Page 4 - COBH EDITION 15th SEPTEMBER DIGITAL VERSION

Update from your local Councillor Cathal Rasmussen August 2019

After many years of discussion and planning the lower harbour drainage scheme
has finally arrived in our town. Over the last few weeks or so trial holes were dug
to help with the planning of this project. Last week the first locations for the full
digging and the laying of the pipes were announced. On the R624 between the
Dockyard and the old hotel from Monday 0ctober 14 to Monday 25 October a sec-
tion of the road here will be closed. On West / East beach from an area near the
old town hall to the pedestrian crossing outside centra from Monday October 7 to
Saturday November 30 this road will also be closed.
The construction of the new pumping station and associated electrical works will
begin on the quay in the old town hall on Monday September 16 and will take
a year to complete. During the next months a lot of disruption will occur in and
around the town in general. I have spoken with the contractors and they are con-
scious of the disruptions that the works will bring to the town and they are commit-
ted to working with locals and businesses to help reduce this disruption as much as
possible. During this period of works we as a town must continue to support all the
shops and businesses as much as possible to ensure that they survive.
At the end of September Irish Water have applied to close Ticknock hill for one
week to allow the laying of the new water main in the area. This is a project that I
have been pushing to get completed for the last year or so due to the many water
outages in the area. According to the engineers the road needs to close for safety
reasons but also with the beginning of the drainage scheme we cannot have both
roads delayed with road works at the same time. If we went with a stop and go
system, it could take up to 8 weeks to complete the work and this would overlap
with the works on the R624. It is worth noting that over the next period park-
ing in the town will become more difficult in some areas. I am asking for patience
and understanding from the towns people during this difficult period. Cork county
council have appointed a new traffic warden who will begin work on September 2 to
replace the original warden who is on sick leave.

The Belvelly water main project is nearing completion and hopefully with it will
bring fresh water to the many houses in the area for the first time in many years.
There are still some issues locally to be resolved but hopefully this will be sorted
shortly also.

Cobh Hospital and the whole issue of the lack of funding was very much in the
news recently. Sadly, this is an issue that occurs every few years and it appears
complicated to find a proper solution. There is no doubt that the hospital is un-
derfunded and if it wasn’t for the many donations by so many over the years the
situation would be even worse. It is time now for the board of management, the
staff and the friends of the hospital to sit down together and to continue working
together to ensure the hospital’s future is secure. I understand that the funding for
the foreseeable future is now sorted but there are still many challenges ahead that
do need all sides to work together.
If I can be of assistance in any way feel free to contact me on 0868878421 or mail
me on rosemountcobh1@eircom.net of cathal.rasmussen@cllrcorkcoco.ie