by Alan Jacques
PROPOSED plans by the Council to remove 70 metres of on street car parking in Abbeyfeale have been described as “excessive” and “crazy” by councillors in the municipal district of Newcastle West.
The proposal would involve the removal of the car parking spaces on the southern side of Main Street, opposite the junction with Colbert Terrace.
Speaking at this Wednesday’s district meeting, Fine Gael councillor Liam Galvin said that it was imperative that the planning application went through at the site of the former hardware store, which has been derelict for ten years.
Cllr Galvin called for an urgent meeting to be arranged on site for councillors and members of the local community with senior executive engineer Robert Gallagher.
“I couldn’t support plans to remove 70 metres of parking space. This is the busiest section of the town and small businesses would suffer,” the Abbeyfeale councillor warned.
“I don’t see why this planning application couldn’t go ahead without all these spaces being removed,” he said.
Fianna Fail councillor Francis Foley fully agreed with Cllr Galvin and said the Council needed to use common sense.
“This is a crazy situation. You will end up taking 70 metres now and another 70 metres later on as part of the overall traffic management plan for Abbeyfeale. There are other small businesses adjacent to this site and they need parking for their survival,” said Cllr Foley.
Fine Gael councillor John Sheahan suggested that the proposal posed bigger questions about the overall management of Abbeyfeale. Cllr Sheahan also said that some of the money from the €32 million loan to the local authority, which was approved by councillors last October to kickstart the 2030 development, should be used for the betterment of county towns.
Sinn Fein councillor Seamus Browne also described the plans to remove 70 metres of car parking space from Abbeyfeale’s main street as “excessive”.
“It is important for the town that this application goes forward, but 70 metres is a bit much when there is already an entrance into site with its own parking spaces. We need to look into the future and look at how this will effect other businesses in the area,” said Cllr Browne.
