“There is an obvious decline in standards"- quality of street lights in Cashel questioned

Councillor Liam Browne brought forward a motion at the monthly Tipperary/Cahir Municipal District meeting that calls for an urgent review and technical assessment of recently replaced public lighting on Main Street, John Street, and the approach to Lowergate Square in Cashel.

A large number of businesses and residents from the affected streets have submitted a petition expressing serious concern that the new LED lighting is inadequate and unfit for purpose. They report that the current luminaires provide insufficient brightness, resulting in reduced visibility, diminished sense of safety, and potential negative impacts on evening commerce.

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Accordingly, this Municipal District requests that the Roads and Public Lighting Section carry out a full lighting performance evaluation of the area, including but not limited to:

1. Lux level measurements at street level and footpath level during night-time operation.

2. Uniformity of lighting (ratio of minimum to average illumination).

3. Luminaire output and specification compliance versus original design standards.

4. Glare rating assessment and identification of any shielding/angle issues.

5. Comparative analysis with the previous lighting installation, if data is available.

6. Safety and crime-prevention implications, including any input from An Garda Síochána.

7. Options for improvement, such as higher-output LEDs, different colour temperatures,

The findings should be presented back to the Municipal District with clear recommendations for rectifying deficiencies to ensure that lighting levels meet recognised standards for urban streets and public safety.

The motion has been sent for review, but Councillor Declan Burgess had already raised the matter with the company due to ‘the level of dissatisfaction there is among the business and people along the main street of Cashel'.

Cllr Burgess also added. “The review I received from the lighting section was conducted by KLS ARUP. They have checked the town centre public lighting and found that only one light located outside the former Bank of Ireland building was lower than the requirement.”

KLS has confirmed they will install the correct light for that location and that their recommendations are that there is no need for additional lights on the main street or any changes to the actual brightness of them, which isn’t good enough. There is an obvious issue.”

“There is an obvious decline in standards, particularly across the main street.

“I’m not satisfied.”