Monksland developers reject traffic disruption claims

The developers of a proposed €60 million neighbourhood centre project in Monksland have rejected claims that the closure of the old Tuam Road to facilitate a four-arm roundabout will cause disruption in the area. The proposals are part of newly submitted plans sent to An Bord Pleanala in recent weeks, after it"s understood Roscommon County Council rejected the initial proposals of a five-arm roundabout as part of ambitious project. A spokesperson for the developer said the local authority recommended a four-arm roundabout in the project on safety grounds, pointing out that the new plans would actually reduce traffic passing through the old Tuam road, while also maintaining two-way access to Athlone and into the new development. Motorists can then use the roundabout to turn left on to the existing Tuam Road. A link road through the development will also mean drivers can traverse down to Bogganfin to link up with the Roscommon road. A verdict on the ambitious plans had been expected some time in March but a spokesperson for Bord Pleanala indicated this week that May is a more likely target for the project, which has been dogged by delays since it was appealed to the board in the summer of 2007. Backers of the massive "village within a village" project it believe could sustain 200 permanent jobs if approved for the ten acre site along the Tuam Road. A range of 150 residential units retail units, a civic centre, a creche, footbridge and landscaped public square are some of the integral parts of the exciting project, which aroused controversy in the area from local residents who objected to the scale, size and height of the proposals. Planning permission was granted early in 2007 for the revised massive neighbourhood centre development after Roscommon County Council voted overwhelming in favour of altering the zoning of the land to allow approval for the plans after the original blueprint a year earlier was knocked back by the local authority.