Council bows to public pressure

Date Published: 11-Apr-2008

Galway City Council has bowed to public pressure and instructed the consultants charged with drawing a plan for the Headford Road area to hold another public meeting — and this time residents will be given the ‘full picture’.

There was uproar last week when residents turned up at a public consultation meeting to give their views on the new rejuvenation plan for the area and discovered that the maps on display omitted vital information.

The maps on show did not include controversial plans to construct a new road connecting the Dyke Road to the Quincentenary Bridge, which would cut through Terryland Forest Park and take traffic off the Headford Road.

In addition, the actual boundaries of Terryland Forest Park were dramatically reduced in the maps shown at the public meeting. Residents were more incensed when it emerged that city councillors were shown different maps — which included the proposed road — during a presentation by the consultants at City Hall earlier on that day.

Mayor Tom Costello called the fiasco a “cock-up” and accused the consultants of trying to “hoodwink” the public. Residents and campaigners against the road went further and alleged they were ………………