There have been no face to face discussions between protesters in Ballaghaderreen opposed to a new town centre realm and Roscommon County Council.
That’s according to Joe Egan one of the many daily protesters on the square, in a dispute that is now gone into its fourth week.
While almost half of a €4 million budget for the development has already been spent, construction work around the town square has been paused since early last month.
Earlier this week, Roscommon County Council on offered an addition handful of car parking spaces in the square as a compromise, local people say it goes no way in addressing the number of spaces being lost in the new development, in the centre of the town.
Joe Egan told Midwest News Editor Teresa O’Malley that there are genuine safety concerns around the proposed new town realm and believes it will impact negatively on both businesses and the local community:
In a statement to Midwest West Radio News, earlier this week, Roscommon County Council stated that it is proposing to fully offset the loss of parking spaces in Ballaghaderreen town centre. This includes providing a minimum of eight additional parking spaces in and near the Town Square itself and improving access, lighting, security and signage for the nearby 72-space Plots carpark.
It is also proposing to develop a new 50-space carpark located within 60 metres of the town square, to be delivered in parallel with the public realm scheme.
