€100m Distributor Road consultation a ‘total farce’

THE public consultation process concerning the proposed €100 million Limerick Northern Distributor Road, which will link Coonagh with Meelick and Ardnacrusha, has been condemned as a “total farce”.

Councillor Michael Begley launched a stinging broadside on the alleged lack of assessment of over 423 submissions at a recent Killaloe Electoral Area meeting.

Councillor Begley told the meeting that not one single alteration was made to the Preferred Route Corridor when it was selected last September, compared to the Emerging Preferred Route, which was put out for public consultation earlier that year.

Once completed, the Northern Distributor Road project will link Coonagh with Parteen/Ardnacrusha, before crossing the River Shannon to the north of the University of Limerick and onwards to the old Limerick-Dublin Road.

“Some 423 submissions were made by the public and not one of them made the slightest difference. I made two submissions about possible alternative routes with back-up technical information, based on the provided criteria,” he outlined.

Councillor Begley claimed he did not get a proper response to any of the points made in his submission and only got an acknowledgement to say it was received.
If an application was made for a development in a sensitive area like the Burren, he pointed out people would be entitled to read submissions from public bodies on the planning file. He said he failed to understand why the general thrust of the information from public and semi-state bodies, like the ESB, could not be released.

Clare County Council has described the distributor road as a vital piece of infrastructure for the economic and social development of Limerick City and the Mid-West Region.

“The proposed road will provide for greater connectivity for communities around the northern fringes of Limerick City and South East Clare. The road will significantly reduce traffic congestion in the Corbally area and Limerick City centre, as well as opening up road access to the north campus of the University of Limerick, therefore providing people with better access to education and employment opportunities,” the council has stated.

This has been challenged by residents and the Concerned Northern Distributor Road Residents Association, which believes this project is unnecessary and a waste of taxpayers’ money.
Councillor Begley made his claim during a discussion on a motion tabled by Councillor Cathal Crowe requesting the council to cease all surveying works on private lands along the route, until such time as submissions made by State bodies, agencies and commercial entities during the project’s consultation process have been made publicly available.

Councillor Crowe claimed that at a public information meeting in the Radisson Hotel, councillors were told by the council’s consulting engineers that part of the road at the Limerick end was amended to facilitate a bird habitat and the net result from an intervention from the ESB was that no route could go above the Tail Race.

Despite requesting this in writing and submitting two Freedom of Information requests, he said these two pieces of information were never given to councillors in writing.  He claimed the project is being “railroaded” through by the council.

Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald said local councillors should have been informed about a recent survey letter sent by the council to landowners, as they were only contacted when agents entered into landowners’ property.

He said residents were reasonably happy with the initial line for the route corridor about seven years ago but the Preferred Route Corridor had prompted a lot of opposition.
Senior executive officer Michael McNamara stated the survey work was an operational matter for the council executive, which wouldn’t be affected by Councillor Crowe’s motion, as the councillors had already adopted this route in the relevant development plan and this survey was some of the preparatory work needed for this project.

Mr McNamara noted €300,000 has been provided by the Department of Transport to facilitate the ongoing preliminary design and preparation of the Environmental Impact Statement for the scheme.
There will be further public consultation opportunities after the publication of the EIS and CPO for the scheme.

He explained the Freedom of Information requests were refused on the basis the information was “commercially sensitive” and “personal” in the case of private property owners.

He noted these refusals were not appealed to another council official or to an independent body, like the Information Commissioner.

Commenting on the survey letter sent out to affected landowners advising them of investigation works to be carried out on their lands, he noted most had indicated their willingness to co-operate with the process, while a small number were opposed to it.
“A variation of the County Development Plan and the Local Area Plan is required to give effect to the designation of the Preferred Route Corridor and this process will be commencing later this year and will be presented to the councillors.

“This scheme is only at the early stages of preparation at this time but, when constructed, will provide a much-improved and easier access to Limerick City and UL, especially for residents of large areas of East Clare,” he said.