Safety fears of historic stone wall on busy road in Laois town
A historic stone wall in a Laois town that is undergoing major residential development, needs to be inspected for structural safety, says a local councillor.
The long stone wall runs along Harpurs Lane, where an apartment and housing complex is under construction, as well as a nursing home.
Cllr Willie Aird has requested Laois County Council to inspect it for safety, "given the level of construction activity".
"That road has changed so much, it gets a huge amount of traffic. The last two years has seen huge traffic. The whole fabric of the area has changed," he said.
He recalled a previous controversy, when Laois County Council sent out letters to residents of houses backing onto the wall and road, informing them they were responsible if it fell on anyone, giving them an "awful fright".
"I asked them to withdraw it publically and they did after a big battle. A lot of elderly people live there and they got an awful fright," he said.
Cllr Caroline Dwane Stanley seconded his motion.
"This is a built up area, children walk to the school. If anything happened. There was an incident in another part of the town where a wall fell when there was construction work. I'd ask the engineer to look at this," she said.
Cllr Catherine Fitzgerald is also in support.
"I remember when the residents got that notice, it was absolutely terrifying, if the wall fell they feared they would lose their house. Now years later with huge developments since, I fully support this. For the residents who live there, the pedestrians and cars as well. We don't know what would happen," she said.
An inspection will happen, engineer Wes Wilkinson confirmed.
"Laois County Council is in the process of appointing a structural engineer with masonry conservation expertise. Once appointed the wall on Harpurs Lane will be assessed," he said.