People of Sligo must speak up in protest against Racecourse plan (PEOPLE FIRST MEETING)

sligo | environment | news report Monday March 24, 2008 10:38 by Rayo

PEOPLE in Sligo must put pressure on local representatives to keep the Racecourse site at Cleveragh a green area, says Deputy Mayor and Independant Socialist Cllr Declan Bree.

Cllr BREE was speaking at a public meeting on Thursday evening, March 13, at the community centre on Mail Coach Road, organised by PEOPLE FIRST, a group which lobbies to keep green spaces in Sligo town. Cllr BREE said: “It is of vital importance that the people of Sligo make it clear to their elected representative that under no circumstances will they tolerate the lands at the Racecourse being rezoned and sold off for housing and other commercial develop-ment.”

The meeting was chaired by JENNY CONLON, who said: “One of the objectives of the PEOPLE FIRST community group is to campaign for the retention and protection of green areas including the Racecourse area at Cleveragh, the Fairgreen and the Greenfort, all of which are zoned as open space/green links in the current city development plan. “The land at the Racecourse at Cleveragh was purchased by Sligo Corporation some 60 years ago to provide a green park and a recreation area for the people of Sligo. It is unacceptable that any attempt would now be made to rezone it and sell it off for development.” She said that when the current Sligo City and Environs Development Plan was being drafted a few years ago, the county manager and his officials recommended that councillors rezoned the lands at the Racecourse for housing development. “In an attempt to justify his recommendation that a large portion of the Racecourse be rezoned for housing, the county manager stated: ‘Given the area’s proximity to the town centre and the very significant amount of open space identified in the area, it would be unreasonable to maintain the entire Racecourse free from development,’” she said.

Cllr BREE said he totally rejected the county manager’s view. “The area’s proximity to the city centre is all the more reason for retaining it as a green area.”

PEOPLE FIRST committee member and local historian FIONA GALLAGHER praised the vision of the corporation in the 1940s and for purchasing the Cleveragh demesne for use as a public park. She told the meeting that the corporation’s acquisition of the land in 1947 was one of the organisation’s greatest coups since its formation in 1612. “The land at the Racecourse should not be rezoned. We have an obligation to ensure that the land at the Race-course is held in trust for future generations. “There is no excuse for rezoning it and selling it off. It has wonderful potential for sports and recreation. It is a unique environmental asset and it is vital as a green area for the people of Sligo,” she said.