Council blocks development on Virginia bypass routes
Ballinagh bypass route similarly protected
Cavan County Council has moved to temporarily block any potential development on lands along corridors earmarked for the Virginia by-pass for fear it may “interfere” with the delivery of the key infrastructural project for the county.
By the end of Summer, the local authority expects to have identified its preferred route for the multi-million euro project. The corridors have already been whittled down from nine to five. Subject to approval, the council will begin finalising the statutory processes, including the compulsory purchase of land from Summer/Autumn 2022.
The stipulation to stave off development along proposed route corridors was passed unanimously by elected members as a Material Amendment to the Chief Executive’s Draft Cavan County Development Plan 2022-2028, which was put before them at the council meeting on Monday.
The amendment, put forward by council chief Tommy Ryan, stated that the N3 corridor is a ‘critical cross border economic route’, initially identified by the local authority in the 1980s, and acknowledged nationally by its inclusion in the National Planning Framework 2040.
Approximately €2.1 million is being invested in the project between 2020 and 2022. Total estimated costs could reach €130m once finished.
All proposed corridors are 300 metres wide to allow for further refinement; there are also a number of variations or links between route options. It’s understood the buffer area sought by the council extends to 400 metres either side of each corridor route.
The Draft Development Plan predicts the bypassing of Virginia would deliver ‘significant benefits in the areas of road safety, environmental impacts, accessibility and social inclusion’ by enhancing connectivity to Dublin and the North West. Two objectives were included by the executive as part of the material amendment, to include that the council will ‘Work in conjunction with Transport Infrastructure Ireland, Department of Transport and Meath County Council in the planning and construction of the N3 Virginia Bypass Scheme’.
The second proposed and passed was: ‘To reserve and protect option corridors from development, which would interfere with the delivery of the Virginia Bypass’.
However, there was some concern expressed after it was explained to councillors that an, as yet, unpublished route - taking in different elements of some of those outlined - could emerge as the preferred option.
Cllr Shane P O’Reilly (Ind) said that local elected representatives had come in for flak when the size of the proposed route corridors later appeared larger than what was first suggested. He suggested it was proving “contentious” among locals who may end up living nearby the new bypass.
“A lot of people are annoyed at what’s gone on,” said Cllr O’Reilly who asked to be kept informed of any changes in the pipeline.
TP O’Reilly (FG) questioned if there was an unseen variation, which could yet make the grade, to which Director of Services Paddy Connaughton explained the council was keeping its “options open” in order to be “as flexible as possible” with the final plan.He said the areas around Virginia were “densely populated” and that there “may be a variation on the published option”.
But he warned: “I don’t want to pre-empt, but there could be a variation or combination of what was published.”
Ballinagh Bypass
A similar decision has been made in respect of lands that could eventually form part of the proposed Ballinagh Bypass.
The motion, tabled by Winston Bennett (FG), will ‘require consultation with and written approval of the Roads Department of Cavan County Council prior to the granting of planning permission’ on lands east of the village that have the potential to compromise the bypass route.
Cllr Bennett said that the bypass was a project spoken about for almost 35 years, and one that would become more “prominent” in years to come following recent realignment works on the N55.