County Council adamant it will not repair fence in Ballymote estate

By Philip Rooney, The Sligo Champion

A call for Sligo County Council to carry out repair works to a fence in the Bothar an Corran housing estate in Ballymote was rejected by the local authority with Director of Services Emer Concannon insisting it didn’t have a budget for such works.

“We have to focus on roads, we just don’t have the money for that,” she said.

The motion before the Ballymote Tubbercurry Municipal District bi-monthly meeting from Cllr Liam Brennan called for “Sligo County Council to look at funding to replace the broken down fence along the stream in Bothar an Corran, Ballymote.

"I acknowledge this issue has been raised before within this municipal, but this is still a real concern for residents who fear their children may enter the stream and also exit onto the Keash road.”

Speaking to the motion Cllr Brennan said, “It is a great concern for residents and parents. It is very dangerous, it is very accessible for children. I ask can we contribute something towards it, they feel they should be supported in getting the fence repaired.”

The motion was supported by Cllr Gerard Mullaney who commented, “It’s very dangerous, a child kicking a football would be very tempted to go after it.”

Cllr Dara Mulvey noted there have been “An awful lot of fallen trees,” adding, “Nobody wants to see a fatality.”

Cllr Barry Gallagher queried, “Who owns the ground the fence is on. Who should be looking after it?”

Addressing the meeting Ms Concannon said, “We have a policy for estates taken in charge, the road is the primary thing we look after. You can’t be coming to the Council waiting for a fence to be fixed. Our priority is the roads.”

Cllr Paul Taylor suggested an alternative source of funding could be found commenting, “The residents committee or tidy towns could come together and seek alternative funding.”

The debate concluded with Ms Concannon remarking, “I don’t want any expectation that the Council will fix this. We will encourage and assist to find an alternative source of funding.”

Article Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.