Sustainability the main focus in park floodlight project
With lockdown and the shorter, darker days, the community park is a welcome refuge for all ages for leisure and exercise or to just simply get out in the fresh air.
The switching on of the park’s new floodlights makes the amenity thankfully more accessible for longer in these dreary and gloomy days, and certainly will help to lighten up the outlook of those who can gratefully avail of it’s facilities.
The turning back of the clocks means from now until the New Year daylight will be shorter and most are less inclined to venture out after darkness unless they have something to do.
Some will go for a walk or a stroll which is good for physical and mental health, and certainly in this time when largely confined indoors, it’s something that people are encouraged to do.
That opportunity might not be available to many in the daytime, and the illumination of the park will make it for those living within proximity an enticement to go out and avail of the extended night time that it will bright to walk along the paths and lap up the serenity and all the different pleasures it provides.
The floodlighting of the park is the latest major project completed by the e very dedicated and committed Committee that looks after the upkeep, maintenance and development of the amenity with the support of Louth County Council.
Rather uniquely the park is voluntarily looked after by members of the community, and was remarkably the first in Louth to be awarded the internationally recognised Green Flag status, which it retained again this year.
This is the fifth straight year that the park has gained the award, despite the Committee losing out a month or longer carrying out their usual loving upkeep and maintenance work due the Corona virus that caused the park to be closed for an extended period.
The floodlighting of the park is the culmination of over two years endeavour by the Committee in seeking planning approval, along with funding and sourcing interim loans to cover the cost of the sustainable lighting project .
The installation work commenced just before the Covid 19 restrictions in March. Following the laying of the cables to the five lights from the compound housing the solar and wind energy capture, work had to stop.
As the park was closed for over five weeks in April and early May, work did not resume until the end of May and was completed within two weeks. Arbarr Group Ltd and McCorley Mechanical & Electrical worked in partnership in providing this much needed facility.
The Park Committee would like to thank them for their commitment to the project through difficult times. They would also like to thank the engineers in Louth County Council for their valued input, especially with regard to the many technical aspects of the project.
Louth Leader Partnership provided a large part of the funding which was supplemented with funding from Louth County Council and from fund raising by the Park Committee
There are now five lamps lighting pathways through the park which provide a well-lit route from Rathmount and Gort-na- Glaise through the park to the Community Centre and onward to the village.
The entire project is ‘off grid’, capturing power from the sun and the wind to the Arbarr battery storage on site and relaying it to the lamps. The entire project is very much in keeping with the sustainable credentials of Blackrock Park where recycling, reusing and supporting biodiversity has, provided rich habitats for nature.
It has also enabled the Park to gain another An Taisce Green Flag Award for 2020/2021 whilst all the time serving the outdoor needs of the local community and visitors. The award is only given to parks that reach a set of standards covering park facilities, park management, biodiversity and community involvement.
Due to current Covid 19 restrictions it has not been possible to have a celebration of the lighting project or the raising of this year’s Green Flag. But the Committee intend to mark both when it will be easier to have a ‘gathering’.