People are 'hanging around with menace' in Athlone Civic Square

Westmeath County Council is being urged to tackle the issue of people "hanging around with menace" in the vicinity of Athlone Civic Centre.

The issue of loitering in the Civic Square was raised by Fianna Fail councillors Frankie Keena and Aengus O'Rourke during a discussion on a motion from the latter at the February meeting of the local Municipal District this week.

The motion called on the council to "consider all options and draw-up a plan to re-imagine the area to the rear of the Civic Centre and put it to good use."

Describing the area as being "idle and rejected in appearance" Cllr O'Rourke also said there was an issue with the Civic Square itself.

"It is indeed regrettable that people are hanging around with menace," in the square, he claimed, adding that this activity discourages others from using the civic space.

"Part of this problem is evidenced by the fact that we now have graffiti on the base of the Count John McCormack statue, and that cannot be condoned," he said.

District Engineer Pat Nally said the council had "tried numerous products" in an effort to remove graffiti from the Count John McCormack statue and was "still working on it."

In the written response to Cllr O'Rourke's motion, Westmeath County Council said the area behind the Civic Centre was "being maintained" but acknowledged that it has been closed to public access for some years.

"Prior to this, it was subject to loitering and anti-social behaviour, because it is not overlooked and is not on a pedestrian desire line," the council response said.

"The risk of a recurrence of such behaviour remains and it is recommended that the area remain closed off until there is a significant change in the surrounding environment," the council concluded.

Cllr O'Rourke described the response as "a bit of a defeatist approach" and said the whole area "needs to be re-imagined or it will remain locked up forever."

Director of Services Barry Kehoe remarked that "everything changes with time" and he reminded members that when the area behind the Civic Centre was closed off seven or eight years ago it was because of anti-social behaviour.

"I would not be in favour of re-opening this area at the present time," he added.

Cllr Louise Heavin said this area was "a public space" and should be made available for public use, while Aengus O’Rourke suggested that perhaps a cycle lane could be installed as there was a need for "passive surveillance."