Cork East Fine Gael TD, David Stanton, has welcomed confirmation from EirGrid that it plans to bypass both Castlemartyr and Killeagh as part of the proposing cabling route of its Celtic Interconnector Project.
EirGrid together with French transmission system operator Réseau de Transport d’Electricité (RTE), is developing the Celtic Interconnector Project to provide a subsea interconnector link between the Irish and French electricity grids. The proposed route of the €1 billion project will see the interconnector make landfall at Claycastle Beach in Youghal with the cable running along the existing public road network where necessary until reaching the site for the project’s new convertor station at Ballyadam outside of Carrigtwohill.
Speaking after confirmation of EirGrid’s proposals, David Stanton said: “I am very happy to learn that Eirgrid has proposed the bypassing of Castlemartyr and Killeagh in its assessment of the project route. I understand that various technical assessments on the route were conducted and feedback was sought from local stakeholders and following consideration of these it was decided that both villages should be bypassed.
“The proposed bypass of Castlemartyr and Killeagh will be welcome news for locals and N25 road users alike as works to lay the cable through the villages would have resulted in considerable disruption to traffic flows along the lines of what was previously experienced during the community upgrade works. EirGrid proposes instead to run the interconnector cable through agricultural land to the north of Castlemartyr village and to the south-east of Killeagh village and are currently in discussions with the relevant landowners.
“The company will also maintain contact with local landowners in close proximity to the projected route to advise of project developments and is preparing a planning application for submission to Cork County Council. The project is envisaged to enter the construction phase in 2022 at the earliest and will be pivotal in boosting Ireland’s security of energy supply which has become even more important in light of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU”, concluded David Stanton.