Tuam bridge beauty spot will be restored

By TONY GALVIN A TUAM businessman has stepped in to ensure that the town's most famous landscape is not blighted by an ugly concrete bridge, totally out of keeping with its historic surroundings. With the Joe O'Toole Road, as it is to be named after its developer, due to be handed over to the council this Friday, he has pledged that he will ensure that the project is blended in as seamlessly as is practical, with its surroundings. [private] His intervention comes as at a time when it is discovered that the builders and Galway Co Council had no such plans in place and planned to leave what is described by one local representative as a 'blight on the landscape' in place. The location at Shop Street Bridge is a well-known Tuam beauty spot, painted by many artists over the years and often used to depict the town's charm in numerous publications and tourist brochures. While there is general acceptance locally that the town needed an inner-relief road and there would be some disturbance to this historic location, it had been expected the Co Council would ensure that every effort would be made to blend the new with the old in a sensitive manner. When it transpired that the Co Council has made no provision for such work, local businessman Joe O'Toole, who is funding the new road, stepped in with an assurance that he would also fund the necessary works to camouflage the ugly concrete barrier which mars the location. The issue has been causing some concerns locally. A spokesperson for An Taisce told The Herald that they were aware of the situation and have been monitoring it but were optimistic of a satisfactory outcome. Coffey's have said that they have finished off the bridge work in accordance with their brief, a spokesperson stating that they are 'builders, not designers' and have placed blame for the oversight firmly in the court of Galway Co Council. The oversight came to light when the The Herald made inquiries about obtaining an artist's impression of how the area should look when the current work is completed. Cllr Shaun Cunniffe agreed to try and obtain the artist's impression from County Hall and it was then that it was revealed that there was no such plan in place. Coffey's intended leaving the concrete structure in place as there is nothing in their plan to indicate that they should do otherwise. It appears that the Co Council assumed there was and the situation was in limbo until Mr O'Toole stepped in and gave an assurance that he would fund the work necessary to ensure that the new bridge blends. Basic design error 'It is beyond annoying that GCC can make such a basic design error with all the very important planning regulations regarding  heritage, visual amenity and design that we are all bound by. It is very important that GCC rectify this error as fast as possible,' Cllr Cunniffe told The Herald. Coffey's plan to hand over the new inner-relief road to Galway Co Council this Friday. The original gates to Waterslade are being replaced to the front of Waterslade House, facing the new road. However, there is some confusion over the Miller's Cottage, the façade of which is a protected structure. The façade will be reinforced by Coffey's but the company are awaiting instruction on how it is to be roofed. There is still a legal dispute between the owners of Waterslade House and the Co Council over the ownership of a small portion of ground where the old gates were located. 'This whole area is one of the most beautiful parts of our town and vitally important to the heritage of Tuam so Galway Co Council  needs to tread carefully. This oversight with the wall has made me very nervous and we must now see the full plans for the Miller's Cottage to ensure no other oversight occurs,' Cllr Cunniffe stated. [/private]