1 July 1999 Edition
Sligo road nightmare persists
Newly-elected councillors to Sligo Corporation didn't waste any time at all in getting down to business. A week after their first meeting, councillors called a special meeting to hear from residents about the outrageous neglect of roads in the Cartron Bay Estate.
The roads and services on the estate were never completed at the time of the original construction of the houses over 20 years ago. Since then, potholes have grown to craters. Residents have to wade across lakes on the road and footpaths. Sometimes the water is up to the doorsteps. You'd need wellies to get out at all. Cars have been damaged negotiating a way to the houses. There is no compensation because the developer and the Corpo are disputing liability.
Eleven years ago, Cartron Bay Construction, Ltd., which originally built the 91 houses on the estate, was ordered by the High Court to repair the roads and services to the estate. They still haven't done so. Residents have asked the corporation to take over the job, which is estimated to cost £320,000. The Corporation has refused, saying that it is the developer's job to get the work done.
To the amazement of residents, last month the corporation agreed to sell a further one and a half acres of land to the very same development company that was refusing to finish the Cartron Bay Estate. Residents objected vociferously and the last meeting of the previous council reversed the decision to sell land to the company. Strange dealings on the previous corporation indeed.
At Monday's special meeting, councillors invited the residents in to explain the situation. It was to be a deputation, but Councillor Seán MacManus suggested that all the residents who had come to the Corporation meeting to protest should be invited in. They were. After Martin Feeney, spokesperson for the residents, had addressed the meeting, Arthur Gibbons, newly elected councillor from the area, proposed that the councillors might like to see the real nature of the problem by watching a video he had made. They did.
The councillors were horrified and unanimously supported a resolution calling on the council to perform the work, and everyone was happy until Joe Carter, the Corporation legal adviser, said that the corporation couldn't do the work until after the court case was over. The case, which has been going on for over a decade, was postponed yet again two weeks ago, until a date in October.
And after all is said and done, the council does not have the money anyway for these repairs. The suggestion that the corporation might take out a 15-year loan was rejected out of hand.
``A pyrrhic victory, so it was on Monday'', says Arthur, ``but we haven't finished yet. We can't go on like this. The estate is virtually inaccessible as it is. How would emergency services gain access? The fact that the corporation appears powerless is not a solution for those of us who live here,'' says Arthur.
The roads and services on the estate were never completed at the time of the original construction of the houses over 20 years ago. Since then, potholes have grown to craters. Residents have to wade across lakes on the road and footpaths. Sometimes the water is up to the doorsteps. You'd need wellies to get out at all. Cars have been damaged negotiating a way to the houses. There is no compensation because the developer and the Corpo are disputing liability.
Eleven years ago, Cartron Bay Construction, Ltd., which originally built the 91 houses on the estate, was ordered by the High Court to repair the roads and services to the estate. They still haven't done so. Residents have asked the corporation to take over the job, which is estimated to cost £320,000. The Corporation has refused, saying that it is the developer's job to get the work done.
To the amazement of residents, last month the corporation agreed to sell a further one and a half acres of land to the very same development company that was refusing to finish the Cartron Bay Estate. Residents objected vociferously and the last meeting of the previous council reversed the decision to sell land to the company. Strange dealings on the previous corporation indeed.
At Monday's special meeting, councillors invited the residents in to explain the situation. It was to be a deputation, but Councillor Seán MacManus suggested that all the residents who had come to the Corporation meeting to protest should be invited in. They were. After Martin Feeney, spokesperson for the residents, had addressed the meeting, Arthur Gibbons, newly elected councillor from the area, proposed that the councillors might like to see the real nature of the problem by watching a video he had made. They did.
The councillors were horrified and unanimously supported a resolution calling on the council to perform the work, and everyone was happy until Joe Carter, the Corporation legal adviser, said that the corporation couldn't do the work until after the court case was over. The case, which has been going on for over a decade, was postponed yet again two weeks ago, until a date in October.
And after all is said and done, the council does not have the money anyway for these repairs. The suggestion that the corporation might take out a 15-year loan was rejected out of hand.
``A pyrrhic victory, so it was on Monday'', says Arthur, ``but we haven't finished yet. We can't go on like this. The estate is virtually inaccessible as it is. How would emergency services gain access? The fact that the corporation appears powerless is not a solution for those of us who live here,'' says Arthur.