COUNCILLORS at the local council were left going around in circles during a discussion on who is responsible for the maintenance of roundabouts – the Department for Infrastructure (DfI), or the Council itself.
The issue was raised by Ulster Unionist Councillor Mark Ovens, who said he noted the current state of roundabouts in the district – which are overgrown, and as the peak tourism season approaches – are “an awful representation of our Council area”.
He proposed a report is compiled with costed options to allow this Council to come to a decision on the possible reinstatement of urban maintenance of infrastructure, particularly roundabouts”.
This was seconded by Councillor Adam Gannon, SDLP, who felt it was worth considering as “at least all the information will be there and whatever decision is made will stand, although we are really talking about any changes for next year”.
He requested an inclusion within the report around the potential for sponsorship from local businesses to “mitigate any financial impact”.
Chief Executive, Alison McCullagh, told councillors: “To be clear, [roundabouts] are infrastructure which the Council doesn’t own, so I would have thought it more appropriate to go to the owners, namely DfI, to ask for their arrangements for maintenance, and why would we be paying our money to a third-party organisation?
“In terms of sponsorship, and the arrangements applied elsewhere by DfI on their assets and facilities, the Council took a decision not to maintain land owned by third parties, including government departments.
Councillor Roy Crawford, Ulster Unionist, was “in favour of all stakeholders, including DfI, to be contacted and maybe a meeting could be called to look at the issue of roundabouts”.
Councillor Crawford added: “I’m certainly disappointed as a town councillor, and I’d like to see them maintained a lot better.
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