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That’s according to Richard and Marella O’Toole, whose home for over 22 years will be demolished as a result of the compulsory purchase of their own residential dwelling and land to facilitate the new bridge.
In a detailed submission to An Bord Pleanála, the couple object strenuously to the terms of the compulsory purchase order (CPO) and have requested the appeals’ board to reject it. They expressed concern that some of the property owners affected by the completed M7 route are still waiting to be paid compensation for lands acquired.
The couple requested an absolute requirement that compulsory acquisition compensation due to property owners be agreed and fully paid before the fixing of a date of notice to enter the affected property.
They argued adequate funding from Government to cover all costs, including full compensation at long-term market value, should be confirmed in writing and secured to the board’s satisfaction no later than September 30, 2012. Failing this, the order should be considered void.
They proposed a strict deadline of no more than two years from the date of issue of a Notice to Treat for final completion of all stages of the project, failing which an extra disturbance payment of 20% of the value of the property to be required plus a further 10% for each year or part-year delay has to be paid by the council to affected property owners.
Once their home is “destroyed”, they insisted it would be impossible to replicate “the unique character of our family home elsewhere”.
“No compensation would adequately remedy the appalling damage, which the council proposed to inflict on us and our neighbourhood. The CPO is a grave matter, which causes us and our neighbourhood great distress.
“The council has consistently failed to give adequate and substantive consideration to the less disruptive and less costly alternatives,” they stated.
They pointed out the proposed road leading to the high ramp upon which the bridge would be constructed would seriously injure the amenities of their house and the entire residential neighbourhood.
They claimed the route selection process was “severely flawed” as the decisive choice of the route was taken by an informal group of councillors prior to public consultations, which ignored the community’s majority preference for route option 6 and route 7 was different to the one anticipated by the former senior engineer in Clare County Council.
They are one of the residents affected by the CPO, who have listed a number of concerns relating to the short-term impacts during the two-and-a-half year construction period and the long-term effect once the new bridge, bypass of Killaloe and upgrading of the Ballina to Birdhill road are completed.
Rea Agric Environmental Consultants have made a submission on behalf of 37 residents and businesses from Killaloe and Ballina. The consultants expressed concern about the constructed wetlands/attenuation pond, mitigation with the Special Area of Conservation (SAC), vibration impact and dissatisfaction with elements of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS).
The oral hearing on the entire project, which was due to be heard on September 5 last was postponed until Monday, October 8 at 11am in the Abbey Court Hotel, Nenagh at the request of one of the affected parties.
Clare County Council is liasing with some of the consultants representing some of the affected property owners with a view to clarifying or dealing with concerns raised prior to or on the fringes of the oral hearing.
From Clare County Council’s point of view, senior engineer Tom Tiernan stressed the objective is to be as fair as possible in the manner in which the authority deals with property owners affected by the project.
The council and its consultants are aware of the contents of the submissions made to An Bord Pleanála by local residents and hope it won’t be necessary to have some issues raised in submissions dealt with in the oral hearing itself.
However, he noted this does not affect the ability of those who have made submissions to An Bord Pleanála to participate in the hearing process. “Ultimately, it will be a matter for An Bord Pleanála to conduct the oral hearing and the detail pertaining to it in whatever manner it considers appropriate,” he said.
Clarisford residents, Caroline and Herman Kikkers claimed the impact of the proposed bridge on their family home has not been addressed.
“The bridge, which will be 6.9m above water level, will ensure that traffic using the bridge will impact severely on us and our children, both from an acoustic and visual impact and even more so regarding security and safety aspects. Our private amenity with its quiet location adjacent to the lake will be lost for ever,” they explained.
Kathleen Hawes, Hill Road, Killaloe, expressed concern about the psychological and emotional distress and change in her quality of life if this crossing is completed.
“I have lived in Killaloe since 1940 and at Hill Road since 1987. I have made this my home at considerable expense and have been living an idyllic life enjoying the Lough Derg Way and all that the surrounding area has to offer. This proposal threatens this idyllic life as I approach the twilight stages of my years,” she said.
