Kerrane pays tribute to people of Ballaghaderreen as public realm dispute resolved
Deputy Claire Kerrane. Pic: Liam Reynolds
The resolution to the public realm dispute between local residents and business people in Ballaghaderreen and Roscommon County Council has been “wholeheartedly welcomed” by local Sinn Fein TD Claire Kerrane.
Ms Kerrane paid tribute to the people of the town who have been holding daily protests since early March saying, “huge credit goes to the residents and the business people, it's their dedication to this that has brought us to this point and I can't commend them enough.”
She went on to add, “it is this dedication that shows what we can achieve when we come together.” She also said she believes “this is the start of something new for the town.”
She paid tribute to and thanked Ballaghaderreen Public Realm Scheme Mediator Denis Kelly saying “he did a wonderful job bringing everybody together and coming to this conclusion.”
Mr Kelly announced today (Tuesday) that a resolution framework has been agreed following positive collaborative engagement between Roscommon County Council, representatives of the Ballaghaderreen Business and Community Group and Councillors Michael Frain and Liam Callaghan representing the elected members of Boyle Municipal District.
He said: “The framework retains the essential essence of the public realm/ active travel/ public space ethos of the scheme whilst also providing for increased accessibility and parking for Ballaghaderreen. Arising from this, Roscommon County Council will now prepare and publish a Part 8 Local Authority Own Development application for a Carparking Scheme consisting of a new car park in ‘The Plots’, together with the provision of additional parking at the eastern area of The Square.”
Ms Kerrane had received criticism earlier this year when she told a public rally in March that the Part 8 development could be revised. She said she felt “vindicated” by the agreement announced by the parties but added that “ultimate credit goes to the local people. I am proud of them in the way that they stuck together.”
She understands that works to restart the project will be “imminent.”
