THE possibility of providing extra car park spaces at Wolfe Tone Square in Bantry town centre is set to be discussed at a meeting between councilors and the county engineer.

The meeting comes after Cllr Danny Collins (Ind Ire)  at a meeting of Cork County Council’s West Cork Municipal District this week, proposed alterations to the square’s design while the culvert works are being carried out in the town.

He welcomed news of a meeting with Brendan Meagher, the county engineer, by offering to show him plans for the square he had devised over the years, one of which he says is drawn on the back of a cigarette box.

Cllr Collins said: ‘We need more parking. My own view of it is we do have a beautiful square, but I do reckon it’s too big, at least a quarter if not a half of it could be taken away to create extra parking.’

He claimed he’s only ever seen the pedestrianised square ‘choc-a-bloc’ on two occasions.

‘Twice ever in my lifetime,’ he said, ‘In the mid 90’s when the Corrs played there for the Mussel Festival, and in 2010 when Cork won the All-Ireland football final and Graham Canty brought home the Sam Maguire.’

He estimates that if a quarter of the square was converted to parking it could create 25 to 30 new spaces which he believes are essential for businesses in the town.

Cllr Collins also hopes that the council ‘would source other property where parking could be created.’

He claimed: ‘Bantry is losing business over this’ - sharing one example of a local dentist who has had clients cancel their appointments because they could not get parking in the town.

Cllr Finbarr Harrington (Ind) agreed, stating that ‘a lot of our West Cork villages rely on walk ins’ and a lack of parking can seriously impact businesses.

Cllr Caroline Cronin (FG) pointed to the farmers market as an example, claiming many want to visit but the parking situation puts them off.

Cllr George Gill (FF) said that he has been contacted multiple times about the disabled parking spaces in Bantry, adding that while the outdoor seating is great for businesses it takes away much-needed parking spaces.

Work is already under way on the Bantry Mill Culvert Project, with Priority Geotechnical Ltd carrying out essential site investigation on behalf of the council.

The drilling of around six bore cores in Wolfe Tone Square began this week, with the aim to better understand the ground. conditions.

The rest of the cores will be collected next week, from Monday September 14th to Thursday September 17th.

The drilling rig will occupy up to two parking spaces a day in selected areas in the square.

Posting online, Cllr Gill acknowledged that this may inconvenience residents and businesses. But he said that ‘this work is a step forward in delivering upgrades to the towns long term flood defences’.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.