Following a well attended meeting in Buttevant on Monday evening organised by the Community Council, it has been confirmed that a protest over the state of the main street in the town, planned for Friday June 21st, will go ahead.
The meeting on Monday was attended by Minister of State Sean Sherlock, Deputy Tom Barry, Cllrs. Ronan Sheehan, Tom Sheahan and Willie O’Regan, and Melissa Mullane representing Sandra McLellan T.D.
The Community Council and locals have been up in arms for a considerable time and the ongoing deterioration of the street has led to persistent calls to Cork County Council and the National Roads Authority for remedial action. “The street is a disgrace for both locals and passing traffic. I can easily understand the anger and frustration of the local community. The best way forward is through making a case for the Buttevant streetscape and through persistent lobbying,” said local Councillor Tom Sheahan who runs a business on Main Street. According to Cllr Sheahan, plans for the upgrading of the M20 and a bypass of the town have been in the pipeline for almost 20 years. “The people of Buttevant have been patient in anticipation of these works coming on stream, but now that these plans are postponed indefinitely we can wait no longer for a major refurbishment of the street,” he said.
Cllr Ronan Sheehan also attended the meeting and is fully supportive of the calls for an immediate resolution of the issue. “I feel it has been an issue for Buttevant for such a long time,” Cllr. Sheehan said. “There was some understanding that when the bypass was put in place, the upgrade of the streetscape would follow.Now that there is a realisa-tion that the bypass is not happening in the near future, the people of Butte-vant want the powers-that-be to sit up and take notice as they feel that no action is being taken.”
All the public representa-tives present were fully supportive of the campaign for immediate action and the ongoing lobbying of the agencies, Cork County Council and the National Roads Authority.