The demolition of a bridge in Co Meath has led to the arrest of a local councillor and left locals furious amid claims that the County Council have breached planning regulations.
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The Old Railway Bridge outside Trim, Co Meath, just before it was demolished
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Demolition work on the old railway bridge on the Kells Road (locally known as the Railway Road) on the outskirts of the town began at 5 a.m. yesterday without notice.
The bridge, which was part of the old Midland and Great Western Railway line running from Trim to Athboy was demolished to make way for a new relief road for Trim.
People using the road on Thursday morning were shocked to discover it impassable following the demolition of the bridge and were forced to make an eight-mile detour.
Trim Urban District Councillor Mr Phil Cantwell visited the site of the demolition and was subsequently arrested and charged with criminal damage after an incident during his protest.
He told ireland.comthe bridge dated back to 1855 and while not subject to a preservation order, Meath Co Co were obliged under the 1994 Planning and Development Regulations to inform both Duchas and An Taisce of their plan to demolish the bridge.
Mr Cantwell claims the County Council was aware of objections to the demolition of the bridge and is the reason why notice not was given that work was commencing. "They went in at stealth at 5 o’clock in the morning. You don’t do that unless you want to go behind people’s back," he said.
He said the that Trim was heritage town and the bridge should have been retained as a feature especially because it was a fine example of old limestone block-work. However Meath Co Co said today that the blocks were regarded as rubble and had been dumped.
A spokesman for the Council also confirmed that notice of the demolition beginning had not been given and that it was "regrettable" that road users were inconvenienced.
Despite the fact that the bridge was used by motorists, he said the council had not thought it necessary to close the road. When the work began it was decided that the road should be blocked off for "safety reasons".
He said both An Taisce and Duchas were notified of the plan to demolish the bridge in 1994 when the Trim development plan was drawn up and said no-one had objected. "It’s a clear objective for the best part of eight years and its clearly marked [in the development plan] as ‘old railway bridge to be demolished’," he said.
But Mr John O’Sullivan of An Taisce said today that representations had been made from his office as late as November 2001. He said they sent the county manager a letter calling for the route of the new road to be moved by five metres in order to save the bridge.
"It is an objective of the Meath county development plan 2000 to preserve heritage sites," he said, adding: "we regard the bridge as architectural and archeological heritage."
Mr Cantwell said he had raised the matter many times at UDC meetings and had been regularly reported in the local media expressing his concern about the future of the bridge. He also said he would be taking legal advice with a view to getting a judicial review of the council's actions.
Lord Dunsany, who lives about six miles from the bridge told ireland.comof his disappointment at the destruction of the bridge: "In a land of poetry and song our past is sacred. I was very sad to see this wanton destruction. It's made Trim a little poorer."