
If the car-park proposal goes ahead, there is no doubt it will add to the commercial viability of businesses in its vicinity. Indeed, Mr Moriarty says that three years ago his traders' association offered to make £15,000 available towards the cost of installing an improved playground area in the park, to help the project on its way. The offer, he said, was still on the table.
"The improvements suggested will be very good for children in the town. I had four children myself and when they were growing up there was no place for them to play. The plans now being considered would solve that problem and help alleviate traffic as well," he said.