A public meeting in Strangford Town’s Inverbrena Hall last Saturday was attended by 51 people from the Kilclief, Ballyculter and Strangford Town area to discuss the reopening of Cargy lane, which was recently closed by a local person, distressing many local families. A motion was passed at the meeting asking the party involved in the closure, without prejudice, to reopen the lane as a token of goodwill to all parties involved locally.
Cllr Cadogan Enright called for patience and restraint and said “It may be frustrating for local people to wait for the Council to inch slowly through the legal process of forcing the reopening of Cargy lane, but I would call on local people not to take action on this matter themselves, but instead fill out the forms handed out at the meeting and provide council officials with the legal evidence of traditional use that is required to enforce the reopening of the lane.”
Cadogan Enright explained that “Cargy Lane connects Churchtown Road to Drumroe Road and has been traditionally used by the community for generations past. Children use it to get to the school bus-stop on Churchtown Road, farmers us it to move livestock and it is a traditional church path as well. Cargy lane is well over a mile in length, and the last 150 meters of the lane at the Drumroe Road end has been bulldozed.”
Retired department of Agriculture officer Bill Corry said “Rural people in this area will know that I am familiar with every farm and field in this area, and I can say that I can recall that Cargy lane was used a s public right of way as far back as 1965. I will be filling in the ‘right of way’ form in Down District Council and encourage everyone else to do so.”
Terry Rooney said “I have been using this lane to access my wee cottage for 20 years past, and there are other houses on the lane, this is a terrible inconvenience to everyone.”
“I call on local people to fill out their ‘Right of Way’ forms, or if they were not at the last meeting then to contact Down District Council on 02844610800 and ask for a ‘Right of Way” form to be posted out to them,” concluded Green Party Cllr Cadogan Enright