Access Road to Mountain Top in Letterkenny

Harold Weiss

The odd time (for last few years) i make a walk up to the mountain top here in letterkenny - it has some decent views..best in town.;)

Noticed today that a path has been cleared up around this area - which should make it accessable to atleast 1 vehicle capable of making the steep climb.(i was on foot/bike as usual)

Something that bothered me was the possibility of houses being erected here - some sites have already been cleared - permission to build houses may have already been granted.

Does anyone know who exactly owns this land?
And if houses are to be built, why is the only place in letterkenny with great scenic views, in the process of being destroyed for a few houses???

Is this private land??
Speak up people!!

Mint Sauce

Harold Weiss wrote: »

The odd time (for last few years) i make a walk up to the mountain top here in letterkenny - it has some decent views..best in town.;)

Noticed today that a path has been cleared up around this area - which should make it accessable to atleast 1 vehicle capable of making the steep climb.(i was on foot/bike as usual)

Something that bothered me was the possibility of houses being erected here - some sites have already been cleared - permission to build houses may have already been granted.

Does anyone know who exactly owns this land?
And if houses are to be built, why is the only place in letterkenny with great scenic views, in the process of being destroyed for a few houses???

Is this private land??
Speak up people!!

which parts of the mountian top are you referring to, may have misread your post, but N56 runs up and over it, well known letterkenny business man also has business on the mountain top as well, plus some established estates are already in place

muffler

This will be a start. You can navigate around the area by clicking on the pan buttons. You could always pop down to the council offices and ask to see the planning files and you will find the owners names on the application forms.

RMDrive

Is it Knockabrin (or knockybrin on the council website) you are on about?

Harold Weiss

haven't checked the council office, yet.

couldn't see anything on the map that ressembled the area i'm talking about -for example, houses in proximity don't appear to exist at knockybrin on the map (if that is the name of this hill)

the way i got to it was up gortlee, past the IDA centre towards woodlands..
there is a junction, take a left past a B+B, straight on towards a lane on the left. This leads up to the hill, where is looks like some houses will be built.

At the top of the hill is a concrete flag holder - the road recently cleared away circles this object.

don't get me wrong here..i'm not against people building houses, but it just seems like the wrong place to do it.

surely it could be preserved as a place for locals and even tourists to visit..can't understand why the council would let houses be built on it.

RMDrive

Thats Knockybrin all right. Many's a summer day I spend playing with my mates around there. The old quarry was a great place for kids to while away the hours. It's a shame if there are going to be houses built there. Especially if they will break the skyline - now that would be unforgiveable.

Harold Weiss

i agree, RMDrive.

Its got an excellent view of the landscape.. the only panoramic view of letterkenny and its surroundings.

you can see far from here on a good day - in my opinion, it would be a shame to build houses on it, and a loss for the town.

its a bit like building a hotel on top of muckish (thats probably not gonna happen anytime soon of course)

My concern is mainly with the construction of dwellings, which future residents may wish to deny visitor access to the hill.

given its steep climb, its not even really suitable for homes anyway, unless there are plans to build more roads up around it...

RMDrive

AFAIK its private land anyway so the potential was always there that access would be blocked.

Carrigart Exile

RMDrive wrote: »

AFAIK its private land anyway so the potential was always there that access would be blocked.

Is there no right of way as we have in Scotland. If the road/path has been used for 20 years it is a right of way?

RMDrive

There is a public road that goes over the hill from Woodlands to Calhame but only a tractor could go over it. So I guess that there will always be public access through that road. The top of the mountain though doesn't have any roads so I'm note sure about the right of way.