Angry Pearse Park residents vow to "fight on" in battle with council
Residents in a Tullamore housing estate have vowed to step up their campaign of opposition to plans by Offaly County Council to remove 12 mature trees and a green area in order to make way for a new section of urban greenway.
Over 80 residents from Pearse Park were joined by their neighbours from O’Molloy Street and Marian Place at a highly-charged meeting with members of Tullamore Municipal District on Tuesday night at which calls were made for the council to reconsider what was described by one resident as “this nonsense proposal.”
An online petition called ‘Save Our Trees Pearse Park Tullamore’ which was set up three days ago has already garnered huge support with many of those signing declaring their vehement opposition to the council plans for the area.
Pearse Park resident Michael McGrath said some residents are prepared to “stand in front of machinery if that’s what it takes to stop this nonsense proposal going ahead” and he said he would personally “stand in front of the trees” along the banks of the Grand Canal in order to prevent them being removed.
“We do not want, and we are not prepared to tolerate, another cycle track along the canal because we already have a cycle track on the Srah road side, it’s utter madness,” he said, adding that residents will “do everything necessary” to prevent the destruction of the mature trees overlooking Pearse Park and the green area along the canal bank which he said is “both a natural habitat and an important recreational area” for local residents.
The Urban Greenway being proposed by Offaly County Council will run from Convent View to Srah Bridge in Ballydrohid and will consist of a shared walking and cycling greenway route, 2.5-3 metres in width along the towpath of the canal for a distance of 2.8 km.
At the meeting with the council on Tuesday night, residents were told by council officials that there is insufficient space to facilitate a three-metre wide shared cycle and walking path for Greenway users on the Srah road side of the canal, and that this objective can be achieved by removing 12 trees and developing the green area adjacent to Pearse Park.
The residents, in turn, argued that the existing Srah Road section of the canal, which has a tarmac surface, is highly developed and is already widely used by both cyclists and walkers. They also voiced their strong opposition to any proposals from the council that would involve the felling of trees and the removal of the green area along the canal bank.
One resident told the meeting that the trees that are due to be felled to make way for the new section of greenway are there for over 50 years
Deputy Carol Nolan also attended Tuesday night’s meeting and said the removal of trees should be “an absolutely last resort” while Cllr Sean O’Brien said local people had not been “properly consulted” on this proposal. “It is clear that there can be changes and I am saying there will be changes,” he said.
Other elected representatives in attendance at the meeting, including Cllrs Declan Harvey, Tony McCormack and Neil Feighery, pledged to work with the council officials and local residents to find a solution which would be acceptable to both sides.
Meanwhile, Micheal McGrath says Offaly County Council should be “celebrating the diversity and the wonderful natural habitat” that exists on the Pearse Park side of the Grand Canal “instead of trying to destroy it” and he said residents will “fight on” and intend to step up their campaign of opposition to the council’s plans.
The Offaly section of the Grand Canal is approximately 71km in length and stretches from Edenderry to Shannon Harbour. A number of greenway sections have already been completed and among the proposals is a plan to construct a new section stretching from Tullamore to Lough Boora which will link up two important tourist landmarks in the county – Tullamore DEW and Lough Boora Discovery Park.