Hello all, the trees in Ashefield are on Westmeath County Council’s schedule for inspection, and where necessary, pruning. This work is expected to make a huge difference to areas in almost complete darkness due to streetlamps totally blocked by overgrown trees. Thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn for the representation at council level about this.
Category: Lighting
Tree pruning in the estate
One of the action items from our 2017 AGM was to ask Westmeath Co. Co. to prune the trees in the estate; particularly those that were blocking streetlights. This measure would help improve safety and security at night.
Now that it is tree pruning season, Ashefield has been scheduled for this work thanks to Cllr. Ken Glynn. Work is expected to commence within the coming days.
Reporting street lighting problems
Westmeath County Council contracted Electric Skyline Limited to maintain the public lighting. So far, they have fixed lighting problems in the estate within 24 hours of when they were reported. To report a street light fault, a report form is available at http://www.electricskyline.ie/report-fault.html . When reporting a problem, include the following information
- The number on the pole
- The street or estate e.g. Ashefield
- The location of the light (for example, outside house number 23)
- Your name and contact number
Streetlight repairs
Streetlights #7 and #12 at the first junction within the estate are faulty. Westmeath Co. Co. has been notified.
Ashefield Residents Association AGM 2011
The next Ashefield residents’ association meeting is scheduled for Thursday, April 7, 2011 from 8pm in the Newbury Hotel, Mullingar.
Every resident is invited to attend, contribute ideas, highlight problems, and have an important say in the management of the estate. The committee comprises ordinary residents from the estate who volunteer their time and expertise for free. If you might be considering getting more involved, this would be an ideal opportunity to do so.
The draft agenda is as follows.
- Introduction
- Why do we need a Residents Association
- Responsibilities of each resident
- Annual contribution for upkeep of green areas
- Tenants/Landlords Responsibilities
- Apartment Block
- Laneways
- Deterring street games and ensuring safety
- Ashefield Website
- Financial Statement for 2010
- Election of new committee
- Any other business
More items for the agenda are encouraged. Feel free to use the comments area below or send an email to info@165.227.235.101.
Streetlights and the council’s new website
Reporting faulty streetlights – spotted any more in need of repair recently? Also – Westmeath Co. Co. has a new website.
Westmeath Co. Co. has been made aware of the need to fix a streetlight outside #130 Ashefield. Update: Airtricity is expected to fix this within the next few days
Have you spotted any other streetlights in need of repair in the area? If so, please do add the details using the comments area below. If you can, please include the nearest house number and streetlight number. The streetlight number is located about halfway up the pole on a yellow or white sticker.
The council’s newly re-designed website is worth taking a look at. Thankfully, they have worked on making it easier to find essential information and services, and have included a handy map to help locate services like recycling facilities and libraries. A ‘tell us’ page was also added but does not include a specific maintenance report form for problems like faulty streetlights. However, it looks like they should easily be able to add this option.
Have you any suggestions for them to make it easier to find the information you need? If so, why not contact them directly or if you prefer, use the comments area below and we can pass them on to them.
Streetlights
Westmeath Co. Co. has been notified about the streetlight outside houses 207-208 that needs a bulb replacement. Airtricity has recently taken over the public lighting maintenance contract from ESB and there is a delay in getting these fixed at the moment throughout the county. Unfortunately, the darkness can attract opportunistic illegal dumpers. Please do report any such rubbish dumping to Westmeath County Council (more information) to help keep our estate tidy.
Update (24/02/10): Westmeath Co. Council has informed us that Airtricity has carried out the repair.
Short back and sides
Some time back we asked Westmeath County Council about trimming trees near street lights in the estate. This was in response to safety concerns raised by some residents where Summer foliage was blocking the light. The problem was most apparent in the vicinity of houses #190-210.
After contacting them again last week, Council staff carried out this work almost immediately afterwards. Thanks again for your prompt action!
I’m sure you’ll agree that the trimmed trees are looking a lot better now:
Keeping drains clear and streetlamps lit
Westmeath Co. Co. was notified about a blocked gulley outside #130 and a non-functioning street light beside the pedestrian walkway into Abbeylands. Regarding the gulley, the request was passed on to the General Services Supervisor to have it unblocked as soon as possible. As for the streetlight, Westmeath Co. Co. notified the ESB to carry out the necessary repairs. Hopefully both issues will be resolved shortly.
If you notice any problems regarding blocked gulleys, broken streetlights, or some other issue that needs council attention, the easiest thing to do is to send an email to:
mullingararea [at] westmeathcoco.ie (replace ‘[at]’ with @)
It only takes a couple of minutes and you should get a response within a day or so.
Make sure to include the nearest house number(s) to help them locate the problem area. For streetlight problems, each light has a number located on the pole about 10ft off the ground and it’s useful to include this number too.
Trimming trees in Ashefield
Some of the trees alongside the roads in Ashefield, particularly those sited beside the street lights are in need of a trim. The tall trees and leaves are blocking the light onto pathways in some areas; it is a problem that is particularly apparent during this time of the year.
This was one of the concerns raised during recent visits to houses 120-210. These trees are the responsibility of Westmeath County Council, who were contacted and asked about trimming them.
Their response:
Under the Wildlife Acts 1976 – 2000, local authorities are restricted from carrying out any
hedge/tree cutting or pruning during the period between 1st March and 31st August. I have asked our General Services Supervisor to have a look at the trees in question and he has reported that there are a number of trees in need of pruning in Ashefield estate, however, it will not be possible to undertake this work until the end of October/beginning of November bearing in mind the resources and finances available to us in the current year.
We intend to follow up on this. If you wish to add to the list of locations in Ashefield where roadside trees are in need of trimming, please add them to the comments below. It would be helpful to specify the house number(s) or number on the street light where the problem exists.