Wants Leitrim County Council to take in charge road near Ballinamore
Cllr Paddy O'Rourke made a formal proposal at the Ballinamore Municipal District meeting that the Council would take in charge and declare public the local road serving seven households and a number of land holdings in the townland of Lisculfea, Ballinamore P.O.
He said his proposal had the support of all householders and property owners adjoining the road and is used extensively by members of the public to access the fishing area at Callowhill Lake (known locally as the Burrow Lake) which supports the local tourism product and is used for match fishing competition purposes.
Cllr Brendan Barry said he had also been contacted by a person there who “has done a huge service to Leitrim County Council over the years and huge dedication to the upkeep of roads in Leitrim.”
He said there are a lot of people on that road and if they are prepared to put up money for a pilot scheme to have it surfaced, “you would imagine that there is money there to get the road into good shape for a long period of time.”
All councillors supported the motion.
The reply to Cllr O’Rourke stated the local authority must consider the financial implications of the proposed declaration.
“The Council’s policy at the moment is that we are not expanding the road network, given the resources and the demands arising from the upkeep of our existing road network,” it stated.
Darragh O’Boyle, District Engineer, said the matter should be brought up with the planners with regard to taking in charge of estates which is a reserve function of the planning department.
Cllr O’Rourke said he will take it to the next stage with the planners but said it was important they formally propose it at the municipal district meeting.
Cllr Barry also asked if the amount of funding the Council gets is based on the amount of roads in their charge.
Mr O’Boyle said that was the case, that grants allocated by the departments are directly proportional to the amount of public roads the local authority has.