COUNCIL MUST ENSURE PROPER FINISH OF WALL AT KILMURRAY COTTAGES SAY GREENS

"Local people who object to the current appearance of the wall have described it as the "Berlin Wall" says councillor de Burca. "They are horrified that the council could tolerate such an ugly structure at the entrance to the Garden of Ireland" she says.

At Monday's meeting councillor de Burca drew attention to the fact that the original plans for this stretch of the N11 had not included any wall at this point along the road. She also pointed out that the "Accommodation Works" agreed with each of the residents of Kilmurray cottages had not included any mention of the wall. She claimed that this flew in the face of good planning practice as the residents were given no opportunity to object to something that was going to be built so close to their homes.

Councillor de Burca took issue with the fact that a representative from the contractors, MC o Sullivan, had referred to the wall as merely a "design feature" of the road plans for this section of the road. "It is unclear who was responsible for the omission of this wall from the plans that were made available to the public " she said "but whether it was the National Roads Authority, MC o Sullivans or Wicklow County Council, as the planning authority Wicklow County Council has a responsibility to ensure that the matter is resolved to the satisfaction of local residents.

The Green councillor points out that those living at Kilmurray cottages are looking for the road-facing side of the wall structure to be stone-clad as has happened with other wall structures along the same stretch of the N11. "The structure as it is at present not just depreciates the value of their properties but also is unsatisfactory from an aesthetic and tourism point of view" she adds. "The stone cladding of one side of the wall should not be prohibitively expensive and, as was suggested by another councillor at today;'s meeting, the council could provide their own emplyees to do the job if they wanted to cut down on costs".

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