Call to shut down ‘chip van' lay-by

A CALL has been made for the complete closing off of the lay-by next to the notorious ‘chip van corner’ on the N71 between Bandon and Innishannon.

Councillors heard various comments from members at a meeting of the Western Committee recently, saying it was a dangerous place for stopping.

Cllr James O’Donovan (FG) said the best thing to do with it was to close it off in the interest of safety, but he pointed out that no one knows who owns the site.

‘In relation to the corner and the amount of crashes there, I don’t know what can be done. It’s basically down to driver error and some are just unable to take the corner, even though the signs are there to warn drivers,’ said Cllr O’Donovan.

Cllr Rachel McCarthy (SF) said she would like to get a figure on how many accidents have taken place at that corner. 

Cllr Kevin Murphy (FG) agreed that the derelict chip van was an ‘eyesore’ and that the general area was a disgrace with overgrown weeds and run down seating there.

Cllr Murphy also pointed put that ‘no matter how many signs go up there people don’t see them.’ Cllr Paul Hayes (SF) said some people don’t know the road.