Farmers and locals ‘in limbo’ while route being finalised

PROCESS Preferred path for Virginia bypass to emerge in Summer

A preferred option for the new Virginia by-pass is expected to emerge by summer, the senior exective engineer for the Ballyjamesduff Municipal District has said.

John McGahern revealed the news in response to Cllr Shane P. O’Reilly at a virtual meeting of the MD last week. The independent Mullagh councillor had asked when the preferred route would be put before the people.

“The most recent information I have from the Project Team is that they are currently at ‘Stage 2 Option Selection’ and they expect that they will have an emerging preferred option – hopefully just one – by the summer of this year,” he told the elected representatives.

Virginia is the last remaining town on the N3 National Route from Dublin to the NI Border not bypassed.

The remaining route options consist of corridors, all 300 metres wide.

Cllr O’Reilly asked for clarification on whether lands or potential developments outside the corridors identified would be affected or held up by the development of the new road.

He referred to at least four examples where people were asked to “either withdraw or defer” their planning applications due to their proximity to a possible route.

“I would have thought that the 300 meters would have been more than sufficient and it was told to us at a meeting. I have a situation of a young couple who applied for planning permission and now have been asked to defer or withdraw their planning application and they are now at the mercy of their lending institution – they are about to lose their mortgage now because they have had to defer it,” Cllr O’Reilly claimed.

“I am very annoyed about it and I can tell you that the people are very annoyed about it. Was there a change in this or did we take it up wrongly? As far as I was concerned the 300 metre corridor was the 300 metre corridor and it did not affect anything outside it,” he added.

Mr McGahern clarified that the potential routes outlined could go anywhere within the 300m corridor concerned.

He further stated that staff in the planning office were “concerned” about the “environmental impact of the scheme” on proposed developments and “vice versa” in relation to planning applications within 400 metres of the corridors outlined.

“Let’s say someone was to build a house and take an extreme view of it – within 10 metres of the 300 metre corridor and the road for whatever reason had to be at that extremity of the corridor. You had the potential of someone building a house within 10 metres of a brand new bypass, which is not desirable for the person living in the house or for the Authority trying to build the road. The people in that house would have no quality of life,” said the engineer.

He believed that a different view could be taken in relation to commercial premises, where the proximity of a road is much less likely to have an impact on the people in the building during normal business hours.

Mr McGahern added that he understands the concern and the frustration of members and locals. “This review of planning applications with 400 metres of the corridor is coming from an intention to try and do the right thing in the long term,” he stressed.

Cllr O’Reilly said he fully accepted that “but I don’t agree with it”.

He argued: “It is now in affect a 700-metre corridor and not a 300-metre corridor. It is unfair for us as local public representatives, that was not explained... it has led to people going out and spending money on planning applications that they either have to withdraw or defer. I am extremely annoyed over this.”

Responding, the engineer said: “I suspect whatever information was communicated at the time was communicated in good faith.”

He told members he would ask if the 400 metre impact zone is “new to the process or always existed”.

“Today is the first time I have heard of this 400 metre impact zone,” interjected Cllr O’Reilly.

Mr McGahern conceded “I was only aware of it recently myself”.

The Mullagh representative, while accepting it wasn’t the engineer’s fault, said, it wasn’t good enough.

“We were all elected to serve the people. We were told one thing and it is now a different thing. There is not a whole lot we can do about it now,” said Cllr O’Reilly.

Mr McGahern implored: “I would ask you to bear in mind it is a project and all projects are unique. It [the Virginia bypass] is a big one. The team aren’t going to have all of the answers at the very start of it.

“A lot of the solutions to various problems will develop as the project progresses. It is possible that this is one of the developments – but I will go back and ask them.”

Cllr T.P. O’Reilly (FG) said that, once a preferred route emerges, it is imperative the project is “seen through”.

Mr McGahern agreed but pointed out that the Government is the sanctioning authority. “When it comes to detailed design and going for tender, the Cabinet themselves will have the final say,” he said.

‘Left in limbo’

Cllr O’Reilly said a lot of farmers at present are left in limbo. “They don’t know whether to expand or downsize. They just want certainty. This whole project was approved back in 2003. Here we are in 2021, even further behind. To give people a bit of certainty, that when it is nailed down, that it is going ahead,” he said.

Mr McGahern said Council staff were working diligently and pushing the project.

“This is not just a bypass of Virginia Town. This is the gate into Cavan. This by-pass, while it is primarily going to affect the people of Virginia, it is going to benefit the whole of the county,” said the engineer.

Cllr Shane P. O’Reilly emphasised he was in favour of the project but just wanted accurate information communicated to public representatives to impart to the people.

“I would ask you to understand that this is a significant project with a significant cost and scale. It is a project that is going to develop as time goes by and the solutions will only become obvious as each problem presents themselves in turn,” responded Mr McGahern, again stating all information was communicated in good faith.

Cavan Council, in partnership with its counterparts in Meath and TII, are progressing development of the plans for the bypass.

Once decided, the total estimated cost of delivering the project, contained within the Ireland 2014 plan, could be high as €130m.

Up to €2.1 million of that is to be spent on finalising a route over the coming years - with €100,000 to be spent by the end of 2020, and €1m each in 2021 and 2022.