‘It’s a disaster’- Preschool manager urges action to tackle flooding

THE manager of a childcare facility near Churchill has appealed to local councillors to take action on flooding issues which she says are impacting on those who use her facility and local schools.

Churchill Community Childcare manager, Linda Anderson said many motorists are forced to take an alternative route because one particular stretch of road is often impassable after heavy rain.

The childcare facility is based in Trentagh Church Hall, and Linda said flooding on the nearby Trentagh road has had huge impacts on the service.

She has worked at the preschool for almost thirty years and always remembers the flooding being an occasional issue but not like the constant problem it poses now.

“I’ve worked in the preschool for 27 years and I have only seen the road risen once,” she told the Donegal News.

The road is along a marshy area and years of rain and storms have caused it to sink down.

Linda explained that since the preschool went back in the first week in September there has been constant flooding.

This flooding has made the road impassable and many parents and staff have to take dangerous detours to reach the preschool.

One detour is from Rathdonnel to the Nine-Eyed Bridge and the other from the Laghnahurey Road to the Nine-Eyed Bridge. These detours force parents to drive on narrow roads. This can add around ten minutes to their journeys, meaning extra fuel costs too.

Linda arrives early to work each morning to contact parents and let them know the condition of the road. The preschool has kids coming from Glenswilly, Trentagh, Kilmacrennan and even Letterkenny, and many parents fear meeting heavy vehicles on the dangerous, narrow roads.

Linda also fears that the flooding issues could also affect the service’s funding. The preschool receives Pobal funding which requires children to attend five days a week. The flooding has impacted on the children’s attendance.