Think about unsightly wires

Now that Kilcullen has improved its tidiness situation, with the help of Kildare County Council, some residents and businesspeople think that something should be done about the tangle of overhead wires which blight the streetscape.

“It’s time the matter was looked at, and plans made to deal with it,” says local estate agent John Fitzsimons. “Kilcullen has all the elements of being a really pretty place, but the wires take substantially from it.”

Pat McEvoy from the ESB says that in general terms, the local authority and the ESB would run a joint venture in putting electric wires underground in any town.

“The ESB would do the design for the underground network, while the local authority would deal with the way-leaves for the premises affected, which would have mini-pillars in front of their property instead of tall poles.”

The cost of the installation would be carried by the local authority. Some grant aid is available from the Department of the Environment towards the costs, which would be substantial.

However, the benefits of putting the wires underground are very visible in towns such as Portlaoise, Abbeyleix, Mountmellick and Durrow.

Putting electricity wires underground also means that public lighting standards can be stylish and attractive, instead of having lights ‘tacked on’ to unsightly ESB poles.

In these straitened times it is unlikely to be something which could happen soon.

“But times will get better, and at least there should be some planning done, and costs worked out,” says John Fitzsimons.

In the first instance, a community group has to approach Kildare County Council to look for a scheme. Then the ESB would do a plan and provide its own costs, an exercise that doesn’t cost anything.

Brian Byrne.