Wicklow County Council Give Update On Covid 19 Measures

The following arrangements are in place for Wicklow County Council Offices and the Municipal District Offices for week commencing Monday, 7th June, 2021.

Members of the public are asked not to visit Council offices during the current level of restrictions.    

Services to the public are by appointment only until further notice. 

Wicklow County Council, County Buildings, Wicklow:  Opening hours Monday to Friday 9.30am to 12.30pm and 2.00pm to 4.00pm by appointment only.   The Central Customer Service area will facilitate members of the public by appointment presenting for Housing, Planning and Environmental services.    Where possible payments can be made electronically or by phone.  Motor taxation can and should be renewed online during or submitted by post.  Planning applications can also be submitted by post.  If attending for an appointment member of the public will be required to complete a brief health and safety questionnaire regarding COVID-19 in order to minimise the risk of the spread of the virus. This information will be retained on file for 30 days to facilitate contact tracing if necessary but will then be destroyed.  Face coverings must be worn at all times if attending council buildings.

Municipal District Offices:  The Municipal District offices at Bray, Greystones, Arklow, Wicklow and Baltinglass/Blessington are open Monday to Friday,  9.30am to 12.30pm and 2.00pm to 4.00pm by appointment only. 

Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk:  The Bray to Greystones Cliff Walk remains partially closed, it is safe to walk from Bray along the Cliff Walk as far as Windgates steps. From there walkers can take the alternative Bray Head Looped Trail, which can be quite challenging or return on the Cliff Walk back to Bray.  The Greystones side of the Cliff Walk is extremely dangerous and is closed in certain spots. The Council continues to assess and has put in place measures for the short-term protection of the public and are actively pursuing an alternative route for the sections of the walk which are currently closed due to erosion.    The patience and co-operation of the public is appreciated during this partial closure.

 Car Parks at Brittas Bay North, Brittas Bay South and Glendalough – summer season began in all of the aforementioned carparks on 1st May, 2021 and charging into the carparks reintroduced.

Re-opening Business: Outdoor tables and chairs licensing under Section 254, to support social distancing for business to re-open, is extended to the end of September 2021.

Outdoor Dining: Applications for funding under the Outdoor Seating and Accessories for Tourism and Hospitality Business Scheme opened on the 12th April and will remain open until 30th September, 2021.  Funding up to €4,000 or 75% of costs is available to eligible applicants.  Fáilte Ireland in partnership with local authorities across the country is working to assist town centre hospitality businesses to increase their outdoor seating capacity while providing a safe environment for shoppers and diners.  The key aim of the scheme is to provide support to individual hospitality and tourism businesses towards the cost of equipment to provide additional outdoor seating and facilitate individual businesses to increase their outdoor dining capacity for the summer of 2021.  Please note that applicants who wish to place seating and/or furniture on public property must have a Section 254 license in place; applicants who wish to place seating and/or furniture on private property must have satisfied all necessary planning requirements.  More information can be found on www.wicklow.ie/Living/ConsultationHub

Housing Services, Bray Municipal District:  Members of the public are asked to make contact in advance at braymdhousing@wicklowcoco.ie  or by telephoning (01) 2744900 if they wish to make an appointment to meet with a member of the housing staff in the Bray Municipal District Offices.

Motor taxation services, Blessington Municipal District:   For Motor Tax Transactions that cannot be submitted by post or renewed online, Members of the public are asked to make contact in advance at blessingtonmd@wicklowcoco.ie or by telephoning (045) 891222 for an appointment.

Libraries:   Wicklow County Council Library Service is operating a Browse & Borrow service at all of our 13 library branches.  This means:

- Customers can come in and browse the shelves and borrow.

- Customers can return library items.

- Remote printing is available, where technology allows.

-Study spaces and computer use are unavailable for now, but we hope to be able to reintroduce this in the near future. We will keep web-site and social media up to date, to inform you if/when this changes

 Please refer to individual library branches for opening times as some may have changed, details on https://www.wicklow.ie/Living/Services/Libraries/Library-Branches

“Grow it Forward” Campaign - The “Grow it Forward” campaign for Wicklow County Council is up and running, as part of a national campaign under Healthy Ireland.  It’s being operated from Greystones library for East and South Wicklow, or Blessington library for West Wicklow.  We’ll arrange for a Grow It Yourself kit to be sent to you. Each kit is a large envelope that contains five packs of seeds (tomatoes, beetroot, carrot, peas and oriental greens), 10 gift labels (for sharing), and a Growing Guide. If interested in taking part, email Fiona in Greystones (fscannell@wicklowcoco.ie ), or Deirdre in Blessington  (dpriestley@wicklowcoco.ie), giving your full address and Eircode.

Community Call hours:  The County Wicklow Community Call helpline service continues and will operate Monday to Friday 9.00 am to 5.00pm. Telephone:   1800 868 399 or email covidsupport@wicklowcoco.ie.  Trained staff are available to co-ordinate assistance to elderly and vulnerable persons.

‘Keep Well’ Campaign:  Remember to look after your mental health and wellbeing.  Find out what is available in your local community by visiting  www.wicklow.ie/wellbeing for tips and resources on how to stay connected, mind your mood, or switch off and take part in activities either indoor or outdoor.  Recipes and tips on eating well can be found there also. 

 Members of the public can contact our offices via the following numbers/email addresses:

Recycling Facilities at Bray, Wicklow, Arklow, Avoca and Rampere remain open this Saturday and on weekdays.  Further details are available on the Council’s Website.

Your Local Enterprise Office:  The LEO is the first stop shop for business supports and offers a range of supports to business impacted by COVID-19 including training, mentoring, answering customs queries and access to funding.

For more information on these supports please see: https://www.localenterprise.ie/Wicklow/Financial-Supports/COVID-19/ and https://www.localenterprise.ie/response/

Please call 0404 30800 or email: enterprise@leo.wicklowcoco.ie to start the conversation.

Wicklow County Council would like to thank members of the public in advance for their patience and understanding.  The safety of our employees and members of the public remains our priority.  Measures will be kept under review in accordance with Government announcements. 

Further information in relation to all Wicklow County Council Services are available on the Council’s website:  www.wicklow.ie