A new estate of 40
local authority houses will be allocated to tenants
in Clonbeg in the coming days despite Buncrana
councillors' concerns about safety.
The estate was officially named at the recent
monthly meeting as Dun na nIarlai or Earl's Fort in
recognition of the 400th anniversary of the Flight
of the Earls.
However, the name is the least of the
worries of town councillors who fear the Cockhill
Bridge is not safe enough to accommodate the
increased volume of traffic the new estate will
create.
But local authority officials say a new footbridge
will be built in the coming weeks to facilitate the
new residents.
"Cockhill Bridge itself constitutes a footbridge at
the minute," said Cllr. Peter McLaughlin. Town Mayor
Joe Doherty agreed. He said: "It's a total disaster.
I think the money that's going into the new
footbridge should be going into the existing
bridge."
Cllr. Dermot McLaughlin slated the "total failure"
of Donegal County Council to put in place the "basic
infrastructure" in Buncrana.
He accused Donegal County Council of not spending
the charges earned from Buncrana development, in the
town.
"I have been constantly asking where the Buncrana
development charges are being spent. I think Donegal
County Council has recouped them from Buncrana and
spent them elsewhere. It (the Council) is making big
brogues out of other people's leather," he said.
Cllr. Padraig MacLochlainn said it was councillors
who were left to face the public when the Council
got it wrong. "You don't grant planning permission
for hundreds of houses unless you have the basic
infrastructure in place," he said. Cllr. Nicholas
Crossan challenged his colleagues to object in
future, if they dared, to planning permission being
granted if they felt the infrastructure was not
available to cope.
Cllr. Daren Lalor said there was a need for the
houses in Clonbeg to be allocated to the tenants in
need of them.
Council officials including Buncrana town clerk,
Paul Doyle and town manager, Liam Kelly confirmed
the houses would be released within two weeks while
a new footbridge would be built in the weeks
following their allocation.
Meanwhile, referring to the name of the new estate,
Cllr. Nicholas Crossan said that, in future, the
Council should consider naming streets and estates
after people who have made a significant
contribution to the town. He said Buncrana Main
Street was still without a name.
Cllr. Lalor welcomed the naming of the new estate in
the Irish language. He said when he passed an
existing estate in the town - Victoria Gardens - his
"stomach turned". He asked how a town like Buncrana
could be happy with an estate called after "the
Famine Queen". |
