Members of the public are being warned that they could be liable for damage to vehicles if they place bollards or hazards on the set-back area in front of their homes.
The issue of set-back areas was raised by Cllr Johno O'Malley at the Roads and Transport Strategic Policy Committee (SPC ) of Mayo County Council this week, where he called for the council to "take over ownership of the set-back areas that are imposed by planning permission grants, that say boundary walls have to be set back a number of feet from from the road, because they end up being used as lay-bys and parking by trucks and buses and it is unfair on people having to maintain them".
Responding to Cllr O'Malley, head of roads for Mayo County Council, Paul Dolan, said that he believed they should remain in private ownership and pointed out that the decision is based around improving sight lines and also giving areas to park for people who are visiting and not having them to park on the the road.
Director of services for Mayo County Council, Tom Gilligan, added that: "I have noticed myself over the last while people are putting bollards and deterrents out to discourage people from using it, but you have to be careful because if you damage someone else’s car or vehicle, you could be liable for it, so I would discourage anyone from putting up obstacles outside their wall and people need to be aware of that."
