Latest news with #publicaccess
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Castletown House campaigners being sued by companies in row over gates and fencing ‘blocking' key access route
Companies being sued by a community group over new gates allegedly blocking public access to a period house and its estate are now suing the organisation. Last month Save Castletown Committee CLG brought a High Court action over gates and connected fencing erected by the owners of a 235-acre parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House in Celbridge, Co Kildare. Campaigners say the gates and fencing are blocking public vehicular access to the house and grounds via a road known as Gay's Avenue. Celio Properties Ltd, Kilross Properties Ltd, Liffey Bridge Homes Ltd and Springwood Properties Ltd acquired the parcel of land in April 2023. READ MORE The rest of the estate – including the lands where the 18th century house is situated – is owned by the Office of Public Works. Late last month the companies brought separate High Court proceedings against Save Castletown Committee and two of its directors, Fintan Monaghan and Treasa Keegan. The companies have taken the proceedings against Mr Monaghan and Ms Keegan personally and in their capacities as representatives of the committee, court documents have stated. In its proceedings, Save Castletown Committee is seeking an order requiring the companies to remove the gates and fencing. The committee, with an address at Woodview, Castletown, Celbridge, says the gates and fencing are an development, as planning permission was not obtained. But in the companies' proceedings, they argue the committee has 'wrongfully asserted' that their lands are subject to a public right of way and a public right of access. The companies, with registered addresses at Millennium Park, Naas, Co Kildare, and Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare, are seeking orders restraining the defendants from making a claim of public right of way in respect of their lands within the Castletown House demesne. The defendants say that establishing this public right of way is necessary to their argument in the unauthorised development proceedings. Both sets of proceedings return to court next week. In a sworn statement filed in the unauthorised development proceedings, Mr Monaghan said the public had previously 'enjoyed habitual access' to Castletown House via Gay's Avenue. This access has been blocked by the newly erected gates, he said. He said that the ongoing blocking of access to Castletown House at Gay's Avenue was having a 'severe impact' on the local community. Mr Monaghan said his group's purpose was to promote public access to the Castletown House estate and the reunification of the historic demesne lands. '[Save Castletown House] believes that Castletown lands are of vital historical, cultural and ecological significance for the community of Celbridge and Leixlip, and therefore considers that they should be in state ownership for the use and benefit of the people of the area and for the State as a whole,' he said.
BreakingNews.ie
2 days ago
- Business
- BreakingNews.ie
Castletown House activists sued by companies over alleged public right of way claim
A set of related companies, sued by a community group over the erection of gates allegedly blocking public access to a period house and its estate in Co Kildare, have brought separate High Court proceedings against the group and its directors. Last month, Save Castletown Committee CLG brought a High Court action claiming gates and connected fencing, erected by the owners of a 235-acre parcel of land within the historic demesne of Castletown House in Celbridge, are blocking public vehicular access to the house and grounds via a road known as Gay's Avenue. Advertisement Celio Properties Ltd, Kilross Properties Ltd, Liffey Bridge Homes Ltd and Springwood Properties Ltd acquired the parcel of land in April 2023. The rest of the estate - including the lands where the 18th-century house is situated - is owned by the Office of Public Works. Late last month, the companies brought separate proceedings against Save Castletown Committee, and two of its directors, Fintan Monaghan and Treasa Keegan. The companies have taken the proceedings against Mr Monaghan and Ms Keegan in their personal capacities, and in their capacities as representatives of the committee, according to court documents. In its proceedings, Save Castletown Committee, who is represented by FP Logue solicitors, is seeking an order requiring the companies to remove the gates and fencing. The committee, with an address at Woodview, Castletown, Celbridge, says planning permission was not obtained. Advertisement In their proceedings, the companies claim the committee has 'wrongfully asserted' that their lands are subject to a public right of way and a public right of access. The companies, with registered addresses at Millenium Park, Naas, Co Kildare and Turnings, Straffan, Co Kildare, are seeking orders restraining the defendants from making a claim of public right of way in respect of their lands within the Castletown House demesne. They say that establishing this public right of way is necessary to their argument in the unauthorised development proceedings. Both sets of proceedings return to court next week. Advertisement Ireland Legal challenge over alleged unauthorised gates bl... Read More In a sworn statement filed in the unauthorised development proceedings, Mr Monaghan says the public has previously 'enjoyed habitual access' to Castletown House via Gay's Avenue. This access has been blocked by the newly erected gates, he claims. Mr Monaghan says that the ongoing blocking of access to Castletown House at Gay's Avenue is having a 'severe impact' on the local community. Mr Monaghan says his group's purpose is to promote public access to the Castletown House estate, and the reunification of the historic demesne lands. '[Save Castletown House] believes that Castletown lands are of vital historical, cultural, and ecological significance for the community of Celbridge and Leixlip, and therefore considers that they should be in State ownership for the use and benefit of the people of the area and for the State as a whole,' he says.
CTV News
3 days ago
- Climate
- CTV News
98% of water bodies inaccessible to the Quebec public: study
People try to beat the 33C temperatures at Verdun Beach as the heat wave continues Friday, June 19, 2020, in Montreal. (Ryan Remiorz/The Canadian Press) Based on a study showing that 98 percent of lakes and rivers in southern Quebec are inaccessible to the public, the Fondation Rivières is calling on the government to preserve the few existing public access points to water but also to create new ones. Quebec, with its 500,000 lakes and 4,500 rivers, is known for its unrivalled abundance of freshwater bodies. However, the vast majority of lakes and rivers in the southern part of the province are inaccessible to the public. A study by researchers Sébastien Rioux and Rodolphe Gonzalès of the University of Montreal, released on Tuesday, shows that the shores of three out of ten bodies of water in southern Quebec are entirely privatized, with no public access to the water, and that the shores of three out of four lakes are at least 90 per cent privatized. An analysis of 624 bodies of water and 56,729 waterfront lots in 104 municipalities shows that 98 per cent of lakes and rivers in southern Quebec are inaccessible to the public. 'We cannot go back and correct decades of neglect, so we must facilitate passage on foot on private land to restore access to lakes and rivers,' said Fondation Rivières executive director André Bélanger. The organization, therefore, recommends that Municipal Affairs Minister Andrée Laforest draw inspiration from mechanisms adopted in other countries to resolve this situation. The Fondation Rivières proposes three priority actions to be implemented: Require municipalities to 'compensate for any loss of existing access with equivalent access to the same body of water or territory.' Allow 'pedestrian access to water bodies on private land by adopting a framework law affirming the public nature of riverbanks, accompanied by concrete mechanisms to create new access points, including the creation of rights of way when private land is sold.' Limit or exempt the civil liability of owners and managers of public access points in order to encourage them to allow pedestrians to cross their private land to access a body of water. At a news conference on Wednesday morning, the Rivières Foundation pointed out that the Planning and Development Act requires municipalities to identify waterways 'that are of recreational interest,' but municipalities are under no obligation to take concrete measures to protect access to them. 'It took the municipality of Sainte-Anne-des-Lacs two years to convince residents to allow it to develop a small beach for the benefit of 50 per cent of residents who have no access to the lakes in their municipality. With a clear framework law, this type of conflict could be avoided,' argued Canot Kayak Quebec executive director Emmanuel Laferrière. Section 920 of the Civil Code of Quebec states that 'any person may travel on watercourses and lakes, provided that they can legally access them, do not infringe on the rights of riparian owners, do not set foot on the banks and comply with the conditions of use of the water'. Quebec law is contradictory in many respects, according to one of the authors of the study, Sébastien Rioux, a professor in the Department of Geography at the University of Montreal, because it recognizes 'a right to use water, but does not provide for any right of access.' Access to bodies of water, laments the Rivers Foundation, is becoming increasingly difficult due to the privatization of riverbanks, but also because 'more and more municipalities are imposing excessive fees' or regulations that prevent non-residents from going to beaches or riverbanks, which further hinders access. This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on June 18, 2025.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Illinois' best 15 public golf courses rankings: See what's No. 1
What are the best public-access golf courses in the state of Illinois? Trying to narrow the nearly 300 Illinois public-access golf courses into a top 15 is daunting, but that's just what Golfweek, part of the USA TODAY Network just like the Journal Star, has been doing for many years. Advertisement Golfweek earlier this month revealed its full state-by-state rankings for public-access golf courses, and Illinois' top courses were distilled into the 15 best. The top spot is held by Dubsdread — No. 4 course at Cog Hill Golf Club in Lemont. No. 2 is TPC Deere Run in Silvis, while The Glen Club in Glenview sits at No. 3. How do the rankings come to pass? Golfweek uses hundreds of course raters to analyze 10 different criteria on a scale of 1-10 at each place to produce an average course rating. Those categories include routing, conditioning, greens, and memorability and variety of golf holes. Raters also file a single, overall rating on each course, which are averaged to produce all of Golfweek's Best course rankings. To qualify, a course must allow public play in some fashion. "If there's a will, there's a tee time — no membership required," Golfweek's creative director and travel editor Jason Lusk writes. Here is Golfweek's top 15 ranking for Illinois public-access golf courses as of 2025: Illinois best public golf course rankings for 2025 by Golfweek Advertisement Peoria golf: Peoria golf facility being remade like TopGolf. The latest on the $6.5 million project Find the rest of Golfweek's state-by-state rankings, and check back for more rankings in June. This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Best Illinois public golf course rankings for 2025: Top 15
CTV News
13-06-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Concern over plan to remove LTC inspection reports from public access
Two Sudbury-area MPPS are concerned about a provincial plan to reduce public access to inspection reports conducted in the province's LTC homes. Two Sudbury-area MPPS are concerned about a provincial plan to reduce public access to inspection reports conducted in the province's LTC homes. After inspection orders in December, Extendicare Countryside can now take on new residents. But if a new government proposal takes effect, those inspection reports won't be publicly available three years from now. Bill 46, Protect Ontario by Cutting Red Tape Act, would remove public access to inspection reports issued to long-term care homes after three years. LTC inspection reports After inspection orders in December, Extendicare Countryside can now take on new residents. But if a new government proposal takes effect, those inspection reports won't be publicly available three years from now. (File) That's concerning for Sudbury MPP Jame West and Nickel Belt MPP France Gelinas, who say the records provide accountability. 'If you're making informed decisions and you see that there were issues three years ago and there has been none for three years, well then you can make an informed decision,' West said. 'But if you see that there's one or two (issues) in the past three years, but you have no idea what happened before that, maybe there's a trend or maybe there's just the odd issue that came up more recently. We think that people should have a more informed decision-making ability.' West used the example of the serious problems in long-term care homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, which would be among the records that would be removed. Should be improving care 'Instead of improving long-term care, they're just making it look better by removing past records,' he said. In response to a request, the Ministry of Long-Term Care sent this statement to CTV News: 'The government is ensuring that individuals and their loved ones have access to relevant and accurate information that reflects each long-term care home's current performance. The new three-year timeframe aligns with inspection industry practices, such as inspections for child-care settings, as well as with the compliance history timeframe considered by inspections.' The Ministry also said that 'reports outside the three-year time period will continue to be maintained by the ministry and will be available upon request.' As for Extendicare Countryside, after making changes, the ministry said it can resume accepting new admissions. However, staff must work with Ontario Health AtHome on a gradual plan that meets the needs of all residents. Can welcome new residents In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for Extendicare said Countryside facility has the capacity to welcome more than 30 new residents. 'Over the past six months, Countryside has invested significant time and effort in improvement,' the email said. 'We have openly shared progress through ongoing communication to families and residents and continue to work cooperatively with the family and resident councils. The home has worked hard to address ministry feedback, and their efforts have resulted in all compliance orders against the home being resolved.' Extendicare said it remains focused on its action plan and long-term, sustained improvements, including filling all open roles, including nurses and personal support workers at Extendicare Countryside, with permanent team members. It has also launched extensive re-education for team members on core clinical practices. Leaders have strengthened engagement with the Family Council and Resident Council and its increased support and staffing for cleaning within the home. 'We will continue to work in partnership with the Ministry, our Resident and Family Councils, and our team members to ensure Countryside is a place where residents are proud to call home and team members are proud to work,' the statement said.
