Call for public lighting in housing estates

PEOPLE are being “victimised” as housing estates are left open to anti-social behaviour because of a lack of public lighting, Clare County Council has heard.
Councillor John Crowe told this week’s meeting that a large number of estates within the county are without public lighting.
“Some of these estates have been taken in charge and more have not. For those that have not been taken in charge and the developers have subsequently gone out of business, there should be some plan for the provision of lighting for these estates for social and safety reasons.”
He went on, “People have bought houses and they are being victimised. People are being left alone with no lights, leaving the estate open to anti-social behaviour.
“It’s absolutely appalling trying to get around these estates. What happens if there is a major accident, who would be responsible? All I am looking for is some lights, it can’t cost an absolute fortune.”
Councillor Pascal Fitzgerald described the situation as “appalling”.
“Safety is the priority of the council, to ensure that people can get home safely at night time,” he said.
Councillor Gerry Flynn spoke about damage that had been done to property in Sixmilebridge, saying the culprits “used the occasion of Hallowe’en”.
Councillor Patricia McCarthy added, “What happened on Hallowe’en, part can be attributed to bad public lighting and people being able to go about undetected”.
She stated many lights in Shannon are “fixed today and gone tomorrow”. She suggested that the numbers on lighting poles be painted luminous to make them easier to see to report any problems.
Councillor PJ Ryan stated emphasis should be put on estates that have been taken in charge, adding the council have heard “all kinds of excuses”.
The elected members were told to inform the council about any lights that are not working. They were also told the service had improved since changing service provider.
Nora Kaye, acting director of services, planning, land use and transportation, stated that although Clare County Council has no legal responsibility where estates have not been taken in charge, the matter will be discussed with the service provider with a view to examining any proposals for dealing with same.
“It should be noted that following a national survey by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government of all unfinished estates in the country, outstanding issues such as public lighting have been included in the survey.
“A multi-agency approach is being established to deal with the proposed actions, both from a housing and sustainability perspective,” she said.