Village is Cut in Two By Gas Line

A VILLAGE at the centre of the Corrib gas controversy will be sliced in half by the newly proposed pipeline route, campaigners claimed yesterday.

Oil giant Shell insisted its alternative to the inshore section of its pipeline running through Rossport, Co Mayo, was twice as far from homes than originally planned.

It also said the new route, unveiled after almost a year of revising the contentious project, would have a minimal impact on the nearby Sruwaddacon Bay and other designated conservation sites.

But Shell To Sea, the organisation organising protests against an inland refinery at Bellanaboy, said it will worsen relations between Shell and locals.

Spokesman John Monaghan added: “Half the village is between the pipeline and the sea. In an emergency the only way out for half is across the pipeline or across the bay.”

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