Installation of lights at club grounds may curb vandalism
By Maurice Garvey
SOUTH Dublin County Council are in talks with the ESB with a view to installing lights beside a Griffeen Valley Park clubhouse – which is dogged by anti-social behaviour.
The clubhouse grounds on Newcastle Road are used by Weston Hockey Club, Lucan Harriers AC, Arthur Griffith FC, and a host of other clubs and groups that rent the facilities.
Tens of thousands euro worth of damage has been caused over the last ten years by thugs, including regular car break-ins, stolen equipment, damage to gates/signs/fences and an arson attack on the all-weather pitch.
Vandals stepped up the stupidity stakes earlier this year, breaking into an ESB box in order to switch on floodlights for a late-night game of football.
Independent councillor Liona O’Toole, a member of Weston Hockey Club, has been campaigning for the installation of lights in the car park to improve security for the last 12 months.
At the recent Lucan ACM, she asked the council for an update on the installation of lights “as agreed at the September (council) meeting.”
In response, the council said the installation of a lighting scheme in the car park is “not straightforward” due to the “presence of overhead power lines.”
Options available include installing a lighting scheme with lighting columns which are a safe distance from the powerlines, underground the powerlines or installing the lighting scheme on the clubhouse side of the park.
Installing the lighting scheme on Newcastle Road is the “preferred option given the complexities involved” according to a council spokesperson.
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