CPO should be considered for parking at Laois school

The council should consider a Compulsory Purchase Order to get parking facilities near a school in Portarlington, a meeting has heard. 

Independent Cllr Aidan Mullins suggested the move as he asked in a motion:  “That Laois County Council contact the Department of Education and liaise with them to provide additional parking for buses and cars at Sandy Lane N.S. in Portarlington”.

“I think I have raised this practically every year for the last six or seven years… the buses have nowhere to pull in,” he stated. 

Cllr Mullins told the meeting that he had hoped a section of an opposite field could be used as a parking area but he believes there may now be plans to develop the site. 

He said there was a bad bend at the school and “you have nowhere for parents to park, nowhere for buses to pull in”. 

Cllr Mullins said there needed to be action taken even if that required the use of a Compulsory Purchase Order(CPO) as the issue has been “parked and ignored” for years. “It is just not good enough,” he said.

In response from Laois County Council Administrator, Therese Kelly stated that: “Therese will issue correspondence to the Department of Education post meeting.”

The motion was seconded by Fianna Fail Cllr Paschal McEvoy at the monthly meeting of Portarlington Graiguecullen Municipal District.