Published: Wednesday, 10th February, 2010 5:15pm

Monksland and Clonown included in new street lighting programme

Work to install new street lighting at Monskland, Clonown and Shannonbridge has been completed over the last two weeks.

The work, carried out on behalf of Roscommon County Council, involved the introduction of eight new street lights at the Old Tuam Road in Monksland.In addition, four new lights were installed at Clonown and a further four were put in place in Shannonbridge.

Roscommon Mayor Tony Ward had highlighted the need for lighting in these areas for several years and this week he welcomed the completion of the work. "The last street lights which were put up in Clonown were erected there in the 1960s so there has been a need for this work for quite some time," Cllr Ward told the Westmeath Independent on Monday. He stated that the eight new street lights in Monksland was "a small step in a much bigger picture in terms of improving the area"."A huge amount of development has taken place in the Monksland area but the residents have been let down in terms of amenities," he said. "When we talk about Monksland we're talking about a town now and the local people need to have their own identity with their own schools, Garda station and football pitches."He said that the need for better street lighting in Monksland was an issue which he had raised since being elected to the county council in 2004. While the new lights at the Old Tuam Road were welcome, he would now push for lighting and footpaths at the New Tuam Road, as well as the resurfacing of the Old and New Tuam Roads.

"While we have the new Local Area Plan for Monksland I think the residents also need to have a plan of action, where they're told what works will be carried out in the area each year," he commented.