End of the road for inner relief route in Tuam

An inner relief road long mooted for Tuam has now been deemed surplus to requirements – in light of the infrastructure that was provided around the town late last year.

But the Cathaoirleach of Tuam Municipal Council has claimed that the lands earmarked for the route remain ‘held to ransom’ – with no developments are allowed in or near what is effectively a line on a map.

According to Cllr Donagh Killilea, when the inner relief road was being considered, there was no expectation at the time that the town bypass would be constructed.

However, he has now claimed that Galway County Council is protecting the route of the inner relief road in the event of future development – and he said this was restricting much needed development.

“As it stands, the inner relief road will not be constructed because there is no funding in place for it – and the provision of the Tuam bypass late last year has really put it well down the pecking order in terms of priority,” said Cllr Killilea.

“But the line on the map is still there and it means that any lands in the immediate vicinity is compromised when it comes to planning. The old inner relief road plan is now surplus to requirements in my book and will never be built.

“That is why any stranglehold on the lands along the proposed route should be withdrawn. These lands cannot be held to ransom for the forseeable future when there are no plans to provide an inner relief road . . . and not a penny of money available either,” he added.

The matter was also raised at a recent meeting of Tuam Municipal Council but there was no commitment given towards the provision of the new inner relief road.

Part of the road has been provided by a local supermarket owner but this is mainly to facilitate access to his car parks.