Tipperary County Council gets court order to access land to let them carry out bridge work

Tipperary County Council has secured a court order against two Tipperary landowners who are allegedly preventing them from carrying out vital maintenance on a bridge that crosses their land.

The order was made by Judge Mary Cashin at Nenagh District Court.

A senior engineer with the council told the judge that the work was vital and that it had been decided to carry it out as financial funding was set aside to do the maintenance in 2023.

However, when they contacted the landowners they said they would not allow the council or its contractors access to the site.

The landowners have their lands on either side of the bridge, the court heard.

Judge Cashin heard that when the workers arrived to carry out the work, machinery was placed in their way preventing access.

The council’s solicitor told the court that the order was being sought ex-parte and the landowners did not need to be notified of the court case.

Judge Cashin queried that the council had notified the landowners on July 27 and had been refused entry to the land on July 28, and the council’s solicitor agreed they had been notified one day in advance.

The judge questioned whether or not that was not short notice of the work.

However, the solicitor said that that the visit was to notify the landowners that it was intended to carry out the work, not that the work was going to commence.

The council’s engineer told the court that the landowners would have been initially notified of the intention to carry out the work when the council received funding for it.

Judge Cashin granted the order.