Before and after: Major dumping clean-up completed in Dundalk

The redesign of open, unused spaces in housing estates like Muirhevnamor needs to be a priority for Louth County Council, according to local councillor Ruairí Ó Murchú, who helped in a major clean-up of one such area.

A former playground at the back of houses at Doolargy Avenue was cleaned up over the course of three days this week, thanks to council amenity grants to a number of residents’ associations in Muirhevnamor, organised by the Dundalk South representative.

The area had become a massive dumping ground for all sorts of waste, including household, builders’ and electrical, and Sinn Fein Cllr. Ó Murchú said three industrial-sized skips were provided by Ecological Waste for the job.

Around eight workers from the TUS Muirhevnamor scheme spent three days, with Cllr. Ó Murchú, clearing the waste and the area has now been secured.

Cllr. Ó Murchú said: “It was clear once we started that this area had become a massive dumping ground for all types of material and I want to commend the TUS workers for the great job they did in clearing it.

“I also want to pay tribute to the council who not only provided the shovels and gloves for the job, as well as the amenity grants to pay for the waste removal, but also took away 20 further bags of rubbish we collected once the skips were full to capacity.

“There was also support from the council’s litter warden, who has committed to prioritising any reports made to him of dumping in this area into the future.

“This was a huge task and everyone pulled together to ensure it was completed. But it cannot be allowed to get bad again. It is imperative that people in the area feel confident about reporting dumping here.

“Those who used this area as a dumping ground are anti-community and their behaviour is anti-social. People in the area should have no concern reporting littering when they see it.

“The longer term solution, however, is for these spaces and alleyways to be designed out of areas like Doolargy Avenue by council investment, through infill housing or garden extensions”.