The long-awaited cleaning and de-silting of the King’s River at Callan has been hit with yet another delay, much to the frustration of local residents and political representatives alike.
The May meeting of the Callan/Thomastown Municipal District was told that a Natura Impact Statement (NIS) will have to be conducted and approved before any works can be carried out in the river.
The project, which would involve the removal of silt mounds which have formed in the river over many years, has been regularly reported on by KCLR News in recent years:
Kilkenny County Council pledge to find flooding solution for Callan
Delays frustrate King’s River clean-up in Callan
A Kilkenny councillor says hes frustrated that works to the Kings River will not go ahead this year
“When I was elected in 2019, one of the top things I said to myself that I’d like to do was the King’s River” said Local Councillor and Municipal District Chairperson Joe Lyons (FG). “But here we are, nearly a full seven years later, and it’s still not done.
“There was a plan drawn up (for the river) back in the 70s with the Inland Fisheries, which is very similar to the plan that’s been a place now for a good number of years – but back then, there was no money for it.
“So I set off on a long, long journey to try and see what funding could be made available and in fairness to two ministers at the time, Heather Humphreys and Patrick O’Donovan, we brought them to the town, we then worked together with their departments and their great backroom teams, and while it did take nearly another year, we eventually got funding of a quarter of a million (Euro). That money was allocated three years ago and the work was meant to be done by now.
“In fairness to Heather, she made sure that the finances, the quarter of a million, would be held if the works weren’t carried out. That was in 2023 and it’s now 2026. The money is still there but the works aren’t complete.”
Cllr Lyons spoke to KCLR News in Callan today about the project’s latest setback.
