Residents warn of road danger caused by weeds

Residents of a city estate have pleaded with Galway City Council to intervene to force the owners of a vacant field to cut the grass in order to avoid an accident.

The residents of the Belmont estate on the Dublin Road complain that every year the weeds in the adjacent field grow well above the sight lines when driving into and out of the estate.

As there is a bend in the road, the overgrowth causes a serious blind spot.

Nearby occupants from another property also regularly park on the road which reduces the entrance road to one lane, which increases the chance of a head on collision.

“I know of two people on our committee who came within inches of hitting each other – and they’re aware of how dangerous it is so were going slow. That’s how bad this bend is,” said a spokesperson for the Belmont Residents’ Committee.

“There has been another very near miss that I am aware of involving residents and tourists at this blind corner. There are also a lot of students who live here who either drive too fast or take a shortcut across the bend and motorists just don’t see them. This is an accident waiting to happen. The field is also very unsightly.”

The committee said it had contacted the owners by registered post but had never received a written reply.

Numerous approaches had been made to councillors over the years but no action has been taken.

“This is going on 20 years and we’ve never got any response except for once, a good few years ago, when the owner put in three donkeys who broke out and dug up lawns of the houses,” said a spokesperson for the residents’ committee.

Galway City Council said after an official inspected the field last week, it had been decided to issue a letter to the landowner, instructing them to address its current state.

“As Belmont estate and the field are privately owned there is no simple solution to addressing the issue.

“There’s an entire process involved in relation to dereliction, beginning with an informal approach, followed by letters issuing to the owner which are then followed up,” said a spokesman.

The field is the subject of a planning application for 18 semi-detached houses. The owners, Foxfield Inns Ltd, applied for the planning to be extended after approval ran out after five years.