Pond warning signs plan scrapped

Plans to install warning signs at four storm water retention ponds in east Cork have been abandoned after residents complained they could adversely affect their house values.

Midleton Town Council refilled holes prepared for the signs following a petition signed by 43 residents of Millbrook Court, on Millbrook Estate. The petition asked that the holes be refilled, while expressing concern over signage placement and a potentially negative impact on house values, insurance and sale potential.

Midleton Town Clerk Joe McCarthy says the signs, measuring approximately 2 feet wide by 2.5 feet high and on standard poles of approximately 6 feet, were rejected “without being seen”.

The petition also argued that the decision to erect the signs had been taken without prior consultation and said residents “would like time to fully assess the legal and engineering issues around the attenuation ponds”.

The ponds (storage areas) were installed in tandem with planning requirements on the decade-old estate. They measure approximately 50ft, by 30ft and are more than 5ft deep.

Mr McCarthy says the ponds are “designed to store surface water resulting from rainfall of 25mm per hour over a period of three hours and coinciding with the Owenacurra River being in full flow”.

Mr McCarthy says this occurrence would be very rare and, “on anecdotal evidence”, had only occurred once (Aug 2012).