Call for Laois County Council to block a laneway in Portarlington

AN undeveloped vacant site behind Railway Mews estate in Portarlington is causing concern to residents in that area.

In an attempt to ally the concerns of the local residents cllr Aidan Mullins proposed a motion at the October meeting of Graiguecullen/Portarlington Municipal District Council calling on the council to block off an access laneway leading into the cite.

He said: Cllr Aidan Mullins said: “It’s in the middle of the estate, behind one row of houses. It’s a landlocked site about half an acre or less. There’s a hedge all around it. There’s no purpose to have left it like that. The alleyway is between two houses into the site which is overgrown and being used as a sort of a dumping ground. The residents are worried that it might attract an element that might cause anti-social behavior. I’ve contacted the developer without response. It’d only take two sections of fencing to seal the entrance.” 

The district’s senior engineer Philip McVeigh said the council would contact the developer/owner of the site and request them to block the access to it.

Cllr Mullins asked: “If the council don’t get a response from the developer would they (council) be able to do it themselves?