Buncrana Town Plan delayed by three years

The long-awaited Buncrana Town Plan will be delayed for a further three years if it has to wait until the completion of the Letterkenny Town Plan, as is the case at present.

The pressing issue of Buncrana Town Plan was raised at the April meeting of Inishowen Municipal District councillors.

Expressing her concern at the delay, Cllr Rena Donaghey (Fianna Fáil) said the Buncrana Town Plan was already more than a year behind.

Cllr Donaghey said: “I would have to say I am very concerned about the Buncrana Town Plan. If we have to wait until Letterkenny is finalised, that would leave us about three years behind. We are already more than a year behind as it stands.

“I wonder if it would be possible to run both the Buncrana and Letterkenny Town Plans in tandem?

“None of us could have foreseen the covid crisis and the effect it would have on everything, however, if we have to wait until the Letterkenny Town Plan is complete before the Buncrana Town Plan is started, it is going to be a very lengthy project. I would ask Donegal County Council to run both in tandem.”

Cllr Nicholas Crossan (Independent) highlighted the need for the Buncrana Town Plan in terms of the extreme housing need in the seaside town and the wider Inishowen peninsula.

Cllr Crossan said: “41% of the people on the housing list in Inishowen are in the Buncrana area. It is virtually impossible to get a house for anyone to rent in Buncrana, yet, on the Main Street, there are houses lying vacant. It is the same in Carndonagh, Clonmany, Moville, the Main Street.

“We have to give some incentive to the people who own those homes, be it family homes, or whatever the case may be, houses that are just lying there, empty. There is plenty of good accomodation, however, there is no incentive for anybody.

“On top of that, we have the problem of mica affected dwellings and families who are finding it impossible to rent homes while their own are being fixed or rebuilt.

“I know the housing officers in Carndonagh are working exceptionally hard trying to get it sorted out. Really, Donegal County Council should start and initiative and no better place than Inishowen, to bring empty homes on its main streets back to occupancy. We should be proactive in what we are going to do here and ask the government for special consideration for our county and our peninsula. We need more finances to help because we are in dire straits. We have the accommodation. We have vacant premises. However, here is no incentive for people to maybe do up that premises or maybe spend any money on it. Going forward, let's be proactive in what we are going to do because we are in serious, serious times and it is a win win situation,” said Cllr Crossan.