Brennanstown Residents Association

Minutes Of AGM

27th January 2020, Cabinteely Parish Hall

Committee Members in attendance.

Gina Cassidy, William Fitzpatrick, Geraldine Hurley, Paul Hurley (Treasurer), Leo Kearns (Secretary), Jenny Mangan (Social Secretary), Stephen Murphy (Chairman), Mark Wainer

35 residents attended.

Cllr Jim Gildea attended.

The chairman opened the meeting and thanked the residents for attending.

Neighbourhood Watch

Community Garda Gavin Fleet updated the AGM on local crime matters.

There were two reported Break-Ins in Brennanstown in 2019. This is very low in comparison to the surrounding area.

There were no reports of anti social behaviour to the Gardaí

The residents association are in regular contact with Gavin and his colleagues in Cabinteely.

There has been a number of burgalaries in the Dublin 18 area in recent months, several people suspected to be involved in these incidents were arrested in the last few weeks. The Gardaí expect these arrests to have an impact on crime in the area.

Gavin stressed the importance of reporting any suspicious activity to the Gardaí at Cabinteely on 016665400.

The residents association committee have Neighbourhood Watch stickers and other materials. If you’d like any please contact a committee member.

Chairmans Report

Good evening everyone and welcome to our 2020 annual general meeting.

We have a number of items that we will attempt to get through this evening that I hope gives you a flavour of the work we do and the aims we have for the coming twelve months.

The overall purpose of our organisation is creating and enhancing the community in Brennanstown.

We hope to continue to build on our contribution to a safe, busy and successful community in the area. Our community is evidenced by the mix of people living in the development in age, family stage and cultural diversity.

The committee I believe does an excellent job and truly reflects the desire to promote Brennanstown as a community. The committee members represent different part of Brennanstown, they live in Le Hunt House, Rochfort House, Carleton House, the Avenue, and the Court. The committee members meet on the first Tuesday of the month.

There are 230 residential units in Brennanstown 40% are owner occupied, the other 60% are rented. The residents association currently has a membership of 95 households which represents 41.2%

The residents association (RA) is funded by our members subscriptions. In 2019 the membership fee was €20 per household. For the avoidance of doubt one payment is required per household per calendar year if you wish to be a member. Paying membership helps us carry out the work we do. I would encourage you to support us and hope you agree that the payback goes well beyond the €20. Membership can be paid by bank transfer, PayPal or in person to a committee member.

In 2019 the RA applied for grants and received some funding from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. The treasurer will detail this separately.

At the request of the Residents Association, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council rebuilt the ramp at Cabinteely Stream and the ramp at the entrance to the development. They also upgraded the street lights from the old Bray Rd to Cabinteely Stream.

We are grateful for the support of our councillors, in particular I would like to mention Jim Gildea and Carrie Smyth, both of whom have been very helpful.

We engage with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council on a regular basis on behalf of the residents. In 2019 we attended a number of meetings with the council, Bus Connects, Cabinteely District Residents Association, Cabinteely Tidy Towns and DLR PPN.

In the last 12 months the RA organised three social events.

In May we held a Bake Off which was attended by over 80 residents.

In June we held a BBQ attended by over 100 residents.

In December we hosted a Mulled Wine & Mince Pies event, it was attended by approx 40 residents.

In September we built and installed a community library. The library has proved to be a huge success, with many younger residents checking it out every day after school. It’s also proved popular with some of our older resident too. There is a great selection of books suitable for all ages and reading tastes.

I would like to thank Jenny Mangan for coming up with the idea and managing the library on behalf of the residents association and Mark Wainer for building the library.

The committee monitors planning applications in the Cabinteely area. We share planning news on twww.BrennanstownRA.com and our social media channels.

We organise a monthly “clean up” which takes place on the first Saturday of the month. We’d like to thank residents for their involvement it’s greatly appreciated.

We have a number of tools to help us communicate with residents including the website (brennanstownra.com), Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and notice boards in the bin sheds and in the lobby of each of the apartment blocks. All of which are updated regularly.

We are in regular contact with the management company and meet with them on site once a month or so. In 2019 we worked with them on the following projects

• Installed 6 benches in the Square

• Additional planting throughout the development
• Roofing of bin sheds 3 + 4
• New signage
• Skip Saturday
• Cleaning exteriors of duplex units
• Traffic Management & parking
• Anti Social Behaviour
• The RA joined the neighbourhood watch scheme in June, we’re in regular contact with community garda Gavin Fleet.

Treasurers Report

The treasurer detailed the financial status of the residents association. As mentioned in the chairmans report just over 40% of households are members of the residents association.

All residents are welcome to join and each subscription is vital to the success of the RA.

Additional funding was secured from Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, this funding is dependent on the RA having an active membership and healthy bank balance.

If any member would like a copy of the Treasurers report please contact the residents association committee.

Environment Report

The RA hosts a monthly clean up which takes place on the first Saturday of every month. We encourage residents to participate in the clean up, it’s a great way to get to know your neighbours, it’s a bit of fun and Brennanstown looks better for it!

We generally focus on the flowerbeds at the entrance to the development and the road and footpath to Cabinteely Stream.

We provide all of the necessary equipment.

We’d like to thank those residents who have given up their Saturday mornings taken part in a clean up or two.

In 2019 Brennanstown was commended by the Tidy Towns judges. We’d also like to thank Cabinteely Tidy Towns for their support.
We’ll be meeting with the gardening contractor in the coming weeks to discuss plans for the year ahead including replacing damaged trees in Brennanstown Square.

• The RA recently met with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Parks Dept. Following the meeting several actions were agreed with the parks department.

• 30 native trees to be planted between Cabinteely Stream and the apartment blocks in the next couple of months. This is due to happen in late February or early March.

• Fencing around the pond and river will be removed. The river and pond will be cleaned up. This will happen later in 2020.

• At the request of the Residents Association the trees along Brennanstown Ave were cut back in order to improve visibility at night. This was completed in December.

• The Parks Dept provided the RA with 400 crocus bulbs, these were planted along the avenue before Christmas.

Planning

Planning application approved for 72 residential units (a mix of apartments and houses) at Ards Cartref on the Old Bray Road. There is no news on when these will be built.

Tudor Homes have been granted permission for 367 residential units on the southern border of Brennanstown.

They have also been granted permission for 342 residential units on the same site. We have contacted dlrcc planning department and asked which of these developments will proceed. They don’t know. We’ll continue to monitor this development.

Marlet Property Group has submitted plans for 234 units on the Doyles Nursery site to the rear of the three storey houses on Brennanstown Avenue. This is double the size of the previously approved development on this site. At the request of the Residents Association the management company engaged the services of a planning consultant who submitted an objection on behalf of the residents.

The residents association will continue to monitor planning applications in the area and share with residents when appropriate.

Social Activities 2020

It was agreed by those in attendance that the May Bank Holiday weekend Bake Off and Summer BBQ were a great success and the RA should organise similar events in 2020.

It’s proposed that the RA organise a Bake Off / Community Day on the May Bank Holiday weekend and a summer BBQ on Saturday June 20th.

*Dates are subject to change

Annual Subscription

It was agreed unanimously by those in attendance that the residents association annual subscription will remain at €20 for 2020.

A letter will be posted to every household and payment will be collected in late February.

Recycling (Skip Saturday)

Several residents thanked the RA for organising the hire of the skips in September and asked that this be repeated in 2020. The RA will explore suitable dates.

Maintainence

A number of residents raised maintenance issues in Brennanstown.

The management company (Andersons) must be the first point of contact for residents with a maintenance issue. The RA is primarily focused on enhancing social and community development in Brennanstown. If residents are not satisfied with the response from Andersons we can then provide assistance.

Committee Members

Jenny Mangan resigned from the committee. Jenny will continue in her role as librarian of the Brennanstown Little Library. The chairman thanked Jenny for her work over the last year.

Roopesh Kumar Panicker was nominated by Jenny and was voted unanimously to the committee.

Cllr Jim Gildea spoke about the strong relationship the RA has with local councillors and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council.

Residents thanked the committee for the their work in the last year.

The chairman brought the meeting to a close and thanked the committee members for their work in 2019.

The chairman also thanked the residents for attending and for their support and participation in the last 12 months.