Council only had funding to repair one side of Skibbereen street

ONE side of a street in Skibbereen is fantastic, but the other side is in the ha’penny place, according to local Cllr Karen Coakley (Ind).

The councillor raised, at a recent meeting, the fact that one side of Bridge Street was given a brand new look, complete with a fine brick surface, but the other side was never done.

‘We need both sides to be the same,’ she said at a meeting of the West Cork Municipal District. (WCMD).

Engineer John Ahern said the first phase was completed under the National Transport’s Town and Village Scheme in 2022.

‘We made an application for funding in 2023, but no new funding was provided that year,’ he said. ‘We will apply for funding for the work in 2024, and if we get the funding, we certainly will do it.’

Meanwhile, Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) tabled a motion calling on Cork County Council to prioritise the completion of the car park at Greenmount Road in Ballydehob.

‘This car park is very near to completion but has been untouched for a considerable amount of time,’ she said.

‘Its completion would provide much-needed parking spaces in the village and alleviate congestion, especially during the busy times of school dropoff and collection,’ she added.

Cllr Cronin also complained about a dip in the road at Hollyhill, saying it had caused €1,000 damage to the back of one person’s van.

The area engineer said an application for funding to rectify the problem has been submitted.

At the same meeting, Cllr Deirdre Kelly (FF) also thanked the Council for facilitating a meeting with the Dunmanway Community Council.

She said the meeting set out a plan for a biodiversity area in the vicinity of the swimming pool and the town park.

She said the work was made possible due to the fact that the recent extension to the Riverside Walk has come in under budget.

She also thanked Eirgrid for providing additional funding.