High Court threat over vote to have ‘greenway’ through estate

Residents of a Knocknacarra estate have threatened High Court action against Galway City Council over the legality of a right of way which they claim is the source of difficulties with antisocial behaviour.

The White Oaks Residents’ Association have been campaigning for years to have a ‘greenway’ through the estate closed – this was voted down by a narrow margin of 10-8 by councillors last week during a meeting on the Draft City Development Plan.

Local area councillors – including Niall McNelis who lives in the estate – claimed last week that some residents are “petrified” at night.

The residents have since held discussions with a barrister and told the Council that they plan to mount a High Court challenge to the legality of whether a right of way actually exists at the greenway.

They have long argued that significant levels of antisocial behaviour are caused by the access. The throughway has a Council-installed gate which was locked last November.

Since that date, residents say that all antisocial behaviour problems in the area have ceased.

The matter was hotly debated at City Council during the City Development plan last week with the council hearing an impassioned plea from Cllr Pearce Flannery to listen to the people involved and grant them a right to live in peace.

At the Council meeting last week, Councillor Pearce Flannery proposed a motion to close the access and produced documentation that he claimed proved that no legal right of way was in existence and therefore no greenway could possibly exist.

Cllr Flannery claims the Council did not follow protocol in creating a right of way under the Planning and Development Act 2000.

“Because of this we now have a situation whereby residents are living in fear at night,” he said.

Residents’ association chair Brendan Wallace said they will not accept the decision of the Council.

“Our quality of life has been destroyed simply because certain councillors were blindly willing to support an executive that are unwilling to admit that they got it wrong. Why I do not know.

“These councillors seem to forget that they were elected by us, to represent our interests. It would appear to me that they prefer to curry favour with the executive rather than do their jobs as public representatives.

“This will go the distance through the courts and potentially cost hundreds of thousands of euro which is a shame because at the end of the day it is the taxpayers’ money the City Council are happily spending in seeking to defend an indefensible legal position.

“The legal advice given to City Council from their own advisors stated: ‘As you are aware the fact that the land over which the said greenway is primarily and predominantly located is owned by Galway City council does not in itself in our view amount to the automatic establishment of a right of way’.

“Yet still they persist in trying to force through this abomination against our wishes and in spite of a local plebiscite given to Council where over 99% of the residents demanded closure of the access due to the negative spillovers and antisocial behavior caused by this unnecessary access.

“All we are asking for is fair play and the basic right to live in peace in our homes. Our barrister is now taking the matter through the courts which to me is ludicrous in the extreme, but the Council have left us with no other option,” said Mr Wallace.