Cranmore residents waiting three years for ban on HGVs to kick in

A SLIGO County Councillor said residents in the Cranmore Estate in Sligo had shown great patience over the last three years since a motion was passed by the Council which would start the process to prohibit Heavy Goods Vehicles (HGVs) using the road network through the estate, and other estates such as Martin Savage Terrace, Doorly Park housing estates and Cleveragh Drive.

Cllr Declan Bree said the wishes of the councillors who passed the motion three years ago were being ignored, as were the wishes of the people of Cranmore and the other areas mentioned. “Over three years ago, in July 2019, the Council unanimously voted in favour of a motion which I had submitted, that draft bye laws be prepared so as to prohibit Heavy Good Vehicles from using the road network through the Cranmore housing estate, Martin Savage Terrace and Doorly Park housing estates and Cleveragh Drive; with a permit system to be included to allow heavy goods vehicles make local deliveries.

“The motion was agreed because councillors recognised that residents in the Martin Savage Terrace, Doorly Park, Cranmore and Cleveragh area are seeking the introduction of bye laws to ban Heavy Goods Vehicles from the area.

“With the exception of the business parks in Cleveragh, the area in question is largely residential. Residents are seeking the ban because of issues relating to pedestrian safety along with concerns relating to infrastructural damage, pollution and noise emissions.

“The residents are also anxious to have the HGV bye laws in place in advance of the new Eastern bridge being built.

“Residents understand that if a ban is introduced, regulations can be implemented making exceptions for lorries making deliveries in the area.

“The draft bye laws will have to go out for public consultation before any final decision would be made by the Council. I believe this is reasonable so as to allow all sectors of the community to have an input in the process.

“Residents in the area have been very patient waiting for the draft Bye laws to be published. Taking into consideration that over three years have passed since the Council resolved that the draft bye laws be prepared, residents now want to know when the draft bye laws will be brought before the Council for consideration,” he said. In response, the Council said: “With the introduction of the Active Travel Programme, the Local Transport Plan for Sligo is being prepared, which is examining mobility within the study area, for all modes of transport including motorised vehicles, public transport, shared services, cycling and walking infrastructure.

“The recommendations of this plan, a draft of which is due to be published in March/April 2023, will inform priority corridors for different modes of transport and the interventions required to develop a sustainable transportation network in Sligo.

“It is considered appropriate to allow this Local Transport Plan to inform any decision regarding the prohibition of Heavy Goods Vehicles in the study area.”

Cllr Bree said the response was nothing more than the Council “kicking the can down the road”.

He said it now appeared to him that “someone, somewhere” in the Council’s Executive does not want to introduce the HGV ban in the area. “The decision of the elected members of the Council is being ignored by the Council Executive,” he said, adding he was now keen that the Chief Executive Martin Lydon, who he said was relatively new to the job, be made aware of what was happening.

He added: “The people in Cranmore have been left waiting for three years, that is not acceptable.”