South Tipperary County Council has not received an official objection from the National Roads Authority (NRA) regarding the construction of a bridge that would service a proposed 323-acre bioscience and technology park at Coolnamuck.
A planning official confirmed to The Munster Express that the Council has not received any objection of any kind from the NRA relating to the project that’s been proposed by developer John Ronan.
But this has done little to dispel growing local disquiet among politicians and business figures which suggests that the NRA could effectively roadblock the entire development.
While South Tipperary County Council awaits further information arising from John Ronan’s original planning application concerning a project he is reportedly set to invest €10 million in, whispers of NRA dissatisfaction began to surface last week.
It has been suggested by several figures anxious to see the development proceed that the NRA isn’t pleased that the new two-lane bridge is not expected to cater for public traffic.
The nub of the rumoured problem appears to stem from the question of who will service a private bridge accessible via two public roads (the N24 on the Tipperary side and the R680 on the Waterford side).
But as we went to press, the same day that a new section of the Castlecomer/Dublin Road was being opened in Kilkenny, NRA Head of Communications Sean O’Neill, understandably busy, was not available for comment.
The proposed bioscience and technology facility, which has long been touted as the great economic hope for the Carrick-on-Suir hinterland, would, according to its backers, have the potential to generate 2,500 jobs.
The park would cater for the Research and Development sectors of the agricultural science, pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries.
The proposed new bridge, situated within South Tipperary’s planning jurisdiction, would be 67 metres in length, while the 323-acre site itself lies within the boundary of Waterford County Council.
