Councillor vows to fight 'tooth and nail' for distributor road in Limerick town

A LIMERICK councillor has vowed that he will fight "tooth and nail" to ensure that Newcastle West gets a distributor road to deal with major congestion within the county town.

The comments were made at a meeting of the Newcastle West Municipal District, where Cathaoirleach, Cllr Michael Collins (FF) stressed that the road should have been brought to the town over 15 years ago.

He reminded council officials that four or five years ago the scheme came before elected representatives, where he was told that the distributor road was going to planning stage.

"I hope this is not a delay tactic," he said to council officials and colleagues present.

He stressed that the distributor road must be built in Newcastle West because the town is "completely congested" and that residents are waiting close to 15 years to see the project begin. He also highlighted its importance to Abbeyfeale.

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Cllr Collins added that the distributor road will be part of the process in drawing up a transport plan for the town. Cllr Jerome Scanlan (independent) seconded his colleagues motion and sentiments.

In response to the motion Limerick City and County Council said that Newcastle West Local Area Plan 2014-2020 identifies a proposed route for a distributor road, which was intended to be developer led.

"No progress has been made in relation to the delivery of the road since the adoption of the Local Area Plan," they said.

The Local Area Plan review has commenced internally and it is not reasonable to define the need or otherwise of such a road at this stage until the review has developed further, the council informed.

The local authority also noted that consultants have been further engaged to develop a Transport Plan for Newcastle West as required in the Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy.

"The Forward Planning and Transportation and Mobility Teams will engage with the Elected Members of the Newcastle West Municipal District, stakeholders and public throughout this process," they added.