BY C.J. MCGINLEY
THE County Manager yesterday (Thursday) called for a number of key infrastructural projects for Letterkenny to be fast-tracked in order to cope with the rapid expansion of the town.
Mr Michael McLoone was commenting following confirmation that over 3,000 houses and apartments are now in the pipeline for the Cathedral Town. Speaking to the Donegal News the County Manager said the delivery of a number of major water, waste water and road projects were now critical to sustain the further development of Letterkenny.
"Despite the pressures that the major expansion of Letterkenny is causing on services we are trying at all times to accommodate development and accelerate investment in key infrastructure projects and we're working actively to secure funds for such schemes," he said.
"We now need to accelerate plans for a number of key infrastructural projects such as the new Waste Water Treatment Plan for the town, a new road linking Bonagee with Ramelton Road (the Bonagee Link Road) and in the longer term the Lough Mourne and Pollan Dam water schemes. We're actively trying to source funding from the government for such projects to get them going," Mr McLoone added.
Town Clerk, Mr Paddy Doherty has confirmed this week there are currently 1,250 houses and apartments (mainly houses) going through the planning process in Letterkenny. These include major housing projects in the Windyhall (424), Kiltoy (192), Crievesmith (142) and Glencar (150). Almost 200 apartments are planned as part of a ¤60million retail and apartment complex on a ten acre site at Port Road.
However, the figures do not take into account plans for 1,000 houses in the Scribley-Leck area of the town or a further 500 houses that have been granted planning permission in the Ballymacool area. Last week plans were revealed by this newspaper for another 443 houses as part a major
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scheme in the Glencar area of the town but speaking on Tuesday Mr Doherty said they were still awaiting the formal application for this project to be submitted.
The rapid pace of such developments has raised growing concerns about the town's ability to cope and provide key services such as water and power. Many houses bought by investors for rent are also lying vacant.
The County Manager said the major challenge facing the council was striking a balance between the rapid development in the town and providing supporting services.
"The type of pressure you see for services in Letterkenny is similar to other growing towns and cities across the country and we're conscious of the need to provide major investment. The growth of Letterkenny in the past ten years has been huge and there already has been huge investment in the town. We're confident that can continue that but we're conscious of the urgent need to get key service projects going as quickly as possible," he said.
There has been growing concerns about the availability of water in the town with supplies cut off in areas such as Glencar, Lismonaghan and Knocknamona in recent years. However, the Manager said steps had been taken to provide solutions in the short term with water augmentation schemes such as the Boreholes at Ballymacool and extracting water from Lough Greenan to enhance the supply from Lough Salt.
Long term solution
However, he stressed, once again, the long term solution to Letterkenny's water supply needs was the provision of the Lough Mourne (Regional Water Supply Scheme) and a link to the Pollan Dam.
"A conservation programme and the detection of leaks in pipes and replacements is also a critical part of the water supply issue," he added.
The County Manager said they were hopeful of being successful as one of the nine towns across the country to benefit from the new Gateway Innovation Fund which could bring funding of up to ¤25 or ¤30 million to the town. A high powered team of council officials is busy preparing a detailed bid for this initiative and has to be submitted by November 15.
"We're hoping if this is successful it will also help us leverage funding for further mainstream investment in some of the key services projects," he added.
Last week plans were revealed for 443 housing units in the Glencar Irish-Glencar Scotch area. The developers are PJ Sweeney and Geoffrey House and it consists of a mixture of detached, semi-detached, terraced, duplex and apartment units with provision for a creche. The overall site layout also includes for the future provision of a neighbourhood centre and primary school.
Green Party Councillor Neil Clarke has expressed concerns over a lack of infrastructural planning in Letterkenny. He has stressed the need for planners and developers to realise they are 'not just building houses, but communities,".
Three weeks ago plans for a ¤60million euro retail and apartment complex were lodged with Letterkenny Town Council. The development which is set to create up to 600 jobs in Letterkenny within the next two years, is being led by local hotelier Terry McEniff and Mr Peter Coyle, a former Town Clerk.
The developers are hopeful work could commence on the project before the end of the year, subject to planning. The mixed use development consists of 199 apartments, 11,200 sq metres of retail units, 5,000 sq metres of office units and 5,500 sq metres of leisure-entertainment.
