Irish Water to upgrade Virginia plant by 2021
Irish Water, working in partnership with Cavan County Council, is progressing with the design of an upgrade to the Virginia Wastewater Treatment Plant, which it says will support residential and economic development in the town.
This project is included in Irish Water’s capital investment plan and will be delivered during the lifetime of the current plan (2017-2021).
The confirmation follows comments by a local auctioneer last week that the town was at a "standstill" following the refusal of planning permission for a housing development.
Fintan Cahill made the remarks after An Bord Pleanála overturned a decision by the local authority to grant permission to Murmod Estimators Ltd for 78 houses on the Bailieborough Road in Virginia saying that the water infrastructure was inadequate to cope with the extra demand.
Commenting on the Irish Water's planned improvements for Virginia, IW's infrastructure lead Colm Boyd said: “Irish Water is acutely aware of the need to upgrade the Virginia Wastewater Treatment Plant to not only improve the quality of effluent being discharged to Lough Ramor, but also to facilitate residential and economic development in the town.
With this in mind we are progressing a solution under the current capital investment plant which will be delivered during the lifetime of this plan (2017-2021).
"As part of the current preliminary design, Irish Water is looking at the potential to progress interim improvements, which could improve the current situation.”
Cautious welcome
Meanwhile, commenting on the statement from Irish Water, Fintan Cahill said it was "all good news" but the upgrade needs to happen sooner rather than later.
“This thing needs to get moving within months, not years,” he said.
“Here we have four developers looking to start providing product to the market and they can't. I can understand that Irish Water can't just magic a treatment plant out of the sky, with no funds,” added Mr Cahill.
He referred to an offer by one of the main developers to provide the land and develop the land.
“With an offer like that sitting on the table, why have they not started? If you don't have the money and someone does, then use that money until such time the project is built and subscriptions come in and then pass that money over to the developer that built it,” suggested the local auctioneer.