Barna residents living in and around the An Maolán development on Paint Box Road hit out at the ‘road safety disaster’ they face amid prolonged construction at the site.

At a public meeting last Thursday, around 100 people gathered to demand action on the ‘death-trap’ road which has been the subject of endless criticism in the village.

For more than five years, construction has been ongoing on the 48-unit development at Na Foraí Maola Thoir.

In granting planning permission, planners imposed a condition on the developers, Denalibrook Limited – a joint venture between Galway developer Gerry Barrett’s Edward Capital and the Dublin-based Farcone Limited – that they had to complete realignment works on the public road.

Deputy John Connolly (FF) told the meeting that he had been informed by the Council that a dispute had arisen between the local authority and the developer over the extent of the works covered by this condition.

“I understand there is conflict over one condition where the local authority feels the applicant has absolute necessity to complete the entire public road. The applicant doesn’t feel the condition is that all-encompassing,” he added.

The Fianna Fáil TD for Galway West said it was understanding that this disagreement was now the subject of legal proceedings.

In the meantime, the developer has sought an extension to planning permission – a would-be second extension to complete the estate, having previously been granted an additional two years to finish works in 2023. That extension ran out on March 15 last.

Caption: The damaged road at An Maolán. Photo: Joe O’Shaughnessy.

Read two pages on the controversy in this week’s Connacht Tribune, on sale in shops now, or you can download the digital edition from www.connachttribune.ie. You can also download our Connacht Tribune App from Apple’s App Store or get the Android Version from Google Play.