Council closed Baylin road on presidential polling day

A local resident has criticised Westmeath County Council's decision to close a road to a local polling station in Baylin on the day of the presidential election.

As voters went to the polls on October 24, Westmeath County Council closed the L-1427 Warren High road (Baylin to Mount Temple road) to allow road works take place.

Less than 24 hours' notice of the full-day road closure was given by the local authority on its Facebook and Twitter accounts, which each had posts detailing the closure at 2.24pm on Thursday, October 23.

A man who contacted the Westmeath Independent said he hadn't seen any advance notice of the road closure, which made it difficult to access the polling station in Baylin National School.

"I find it a bit odd, and quite annoying, that there would be work scheduled to start on voting day - on one of the two main access roads to a polling station, and without notice signs informing of planned works in advance," said the local resident, who didn't wish to be named.

The man said the decision to close the road on a day when people were voting for the next president appeared to be "very poor planning" at the least.

When contacted by this newspaper, Westmeath County Council said that “due to contractor scheduling constraints,” essential restoration works on the L-1427 Warren High Road had to be completed by Friday, October 24.

“The council acknowledges the timing coincided with polling day and apologises for any inconvenience caused to those accessing Baylin NS polling station,” a local authority spokesperson said.