Cllr Keelan slams moratorium on new public lighting in Louth

Cllr Conor Keelan has called for an overhaul of Louth County Council's policy on public lighting, saying that it makes "economic and financial sense to do so and is in the interest of public safety".

Louth County Council have had a moratorium on onstalling new lights since 2015. Commenting to the Dundalk Democrat on the matter, Cllr Keelan said that "despite repeated requests from councillors like me, they refuse to change the policy."

"Take the blank refusal to light the McNeela walkway, while trying to encourage people to use Active Travel measures for example", he continued, referring to a request he had made a year ago for additional lighting to be installed by Louth County Council at the Michael McNeela Riverside Walk in Dundalk. 

Cllr Keelan at the time had requested the extra lighting, because he said, the walkway was seeing a lot of night time use, but subsequently received a response from the Council to say that extra lighting would not be installed.

The Fianna Fáil councillor continued: "When the old taxi rank was extinguished at the Demense, a promise to the local business community was that, not only would the area revert to pay parking, as happened, but lighting was never delivered in the area, affecting the night-time economy.

"In many areas of the town, lighting surveys for new lights have been refused to this policy. It needs not just a review but an overhaul."

Cllr Keelan was also critical of a response he was given to a question he had submitted to the local authority for the Louth County Council December meeting, saying that "they also can't distinguish between the data, as shown in the reply."

Cllr Keelan had asked, "With the exception of lights erected and added to the grid following the completion of planning permissions, estates taken in charge arising out of community investment or grants such as ORIS, when did LCC last accede to install public lighting in any of the 5 LEAs of Louth County Council and could I have the number of lights and date of installation in each case?"

Replying to Cllr Keelan, David Jones, Director of Services, Placemaking and Physical Development said that: "The policy on the moratorium on the provision of new public lighting outside of grant aided infrastructure has been in place since circa 2015.

"Focus has been on ensuring budget provision towards annual maintenance of the current 14,240 public lights, and our pending financial commitment of €5.8 million in respect of the Public Lighting Energy Efficiency Programme.

"It is noted that circa 900 public lights have been installed since 2015 that relate to taking in charge and grant funded schemes. However, it is not possible to distinguish from the data whether public lights installed prior to the moratorium relate to grant fund schemes/taking in charge or were self funded."