THE landmark water tower on Cutlery Road in Newbridge could be in line for a makeover.

Councillors discussed painting the tower when they gathered on Wednesday for the Kildare-Newbridge municipal district meeting.

The issue was raised by cllr Willie Crowley who requested at the meeting that the architectural department, in conjunction with the arts officer, would examine possible ways of making it a more aesthetically pleasing feature which would enhance the general appearance of that area.

He was told by the town manager Tadhg McDonnell that to plan anything for this structure, careful consideration of all relevant factors would be required, especially because of its prominent location.

“It does host a number of antennae and is located within an operating car park. Unfortunately, at this point, there are no resources currently available to the architects department or arts service to undertake all the necessary studies and prepare plans for any possible options,” he said.

Cllr Crowley asked if the tower could at least, as an intermediary measure, be painted in a neutral colour that would blend in with the area.

“I did a costing and found that it would cost around €5,000. If nothing else it would reawaken the consciousness of us all regarding the tower,” he said.

Cllr Mark Lynch wanted to know if the owners of the tower had been spoken to and Cllr Fiona McLoughlin Healy noted that work on the tower is one of the Tidy Towns proposals.

“They had a costing of €10,000,” she said. “We have someone who is willing to donate the paint so the cost would just be for cherry pickers or whatever is needed to get up at it.”

Mr McDonnell said he would follow up the matter.