Donegal County Council has been urged to purchase a large block of land in Milford for housing needs and school expansions.
Almost 40 acres of land is up for sale at Gortmacall Beg on the edge of Milford Town directly opposite the Loreto Secondary School. The development land comes with a large amount of road frontage.
Cllr John O’Donnell said that the council cannot afford to let a golden opportunity like this pass.
“It’s not often you get 40 acres in the middle of a town centre for sale,” Cllr O’Donnell told the Letterkenny-Milford Municipal District meeting on Tuesday.
“I think the council would get good value for money.”
Cllr O’Donnell pointed out that housing on this site would be well-situated beside local schools and could cater to people in the neighbouring villages of Kerrykeel, Cranford, Ramelton, Rathmullan and Kilmacrennan.
Cllr O’Donnell suggested that if some of the land was offered by the council to local schools for extensions, then the council could reap the return from the Department of Education.
The deadline for offers on the land is this Friday. Cllr Liam Blaney added his hope that steps have already been taken by the council to make an offer.
“If that goes into private ownership we are leaving ourselves snookered from an education and housing point of view,” Cllr O’Donnell said, adding that he hopes by next week, the council could be announced as the new owner.
The council’s response was that it is currently considering a number of sites in Milford with social housing potential.
“As part of the process of acquiring land, the team liaises and consults on a cross-directorate basis with other Council services in carrying out due diligence in respect of each potential acquisition,” a spokesperson said.
