Powerlines to go underground in Portlaoise to facilitate new school

A Laois school has begun the work of facilitating the construction of a new home in Portlaoise by planning to put electricity cables underground.

Kolbe Special School has invited companies to bid for the electricity diversion enabling works for the proposed new home for the school on the Block Road.

A contract invite says the enabling works shall consist of diversions of existing of ESB 38 kV and 10 kV overhead lines to allow construction of the school. The lines will be diverted to the perimeter of the site as agreed with ESB.

The school wants to diverted the power lines below ground within ducts and trenches in accordance with ESB Specification.

Builders were invited to bid for the contract to build the Kolbe Special School during 2022. Developers were told that the value of the contract for the project is estimated at nearly €8.7 million excluding VAT.

The school has planning permission to build a news single-storey building, approximately 2500 m2, at a greenfield site at Block Road in the Laois county town.

Works will include construction of eight general classrooms, a GP Hall, specialist educational spaces, administration areas, circulation areas, and other ancillary accommodation.

The project will also involve the provision of new vehicular/pedestrian site entrances, mini-bus drop-off spaces, car drop-off areas, car-parking spaces, bicycle parking spaces, new fencing and boundary treatment around entire site, a bin store, external play, sports and educational areas, landscaped external areas and all associated site development works.

A shortlist of eight developers will be drawn up from which the successful bidder will be chosen. The school say construction will take 18 months.

Designs for the purpose built school for children with severe disabilities were unveiled to the public in June 2021. It will have capacity for 48 pupils and located on HSE owned land between the present school and the Cuisle Centre, with the build funded by the Department of Education.

Laois County Council granted planning permission in early 2022 to the project which has been in the pipeline for many years. The school is heavily dependent on prefabs at present with conditions cramped and some rooms used for storage.

The Kolbe School specifically caters for children (age 4-18) within the severe to profound learning disability spectrum and/or autism. There are 41 pupils in the school at present.

The Laois Association of Parents & Friends of the Mentally Handicapped established the service in 1978. The original premises was situated in Portlaoise and moved to Ballyroan.