David Fallon, a Labour Party candidate for Westport Town Council, has condemned as hugely wasteful the €1.2 million which Westport Town Council spent on the controversial second bridge over the Railway Line Walk in Cloonmonad.
Calling the development, “a bridge to nowhere”, David Fallon says the construction of the bridge marked “a high point of hubris for the councillors and officials who backed the plan which saw €1.2 million of ratepayers money spent on the bridge and road that goes nowhere and serves no purpose”.
The Labour candidate said that the “seven councillors who backed it played roulette with the town’s finances and have lost and now the town is out of pocket to the tune of €1.2 million.
According to Mr Fallon the bridge was built by the council with the single purpose of opening up lands to development and the cost was met by the council, who were supposed to recoup the money in development levies as the area was developed.
“Well there has been no development and there have been no levies and there won’t be for years to come, but there will be no complaints from the seven councillors who backed the project nor from the Chamber of Commerce who lobbied strongly for it, while Councillor Keith Martin from The Labour Party and Independent Cllr Martin Keane opposed this bridge from the start and voted against its development,” concluded Mr Fallon.
