COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, November 12, 2012

MOTION NO. 7

MOTION: Councillor A.M. Dermody

That this Council outline what justifications there can be for the reluctance of this Council not to permit advertising on the roundabouts within the County, in circumstances where this Council have hitherto fore accepted and provided advertising at these same roundabouts in previous years and where there are businesses willing to pay for such a service.  Reasons given to date include health and safety concerns, disinterest by businesses and that the revenue gathered fails to justify the effort.

Please explain what additional health and safety issues arise that would not ordinarily arise in the general up-keeping and maintenance of our roundabouts.  Please explain what possible justification there can be for this Council refusing revenue in a climate of reduced revenue sources.  There needs to be a joined up approach in supporting local businesses, these are the same businesses that provide local jobs and pay revenue to this Council in the form of rates.

REPORT:

There are at present seventy two roundabouts in the county in charge of, and under the control, of the Council. It has not proven possible to attract sponsorship over the years for the majority of roundabouts because the balance between the profile of the location against the cost of maintenance is not attractive to companies. In recent years, seven roundabouts have been replaced with signal controlled junctions. When contacted and offered alternative locations only two of the sponsoring companies accepted the alternative locations.

From 2008 there has been a significant drop in the level of interest in the scheme. A promotional drive was undertaken in 2010 which included seeking expressions of interest for a period of one year on any of the roundabouts in charge in the county. No responses were received to the public advertisement. The Council continued arrangements that were in place with the few remaining companies through 2011 and into this year.

A review of the scheme has now been carried out which has sought to make the scheme more attractive to potential bidders by providing for landscaping projects that would significantly reduce the number of follow on maintenance visits required at each site and the attendant costs of works. This revised currently under discussion with the Roads Department and it is hoped that the new scheme will provide a better balance between traffic management and safety, maintenance requirements/costs and the level of sponsorship income that can be generated from the roundabouts in question. It must be noted that the priority criteria will at all times remain traffic safety and that the level of promotion/advertising available to sponsoring companies will always be somewhat limited by safety concerns however the Council is keen to advance the scheme and guage whether the level of interest has changed since 2010.

In addition to the sponsorship of roundabouts, the scheme will be extended to seek expressions of interest for sponsorship of other works that enhance the public realm at other locations within the county - works such as landscaping of open/public space, roadside locations, provision of litter bins etc will be considered. It is intended to re-launch the scheme shortly seeking proposals from companies and it is hoped that it will generate a lot of interest.