Historic Longford stone kerbing to be reused on Battery Road
Heritage: Rare kerbing removed to facilitate Battery Road works
Longford County Council have indicated they have “ambitions” to use the rare historic stone kerbing removed to facilitate the road works on the Battery Road in the future.
The section of stone kerbing to the footpath was put in place around 1895 and comprises rectangular blocks of roughly dressed stone laid onto ground to create a perimeter for pavement.
They are included on the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage, which describes them as: “A rare surviving section of historic stone kerbing, representing an interesting example of late nineteenth-century stonemasonry.
“The appearance of features such as this marks the beginning of street paving/kerbing being the standard rather than the exception. This subtle feature forms an integral element of the built heritage of Battery Road and compliments the interesting collection of substantial period dwellings to the north end of Longford Town.”
Responding to a query from the Leader the local authority said: “The Active Travel Section of Longford County Council can confirm the original Battery Road kerbing removed was assessed by third party consulting engineers and considered unviable within the scheme due to its “weathering, general wear-and-tear and the nature of their production originally, resulting in their being too irregular in shape for re-use”.
The council spokesperson continued: “Active Travel can confirm the removal of the original kerbing necessary to facilitate the current works are currently in Longford County Council’s possession and storage, with future ambitions of its reuse within subsequent Battery Road schemes’.
In a statement The Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage noted that the historic kerbing is included on their Record of Protected Structures.
They explained that Longford County Council are responsible for development control in Architectural Conservation Areas: “The inclusion of structures on the Record of Protected Structures is a reserved function of the elected members of Longford County Council who may decide to give structures protection by inclusion in an Architectural Conservation Area.”