Eirgrid refuses to divert route of interconnector cable away from East Cork residential areas
Churchtown North and Roxborough residents near Mogeely protesting last year against the Eirgrid interconnector in the area. File picture: Eddie O'Hare
Eirgrid is refusing to backtrack on its decision not to run the Celtic Interconnector cable along the side of the main Cork – Waterford road (N25) between Midleton and Carrigtwohill, even though upgrading the highway has been put on hold due to lack of government funding.
At a meeting of the East Cork Municipal District, councillors pleaded with senior Eirgrid officials to stick to laying the cable along the roadside, rather than proceeding with their plan to take it off the main road at Churchtown, slightly to the east of Midleton, and run it through residential areas to the northern side of the town and onto the former Amgen site at Carrigtwohill.
Eirgrid plans to build a converter station there for the project, as the French electricity it is importing is of a different type to ours. Shane Cooney, Eirgrid’s onshore project manager, said the N25 upgrade had been paused but is still likely to go ahead at some stage in the future.
He said it wasn’t a good idea to lay cables along the existing road as they might have to be moved if it was upgraded. Mr Cooney also said that laying them on the road at the Lakewood roundabout in Midleton wasn’t a good idea either as “it is already subject to traffic congestion and this would be a significant technical challenge.”
Des Cox, who heads Eirgrid’s planning and environment team, said the IDA had concerns about bringing the cable off the N25 at the southern side of the former Amgen site at Ballyadam, Carrigtwohill, because it wants to get new industry in there and doesn’t want cables laid across the whole site.
He said that is why they had chosen to bring them in from the northern side to the converter plant, as it will cause the least disruption. Fianna Fáil councillor Ann Marie Ahern expressed her disappointment at the news.
“I think bringing it (the cable) through residential areas is not the right idea,” she said and claimed Eirgrid’s public consultation process had been “poor.” Both Mr Cooney and Mr Cox refuted that.
Mr Cooney said there had been continuous public engagement and in recent months they'd held public open days in Knockraha, Midleton and Youghal to outline what's happening with the project.
Ms Ahern said there is concern in parts of the Midleton and Carrigtwohill area about the impact cable-laying might have on radon levels and asked what measures Eirgrid is proposing to mitigate against this. She was informed there will be “ongoing studies” into it.
Fine Gael councillor Michael Hegarty said he couldn’t see why the cable couldn’t be laid alongside the N25. “I’m extremely disappointed over the route you’re choosing when there are alternatives,” he told the Eirgrid officials.
They replied that the route chosen was “the best performing” and the project team was already engaging with landowners along it because some land will be needed temporarily to create passing bays on narrow roads when construction is in progress.
They did, however, admit that one landowner had said they wouldn’t consent. They also admitted that they’d met with some residents who were not happy with the planned route.
Mr Cox said Eirgrid would continue to engage with communities and landowners. “A community forum has been set up for the project which will provide a source of information on the project going forward,” Mr Cooney added.
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