RESIDENTS OF Slane, Co Meath, have secured a temporary halt to the erection of new road signs in front of four listed Georgian buildings that form the town's square.
The four almost identical Georgian houses stand at the crossing point of the N2 Dublin to Derry road and the N51 Navan to Drogheda route
Contractors working for the National Roads Authority (NRA) began excavations for a number of signs in the square on Tuesday morning, a move that quickly drew protests from local residents and members of the Boyne Valley Trust.
Residents said they and the trust had jointly spent almost €300,000 in recent years in planning battles designed to protect Georgian aspects of the town, which in recent years won official designation as one of the State's heritage towns.
Following protests from locals, who contacted the NRA and Meath County Council, work stopped on the foundations to facilitate negotiations between the locals and the council, which was acting on behalf of the NRA.
However, secretary of the Boyne Valley Trust Eugene Carney said members would only consent to discussions with a representative of the council "at decision-making level".
Mr Carney said it was his understanding of legislation governing the NRA that while certain works on national roads were exempt from planning permission, the erection of signs in a village was not one of them.
Meath County Council said it was considering the position and was seeking legal advice. Efforts to contact an NRA spokesman were not successful yesterday.
According to Mr Carney, the excavations were to facilitate the installation of 1.22 metre (4ft) high signs, which would be set in concrete against the walls of the Georgian houses at the crossroads.
He maintained they would be completely inappropriate in a heritage town.
