Down Councilor Cadogan Enright has canvassed the feelings of residents in Dufferin Park and more widely in Knocknashinna regarding the proposed right of way at Tommy’s Lane between the back of Edward Street and Knocknashinna via Dufferin Park.
“I have been contacted by residents who both support and oppose the assertion of a right of way here. So I decided to go door to door myself and see what the reaction was before making a submission”, said Cllr Enright.
“I found that residents in Knocknashinna, especially Killbride Road, greatly favored asserting the right of way for parents or grandparents collecting children from the Primary School and Bunscoil in Edward Street.”
“Likewise there were quite a number of young people attending the Red High that found the route very useful.”
Cadogan Enright continued “On the other hand, people in Dufferin Park itself had strong feelings about the matter. Some living near the lane have had a very bad time from anti-social behavior and rough drinking at night time. Others who did not have access to cars found the lane very useful. But everyone agreed that asserting a right of way and just leaving it in its current state was not an option, as it is dangerous in bad weather, needs to be paved or stepped and would need work done on it to lessen opportunities for anti-social behavior”.
I also talked to close friends who have lived in that area all their lives, and they remember more than 40 years ago before Dufferin Park was built when the lane was called ‘Tommy’s Lane’ and they played up that way behind the old farm.
Council officials have been struggling to find the owner of this piece of land and have written to the Housing Executives, O’Boyles the builders and the land registry. It is difficult to see how a right of way at Tonny’s lane can be prevented, but there are legitimate and serious concerns about how the Council can assert a right way while leaving it in a dangerous state and in a manner that facilitates anti-social behaviour.