Objectors to the €20 million Loughrea bypass have failed in their attempt to stop Galway County Council issuing compulsory purchase orders for their lands.
An Bord Pleanála has ruled in favour of the local authority that the acquisition of the lands in question in Loughrea is necessary for the construction of the bypass.
The council last year published a list of lands and landowners that would be affected by the construction of the new route and that were proposed to be acquired through compulsory purchase order (CPO). In spite of the large number of landowners affected, just four objections were lodged.
An oral hearing was held in January where the four objectors presented their case to the Planning Appeals Board. The objectors were Mr Thomas Deeley, Mr Maurice and Ms Nuala Clarke, Mr John and Ms Mary Fahy, and Mr James and Ms Catherine Skehill.
An Bord Pleanála this week ruled that, having regard for the existing and predicted traffic volumes on the N6 through Loughrea, the acquisition of lands was necessary.
The board also ruled that changes proposed at the oral hearing by objectors would be recorded. Work is due to begin on the bypass within the next few months, when the council publishes a notice of confirmation.
When this is published, objectors will have an opportunity to appeal the bypass to the High Court. If no appeal is made, the council will issue a Notice to Treat in which the CPOs are negotiated and the construction of the bypass begins.
Once complete, it will remove more than 10,000 cars from the streets of Loughrea every day and will free the town for business while easing the journey between Galway and Dublin. The project was put on hold early last year due to a zoning decision made by Galway County Council.
The National Roads Authority put the project on hold following the council's decision to rezone lands adjacent to the line of the proposed bypass for industrial use, a move the NRA felt would push up the cost of the compulsory purchase of lands.
A meeting was called in an attempt to rescind the zoning decision. Councillors then voted unanimously in favour of rescinding the earlier decision and the project was put back on track for completion in 2006.