A BANDON-based councillor has requested a schedule from the Office of Public Works (OPW) outlining the planned maintenance of the River Bandon, which she said was promised during the flood relief works.
Cllr Gillian Coughlan (FF) raised the motion at a recent meeting of Bandon Kinsale Municipal District and said that while the flood relief works saved the town commercially, a promise was made about maintenance of the river.
‘I would like to see a full schedule from the OPW on this,’ she said.
Cllr Alan Coleman (Ind) seconded her motion, while municipal district officer Brian Dunne said that a study is being undertaken by the OPW, and the Council would await the completion of this study.
‘Any work in the Bandon channel will have to be agreed by all parties,’ said Mr Dunne, who was unable to give a timeframe on this study. Senior executive engineer Richard Cahill said the study will inform the programme of specialised works. At the same meeting, Cllr Coughlan also requested that members be furnished with a report regarding the taking-in-charge of estates across the Bandon Kinsale Municipal District.
She said there are still some estates like Haven Hill in Kinsale that haven’t been taken charge of and it’s proving to be a long process for affected residents there and in some other estates.
Cllr Coughlan said it is important to keep on top of this and added that she believes Uisce Éireann is impeding the ability to over some of these estates.
‘We all agree that there is real distress in Haven Hill and they have no recourse to getting anything done,’ said Cllr Coughlan.
Cllr Marie O’Sullivan (FG) pointed out that there are a lot of elderly residents at Haven Hill and it’s concerning that they have to negotiate bad footpaths, while its appearance is also a concern.
Cllr Coleman said that regarding Haven Hill, there were disagreements about the right solutions and the developer was willing to do what the residents wanted, but not what Cork County Council wanted. He said this should be revisited.
Mr Dunne said he has spoken to the planning department in Cork County Council and a report on the taking-in-charge of estates is being prepared.
