Residents voice safety concerns at housing estate

RESIDENTS of Ballyknockan Manor in Leighlinbridge have raised concerns about safety issues and access to green space at their housing estate, where newly-built homes have remained unoccupied since completion in September 2024.

Jayme O’Mara, a long-time resident of the estate, described the entrance as dangerous, explaining that the one-way system on the hillside forces residents to reverse out if another vehicle is coming down. She also highlighted an unsecured drop of about two metres that only has a makeshift silver fence for protection.

“Our main issue is more that it’s really dangerous for us to get in and out of the estate with the entrance the way it is,” said Jayme.

However, residents are also wondering why there is a delay in the finished houses being occupied. “When you ring the council and you ask them what’s going on, they just say they haven’t been allocated yet,” Ms O’Mara told The Nationalist, referring to the completed houses that have been sitting empty since last September.

While the dangerous entrance is a primary concern, residents are also frustrated about losing access to their green space.

According to Ms O’Mara, the green area where children used to play has been inaccessible for almost three years. She said that residents had previously secured a grant from the council around 11 years ago to fence off and create this communal area that has been important to everyone living there.

She continued that when BHA Construction began work in 2023, the company informed residents via letter that they needed temporary access to the green space, promising it would be unavailable for “hopefully a year”. However, it still remains behind metal barriers.

In frustration, Ms O’Mara said that residents recently removed some of the barriers to allow children to play in the area. “Then somebody came and closed it back up and threw the children’s goalposts and everything out on the road,” she added.

Despite contacting BHA last week to complain about the situation, she says she never received a response.

As a concession, a small play area had been built, but Ms O’Mara said it’s “pathetic. It has literally the tiniest slide, a small wooden thing that you can walk across; they put a bench in and that’s what they called the park.

“The kids have nowhere to play. That’s dangerous. They’re going to play on the road,” she added, explaining why residents decided to cut open the fencing to regain access.

In response to these concerns, BHA’s operations director Shane Curran said that the green space is part of the construction site owned by BHA until handover. He confirmed that this handover occurred on 15 May.

“The keys were given to Carlow County Council and the fencing will come down. What I understand is that their allocations will start next week,” said Mr Curran.

He clarified that the area was legally considered a building site until handover, and residents who removed barriers were technically trespassing on private property. While acknowledging the need for space for children to play, he cited insurance liability as a key concern: “If any of the kids are out and they break their leg, it’s on our insurance.” 

In relation to the “pathetic” park, he said: “We’re not designers. That’s what’s been designed to meet the requirements, so everything is fully compliant there.” 

Regarding the safety issues with the estate entrance, the operations director acknowledged residents’ concerns about reversing onto blind bends, but defended the company’s approach. “The HSA has visited the site several times. We have a traffic management plan in place that is approved by Carlow County Council’s roads department as well as being HSA compliant. I don’t know if there’s a whole lot more we could actually do.

“We have completed all of our works bar the new entrance – for which we need to divert traffic – which will happen only after handover,” he added, emphasising that it’s not in the company’s interest to delay completion. “Just for the record, as a builder or developer, what’s our goal? We only get paid when the houses are handed over. So it’s definitely not a delay from BHA.” 

Mr Curran indicated that approximately two-and-a-half weeks of work remain to complete the new entrance now that the handover has occurred and a traffic plan is implemented.