It will be back to donkeys and carts in Ballina and north Mayo given the decision by An Bord Pleanála last week to refuse permission for the N26 Ballina to Bohola road.
Never has a decision brought so many authorities, lobby groups, and individuals together in protest.
It’s not often we see the hierarchy of Mayo County Council speaking publicly against a decision of the planning appeals board, but such is the level of frustration felt at this decision the council, along with many other groups, has spoken out.
Ballina Chamber is shocked and dismayed. A lot of work has been done to promote Ballina and the greater north Mayo region for industrial development and tourism. Without the road infrastructure, these efforts will be greatly hampered.
What’s annoying, apart from the fact that the application has been with the board for two years and over €5 million has already been spent on the design of the road, is that it had the full backing of the NRA, Mayo County Council, the Council for the West, Mayo Industries Group, Ballina Chamber, local councillors, and the public in general. Described as the “long awaited N26” on so many occasions, no one believed the decision would be anything but favourable.
Well, favourable towards the economic development of the area and not towards the Whooper Swans who reside nearby.
Ballina is a hub town in the National Spatial Strategy, so the proposed road was in keeping with the national policy of the NRA. Environmental concerns were addressed, or so everyone associated felt.
There is rarely consensus reached around decisions made by An Bord Pleanála but on this occasion there is agreement — that the decision was the wrong one. In light of it there has been a call for a Government review of the board.
Why an organisation would go to the bother of sending an inspector out to advise on an application and then go against the inspector’s recommendation is baffling, but not uncommon.
The board’s reasoning has been described as “spurious, inaccurate, and totally out of touch with reality” by the Council for the West.
Over 10 years the NRA and Mayo County Council have engaged in a broad and deep consultative process in relation to the design of this road.
So it seems, for now anyway, the Whooper Swans can sit tight. City beaurocrats have ensured that their importance takes precedence over the economic development of Ballina and north Mayo.
At a time when businesses are suffering and unemployment figures are soaring, the green agenda has won. Surely it is time for some realism to take precedence over airy fairy notions of sustainable travel. Sustainable travel itself isn’t pie in the sky and is more than a worthy concept, but to think that public transport or cycling is going to replace the car in this rural area of the west is ludicrous.
Expect fireworks and emotive scenes at Monday’s county council meeting as the fallout from this decision rumbles on.
