‘Dad’s Army’ working on town restoration

‘Dad’s Army’ working on town restoration


Edwin McGreal

A CASTLEBAR town councillor has compared the speed of work of the restoration project to the town’s main street and several adjoining streets as going at a ‘Dad’s Army’ pace.
Cllr Frank Durcan made the comments in relation to the work at the junction of The Mall and Ellison Street, which is taking longer than initially expected.
The €950,000 programme commenced last month but Cllr Durcan stated that serious concerns had been expressed as to the speed of work.
“People are describing it as being like Dad’s Army. What I can tell you is the business people on Main Street won’t allow the council to go down there unless there’s a better show,” said Cllr Durcan.
Cllrs Brendan Henaghan and Ger Deere said they had also received representations from businesspeople concerned about the slow rate of progress.
Town Manager Seamus Granahan said that the project had been delayed at the start because of the intricate pipes at the Mall junction which required more work than initially envisaged. However, he added, that this work had been completed and work will continue at a much faster pace, with the only other expected delays of similar length to occur at the Kingsbridge junction (corner of Linenhall Street and Rush Street).
The restoration work will include paving, specialised lighting and furniture being installed in the town centre. The paving work had commenced on Ellison Street, the meeting was told.