Council ‘cannot’ halt works in Faranree

Cork City Council has said it has no plans to halt works on an active travel scheme in Faranree, after a number of motions calling for a pause and engagement with residents were brought before city council on Monday evening.

Council Chief Executive Valerie O’Sullivan said pausing works on the Knockpogue Avenue and Knockfree Avenue Active Travel Improvement Works would amount to a breach of contract, and that the consultation process for the project was “robust”.

“The development was approved unanimously by the council, and so we are procedurally and statutorily sound, and are duty bound to do the work,” she said.

Four motions were brought before city council, seeking that works be halted on the site and mediation be entered into with residents.

It was clarified by the executive and Lord Mayor Cllr Fergal Dennehy that the councillors had no power to halt works on the site. All four motions were rejected.

Locals have been protesting the developments for a number of days, and work has not been able to proceed.

Michelle Hegarty, chairperson of the local group protesting the development, said their issue was with the council executive, not with the contractors carrying out the work.

She said she was present in the gallery during Monday’s meeting, and was angry at what she felt was O’Sullivan’s “talking down” to residents. She said she had gotten a number of phone calls from residents expressing the same sentiment.

In a statement issued by the group, they said the executives “refusal to a reasonable request to simply re engage and amend the plans is just insulting”.

“We are not backing down from this. We are still out and not going anywhere,” said the statement.

“We want 90% of the developments,” she said, “but we have valid concerns that we have raised which have been ignored.”

She said that residents met with the ward’s councillors and executives on 27 January and requested risk assessments and environmental reports done for the development. She said that residents have so far not received these.

She emphasised they are very happy with the planned replacement of roundabouts with safer crossings, but that the proposed cycle lanes pose serious risks for safety at local schools.

The area has a number of classes that cater to children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and she said that the proposed lanes would leave them without safe access to passenger doors.

“These are some of the most vulnerable people in our society, and they’re being let down completely,” she said.

Michelle Hegarty said the onus is on the council to meet with residents.

“We were out again today (Tuesday) and we stopped the works. The council need to meet us, we don’t need to meet them.”

She said the residents want the information they requested from the council in their January meeting, and they want to meet with council executives to discuss them.

This article was produced with the support of the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme funded by Coimisiún na Meán.