Information meeting on harbour drainage project
An information meeting on a major Irish Water project will take place tonight, amid ongoing controversy over the impact the works will have on a Cork town.
The Cork Lower Harbour Main Drainage Project will see the main road through Passage West close on Monday until September 7 to facilitate sewage works — but locals who had opposed the road closure has assumed the appointment of an independent advisor was aimed at finding an alternative arrangement.
Local councillor Marcia D’Alton said that as a harbourside community, the people of Passage West appreciate the benefits of the project, and have tolerated ‘painful but necessary’ works for a year now.
However, Cllr D’Alton said the communication and confusion around the closures have caused concern, as has the uncertainty as to how long future planned closures will take: “We have yet no certainty of how many weeks of full closure will be involved but it is likely to be 14 at a minimum.”
Cllr D’Alton also said there has yet to be any response to the public concerns aired before the closure was granted, and that locals had thought there was still a possibility of finding an alternative arrangement:
Our reasonable expectation was that the independent advisor now appointed by Irish Water would do this. But this was not clarified in writing and Cork County Council was not informed of his appointment before granting the road closure licence.
She said the feeling in the town is that while locals “have respected and continue to respect the Lower Harbour works, our everyday lives which must continue throughout these works, have not been afforded the same respect in return.”
A spokesperson for Ervia said it was always the intention to go ahead with the road closures: “The independent advisor’s role is to provide expert opinion and advice to elected representatives and community stakeholders on the proposed works and to propose additional mitigation measures, as appropriate.
“We have always made it clear that our application would continue to follow the statutory process. This is a temporary road closure for four weeks and Irish Water continues to address the concerns of the community and is implementing appropriate mitigations measures arising from this process, ensuring that access is maintained and that Passage West remains open for business.”
An information evening will take place tonight from 6.30pm to 8.30pm at the PACE Centre, Passage West.
