Residents’ fears over huge hole in the road
Residents in a Gort estate have warned somebody will be seriously injured unless a ‘crater’ on the road – big enough for a young child to fall into – is filled.
Locals say the pothole is at least four feet deep and appeared last weekend when part of a roadway collapsed in the Sliabh Carron estate on the Ennis Road.
Galway County Council has now initiated legal action to recover an insurance bond from ACC Bank for unfinished work in the estate.
One resident told the Connacht Tribune: “We noticed it on Friday evening, and it’s four to five feet deep. There’s just a hollow under the road. There was a problem there a couple of years ago with water pooling and it wasn’t repaired properly.
“There are more than 100 houses in the estate, so there are dozens of kids around. The hole poses a serious danger to them. There is a sandbag on it and a couple of cones around it at the moment, but it’s still very dangerous.
“On the road are about four inches of tarmacadam and a hollow underneath it. If a truck drove on it, the road would collapse,” he said.
The estate has not been taken in charge by the County Council, and is under the control of the receiver Pat Horkan of Russell Brennan Keane.
Catherine McConnell, Director of Services for Planning with the Council told the Connacht Tribune: “My understanding is that as a temporary measure, a bollard was placed over the hole, and the receiver has had engineers out to look at what will be required to rectify the situation.
“We have done a snag list in the estate, but it would always be our preference for the developer or receiver to finish it. There is a subtantial bond in place and we been in regular contact with ACC and the receiver,” said Ms McConnell.
She confirmed that legal steps have begun in order to draw down the bond, and that the Council cannot enter onto the land, unless there are “serious outstanding safety works”.
Planning documents indicate the insurance bond is for more than €210,000, but local councillor Gerry Finnerty believes that actual figure is closer to €120,000.
Sliabh Carron was built by developer Jimmy Considine from Bushypark in the city, but a receiver was appointed by the bank in 2010.
Cllr Finnerty said: “It’s like any other unfinished estate. It was built and the builder ran into financial trouble. The problem now is that the Council has been liaising for the last two years. It has now gone to their legal advisors to draw the bond down from ACC.
“There is no estimate for the work left to be done in the estate, but there is a problem with drainage and the pumping station and there is a possibility of collapse. There may be bigger problems underground.
“Somebody could get seriously hurt because the possibility [the road] could collapse,” said Cllr Finnerty.