DE BURCA CALLS ON NRA TO PROVIDE BRIDGE FOR WILLOWGROVE RESIDENTS

Wicklow County Council agreed last year to close the median breaks at Willowgrove, Delgany, because of the road- improvement works to the N11 and because this junction is considered highly unsafe. The council offered local residents three " interim" solutions that would allow them to access Delgany village but residents have claimed that these proposed routes will add considerably to their journey to the village.

Councillor de Burca has fully supported the residents in their call for a bridge to be built across the N11 and has dismissed the claims of the NRA that the 2 million Euro necessary to build the bridge is not available.

According to councillor de Burca, communities across the country have been inconvenienced due to the massive road-building projects that have been impacted on their local areas. "In many cases we see examples of the CPO process being used to acquire land for road-building even though this results in farms being rendered in two and becoming economically unviable" says councillor de Burca.

"The NRA clearly does not engage in sufficient consultation with local communities before routes are selected" she says. "In the case of the Willowgrove community, the roadworks on the N11 will now mean that the residents of the area will be cut off from their local village, and from all of the services that the village provides such as schools, shops etc. This is not acceptable" she says.

Councillor de Burca is calling on the newly elected TDs in the county to give their full support to the residents of Willowgrove in their call for a bridge across the N11. "I am particularly calling on those TDs who will be in government, or supporting the government, to use their influence to deliver necessary infrastructure for the county".

For further information please contact Deirdre de Burca on 086 8061450 or email deburca@wicklowgreens.org.