Village mobilises against powerline
The meeting was told by the community association that under the proposals, a 120-160ft pylon will be constructed every 350m from Knockraha in Co Cork to Great Island in Wexford, and on to Dunstown in Kildare.
According to Eirgrid, this upgrade to a 400KV powerline “will ensure a reliable and high-quality electricity supply for homes, farms and businesses into the future”.
But landowners were also told that Eirgrid personnel do not have a legal right to enter their land at present. Landowners at the meeting agreed they would exercise that right and refuse Eirgrid staff to enter their property.
People opposed to the project were also asked to voice their concerns in writing to the Eirgrid public consultation process before the deadline of Jan 7.
One of four potential routes will be chosen for the pylons but under the plans, all the routes will begin in Knockraha, near Glanmire. It was agreed that Knockraha’s three greatest concerns are the Eirgrid project itself, plans to extend the village’s existing ESB substation and to build a new power station in Knockraha itself.
“No matter what Eirgrid say, the health effects of living in proximity to these pylons are not conclusive. Jack O’Connor, the chair of the project, himself has admitted he wouldn’t like to leave near one. It will also be a disincentive to live in the area and will devalue land and property and lead to depopulation,” said Knockraha Community Association chairwoman Noelle Murphy.
Patrick Massey from the Bride and Blackwater Against Pylons group spoke at Wednesday’s night’s meeting. This umbrella group representing the Blackwater Valley mobilised over two months ago and have an information centre manned by volunteers on the Main St in Lismore, Co Waterford.
Under Eirgrid plans, a number of the proposed route corridors will run between Youghal, Dungarvan and Lismore.
A Knockraha action group was established and they will meet next week to elect a chair and secretary.
Their next objective will to be lobby local politicians to back their cause.
The Knockraha group attended a meeting in the south east last weekend where up to 42 community groups from around the county met to discuss their plans of opposition to the project.
An Eirgrid spokeswoman has said that the health fears being voiced are unfounded and that pylons will be a minimum of 50m from peoples’ homes. “Research shows that the new powerline will not expose anyone to any higher levels of EMF [electric and magnetic fields] than what we experience in our current day-to-day lives,” she said.
