Man with €230 million purse strings to meet with local councillors
The man who holds the purse strings to a possible €230 million investment in local projects is visiting Sligo on Friday in another attempt to resolve the impasse which has arisen over the proposed Eastern crossing of the Garavogue River and the Cranmore Regeneration project.
This will be the second visit to Sligo in recent months of Mr. Michael Finneran, the Minister for Housing and Local Government, who will sit down with members of the Borough Council at City Hall on Friday next.
In his last meeting here before Christmas, he urged members of the Borough Council to develop a Master Plan for the development of the Eastern quarter, including projects such as the Cranmore Regeneration and the Eastern Link Bridge, stressing that up to €230 million would be available if such a plan could be formulated.
A running bone of contention is the linking of the badly needed regeneration project and the controversial eastern bridge, which is being resisted by councillors and residents in its proposed location.
However, Minister Finneran has steadfastly maintained that the projects could not be separated as they are being funded in a co-ordinated way under the National Spatial Strategy.
He had called for a "time of reflection" in the hope that some progress could be made towards a resolution, but the intervening months have failed to achieve any real progress.
Indeed, at a meeting last week, members of the Borough Council passed a motion requesting the county manager to examine alternative routes for the Eastern bridge, a move which would hardly find favour with Minister Finneran, as his department has consistently argued that there is not feasible alternative.
"We look forward to engaging with Minister Finneran, but our line remains that alternatives must be explored. If we don't get agreement on that, it's hard to see how progress can be made," Mayor, Clr. Jimmy McGarry told THE SLIGO CHAMPION.
It's expected the Minister will also encounter some "friendly fire" from protesters campaigning for the pedestrianisation of O'Connell Street, who are planning a placard reception for him on Friday morning.
