Giant hogweed and otters “jeopardising children’s safety” in Collooney - Councillor
GIANT hogweed and the presence of otters in a section of the Owenmore River in Collooney which has stalled the provision of a new footpath, pedestrian crossings and public lighting in Collooney prompted one local councillor to suggest the otters and hogweed are “jeopardising” children’s safety.
Cllr Thomas Walsh said this week that the majority of families are walking to and from local schools on a busy road at Knockbeg where in part there is no footpath or public lighting. He fears a child may be injured or worse on the road. Cllr Walsh said the badly needed footpath and pedestrian crossings cannot go ahead because of the hogweed and otters. “This is jeopardising the safety of local children,” he told the Sligo Weekender.
Speaking at Monday’s meeting of the SligoDrumcliffe Municipal District, Cllr Walsh said he was disappointed to be told by Sligo County Council that the much-needed work at Knockbeg, Collooney, had not progressed because of “an ecological issue”.
“The otters and hogweed will be the least of the council’s worries if a child is injured,” he said.
Cllr Walsh said the residents needed lighting and footpaths. The council should not be giving permission to build estates if it is not prepared to put in footpaths and provide light.
“So, we are saying there are otters and hogweed preventing a footpath from being built yet we are giving planning permission for a large development, we are imposing service charges to the developer, yet otters and hogweed are going to stop us ensuring safe access to the centre of the village?”
He asked if an Environmental Impact Study (EIS) could be carried out on what would be “a small piece of work”.
Declan Noone, Senior Executive Engineer, said that as part of the preliminary process for the implementation of this project a site visit under ecological assessment was carried out. The presence of giant hogweed was identified on the site, together with indicators that otters are present along the banks of the Owenmore River.
“These conditions necessitate the requirement for the submission of an environmental impact assessment to An Bord Pleanála.
“The council proposes to re-evaluate the project in terms of extent, design, scope, and implementation.
“It should be noted that the National Transport Authority has not allocated any funding to this project for 2023,” he stated.
Mr Noone agreed it was a small project and because it is such a small project which would require an EIS will mean the council won’t be going for an EIS [because of the overall size of the project].
He added, however, that the council would be looking at alternatives to consider, among them providing pedestrian crossings and working on the other side of the road. These are options to consider because there is an awful lot involved in carrying out an EIS, he said.
Cllr Thomas Healy said the report from the council was disappointing. He recalled asking the senior engineer to move the footpath to the other side of the road where there was ample room to do so.
Mr Noone repeated that there was no funding but agreed that the project would be re-evaluated to see what alternative solutions there were. “It is a very small project and there is a significant amount of work and money involved in submitting an EIS for what is such a small project.” He said the matter would be referred to the Active Travel team.
It was agreed the matter would be kept on the agenda for the next municipal district meeting.