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Local is ‘disgusted' and ‘embarrassed' by filth of new Bantry harbour amenity

July 11th, 2018 9:10 PM

By Southern Star Team

Rubblish lined up along the wall of the new amenity area.

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A Skibbereen resident has expressed their disgust at beer cans being left piled up in the amenity area near Bantry's new marina.

A SKIBBEREEN resident has expressed their disgust at beer cans being left piled up in the amenity area near Bantry’s new marina.

The recently-completed amenity area – which is not yet open to the public, but is easily accessible – is alongside the new SuperValu store, close to the old railway pier.

‘I was disgusted to see empty beer cans and wrapping piled into a shopping trolley, abandoned in this newly finished area, with lots of other rubbish piled around it,’ the man, who regularly walks in the area, told The Southern Star.

‘What was even more horrifying was that, as I was looking at this mess, a group of Asian tourists got off a boat close by and walked past it, looking in at it as they went. They must have thought they were in a really filthy country. I was totally embarrassed,’ he said.

The amenity area was completed last year, as part of the overall facelift for the harbour area, which included a €9m marina. But the grassy plaza, with a view across the harbour, has not yet been made open to the public. However, it is only separated from the public pavement by some steel barriers which, it appears, have been easily breached.

Photographs sent to us by the reader show rubbish, including several empty beer cans, plastic drinks bottles and plastic wrapping off drinks, lined up alongside the harbour wall.

‘There was also an abandoned car, filled with rubbish, just across the road from there. If this is the way we greet new tourists, we may as well forget about it, because they won’t be coming back,’ he added.

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