Legal delays holding up the development of community park in Stranorlar

Legal delays are holding up the development of a community park at Drumboe Woods, Stranorlar.

The issue was raised at the last meeting of the Lifford-Stranorlar Municipal District after councillors were told that the project had received an initial payment of almost €50,000 from the Department of Rural and Community Development under the Town and Village programme.

The money, the meeting was told, will go to procure a landscape architect design led integrated design team to develop concept designs as outlined in a feasibility study and secure requisite and statutory approvals for potential nature-based play space and the Drumboe bowl multi-functional outdoor space.

But the slow pace of the development angered municipal district cathaoirleach, Cllr Patrick McGowan.

“The ownership of the land has been finalised. An agreement was reached but it has been sitting with solicitors for a year and a half. I would ask the council to ask why this is taking so long. Maybe it’s not our solicitor’s fault but if everything took that long, I don't know how we would buy land for housing or anything else. This is a disaster.

“This has come up time and time again at full council meetings. It's simply not good enough.

“I don't know who is at fault or what solicitors are involved but I'm told by all parties that they are the problem.”

He added the purchase of the land was a year and a half in negotiations and now it was a year and a half with solicitors and that wasn't good enough.

“I approached this council when Garry Martin was director of services with a deal and that's nearly two years ago and notwithstanding the fact negotiations take time but my understanding is they are now over now for about a year and a half and it's still sitting with solicitors,” Cllr McGowan said.

Cllr McGowan said he knew the problem with legal delays had been raised at the full council meeting on several occasions and he thought progress had been made by breaking up legal services to speed matters up but obviously this was not the case.

He welcomed €50,000 that had been allocated to start the design process for the new facility and urged the council to approach the legal teams again to get the project moving.