The National Roads Authority (NRA) has written to more than 200 landowners along a proposed new route, to be called the N22, between Ballincollig and Ballvourney. The authority wants to start discussions with them about land acquisition to allow for a new main road between Cork and the Kerry boundary.
Although the preferred route has been loosely identified, it cannot be turned into a firm proposal until the issue of land has been dealt with, according to NRA consultants, McCarthy Hyder. The consultants have also said the possibility of acquiring private homes in the future cannot be ruled out.
The landowners have already received letters from the NRA inviting them to meet officials of the authority this week in Macroom for informal discussions. Many landowners are preparing to fight the NRA's acquisition plans.
Out of four possible routes, colour-coded as green, red, blue and yellow, the yellow route was chosen last week by the NRA and this decision was relayed to a special meeting of the Macroom Town Council and Cork County Council. On the face of it, the NRA's decision was a victory for the Save the Lee Valley Campaign, which had campaigned for over a year against the damage at least three of the routes - the green, blue and red - would cause to the ecology, wildlife archaeology and amenity value of the Lee Valley.
The campaigners were careful to conceal the joy of their success, however, because neighbours and friends may now be faced with the difficult choice of negotiating with the NRA for the sale of some of their land, or, at worst, facing compulsory purchase orders.
There is still a long way to go before the new route can open for business. At today's prices, the 29 kms of two-lane highway would cost €180 million. The route is the longest and most expensive of the four but would be by far the least environmentally damaging. If there has to be a new road, and the need for it is obvious, this is the one the Save the Lee valley Campaign would have preferred. The down side is that the yellow route is also the most populated.
According to Mr Rob Ferguson of McCarthy Hyder, project manager for the route, this week's meetings with the landowners are for consultation only, and landowners should approach them in that spirit. "The landowners have nothing to lose by meeting with us. Time is on their side because we are at the very early stages of the project.
"It's natural that some people would feel traumatised by the prospect of losing some of their land, but we're talking about fields, not farms or commercial enterprises, or anything like that. I think at this stage, the landowners have everything to gain by talking to us. They might, for instance, be able to tell us things we didn't know, because so far, we've been precluded from actually going onto the land.
"The proposed route is conceptual and may vary considerably by the time the final plans come to be drawn up. The landowners, through this session of meetings and many others that will take place in the future will be in a position to influence the final plans.
"It must be stressed, too, that our aim, and we have made it our primary constraint, is to avoid having to acquire residential properties. The fact is, however, that as the planning progresses, the route may move and it may become necessary to look at acquiring private property."
"I would hope that the people to whom we have written will not be put off by what they read in the media but will use the opportunity to inform themselves. I'm getting a sense that some people are becoming upset and are absolutely opposed to having to give up land, and that's not surprising," Mr Ferguson added.
Long before the question of giving up land arises, McCarthy Hyder will have to produce an environmental impact statement and a geotechnical study of the proposed route will have to be conducted. During the first half of next year, there will be an oral hearing to decide if the project can can go ahead..
The existing N22 between Ballincollig and Ballyvourney bears more traffic than it was designed for and is accident prone because of many junctions, and is not up to the huge volume of traffic.