End of the road for the "Stop this road!" campaign

I am afraid that the Bord Pleanala ruling of November marks the end of the road (pardon the bad pun) for the "Stop this Road!" campaign. This was our campaign to make the council abandon its planned road and bridge over and adjacent to the Railway Line Walk in Westport.

I wish to say I am proud of the support which we received and wish to compliment Westport Civic Trust for its hard work.

For more information on this campaign you can visit our website. Here is a link to the Bord's decision.

Here is the ruling of the Bord

"The Board decided not to direct the local authority to prepare an Environmental Impact Statement. The Board considered that a road development that has commenced under the authority of Section 78 of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Act, 1963 and in accordance with the procedures set out in Part X of the Local Government (Planning and Development) Regulations, 1994 is entitled to be carried out in accordance with the terms of that procedure and that intervention by the Board to direct an EIS after a project has commenced is not provided for or contemplated in the legislation and would introduce a great degree of uncertainty, may be quite ineffectual, create major complications in respect of contracts and give rise to major diseconomies in the execution of the project. Accordingly, the Board decided to decline to formally assess any request to it to direct an EIS in respect of any project that has commenced pursuant to a Section 78/Part X procedure."

It is important to note that the Board did not rule that this road does not need an EIS. What they have said is that have declined to assess whether the road needs an EIS because it is already under construction. None the less it marks the end of the campaign.

I have been very proud to represent the objectors to this project in the council chamber, in the media and on the protest rallies. Thank you all for your support and hard work.