Athlone business criticises flood pipe 'eyesore'

by David Flynn

A recently-installed pipe which takes surface water from The Strand area of Athlone and stretches across its flood defence wall has been criticised as unsightly by a local business family.

Niall Flynn of Flynn Funeral Directors said that when the family members asked a representative of Westmeath County Council if the pipe was a temporary feature, they were told it was permanent.

“We thought he was winding us up, and we rang him again the following day. He said that it was indeed permanent and that they were going to clad over it,” said Niall Flynn.

“We think it’s an eyesore for such a picturesque place, because most postcards of the town are from Burgess Park, looking up towards the church, and now look at what it’s like!”

Niall and his brother Patrick Flynn noted that the car park beside the funeral home had been closed for works last summer and recently reopened and he said the Office of Public Works (OPW) had installed the pipe.

“We were asking when the carpark would open, but we were told that they were waiting on the pipe to come,” said Niall Flynn.

He said he was also concerned at the potential environmental impact of the pipe.

“There is also an environmental issue, because the surface water that’s gushing through the pipe doesn’t seem to be filtered.”

Niall and Patrick said that the pipe gushes the surface water over the wall into the River Shannon.

He said that after more than €30 million had been spent on the Athlone flood defences, it was not acceptable that people were left looking at an outlet pipe of this nature.

The funeral director also talked about the proposed boardwalk along the Shannon in The Strand area, and said that the pipe would be unsightly around it.

“The boardwalk could be lovely, but looking at that yoke going by it, it won’t be,” said Niall.

“Looking at the diameter of the pipe gushing in front of you, that’ll ruin that (boardwalk) as well.

“They can tunnel through buildings and protected structures, and they can’t go through a wall which was built just a few years ago,” he said.

The Athlone flood alleviation scheme was designed and adopted by Westmeath County Council and its consultants and is being delivered by the OPW.

When contacted for comment, Minister of State at the OPW, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, confirmed the Flynns had been in contact with his office on the matter.

He said he very much understood their concerns regarding the visual impact of the pipe and he was liaising with his department on the matter and would hope to have an update during the week.

He explained the pipe was a vital component of the flood alleviation scheme as it's part of a pumping station built into the flood defences at The Strand, which acts to remove any water that has made its way behind the flood walls.

There are eight such pumping stations with similar pipes around the town, as part of the flood defence system, Minister Moran outlined.