CITY TRIBUNE
Trees plan uprooted by Galway City Council
A massive tree-planting project on the east side of the city could be uprooted after Galway City Council ruled it is considered to be an unauthorised development in an area with protected views.
Last month, volunteers came together to help to plant up to 1,000 trees at ‘Mad Yolk Farm’ in Rosshill.
However, locals claimed that the trees would block a protected view of the sea and of Roscam Round Tower, which is an early medieval monastic site and a National Monument.
The Council subsequently issued Warning Letters in relation to the “unauthorised tree planting on lands at Rosshill Road”.
“There is a Protected View, Protected Structures and a number of National Monuments listed in the vicinity.”
The letters were served on the secretary of Seafront Farm Ltd, Mad Yoke Farm Ltd, both with addresses in Sceilig Ard on the Headford Road and the secretary of Sunmile Ltd, with an address at Mill Street.
The Council is expected to compel the owner of the land to return it to its original state.
Brian Dilleen officially opened Mad Yolk farm at the end of last month with a mass planting session of 1,000 native Oak, Hawthorn, Hazel, Birch, Rowan, Scots Pine and Crab Apple trees.
Following an internship on a small mixed enterprise farm in Sweden, the Newcastle man bought two four-acre plots in the area three years ago to set up his own chemical-free organic farm.
His plans also included a no-dig market garden, which he hopes can provide organic food for over 100 locals residents.
Galway City Council issued the Warning Letters under Section 152 of the Planning and Development Act 2000, ordering that the planting of trees cease and “discontinue any unauthorised development forthwith”.
The company secretaries who were served with the notice have been given until the middle of this month to make a submission to the local authoeriry.
The Council stated that there was a protected view, protected structures and a number of national monuments located in the vicinity of the planted land.
“In the event of you failing to comply with the terms of this warning letter, Galway City Council may, where it considers that unauthorised development has been, is being, or may be carried out, withing 12 weeks of service of this letter, issue an enforcement notice,” the letter reads.
Mr Dilleen has argued that his trees did not constitute a development and that the Council would normally ignore a case of this type.
He told the Galway City Tribune that the controversial trees had been planted in order to create a mixed species hedge which would act as a wind breaker for the farm, running parallel to the view of the sea.
“You hear 1,000 trees and it paints a certain picture,” added farm manager Joe Gray.
“We planted a Hawthorn hedgerow at the back of our second field facing the Atlantic to create a new habitat for wildlife and plug in the gaps of the existing barrier of brambles,” he said.
“Behind this we planted a windbreak of shrubs and native trees sourced from the charity ‘Trees on the Land’.
“Unfortunately – and we’re sure through misunderstanding of our aims and perhaps the wording of our Facebook event – someone from the local community complained to the Council that we were planting 1,000 trees and creating a woodland in a vicinity with a protected view.
“As was written in the Facebook event, the planned planting had taken into consideration the protected view of the nearby Round Tower and had been planned with respect to our neighbours,” Mr Gray stated.
The two men argued that their open farm would enhance the protected view of Roscam Round Tower and the sea, which they claim is currently not visible from the walkway. They also stressed that they were committed to providing a meaningful resource to the local community.
“Most of that number (of trees) made up the one hedgerow of Hawthorn and only a further 140 trees were planted for the windbreak, both in the same place that isn’t near to the view in question, which will provide our field with some relief from the wild Atlantic wind,” said Mr Gray.
“Furthermore, we looked out from the public road where this view is supposed to be, and the sea and Round Tower can’t even be seen because of an existing hedgerow.
“With our open-farm policy, we’re happy to have people come into our land which has a very good view of both. We’re sure that planting a hedge on agriculturally-zoned land is not an issue for the Council to waste time on and apologise for our part in it.”
However, Roscam-based councillor Alan Cheevers said people needed to adhere to planning laws relating to protected views and structures
“If it’s a case that there’s a protected view notice on a portion of land, that view would have to be adhered to for the locals,” he told the Galway City Tribune.
“We have to respect residents. We have laws surrounding the planning and protection of views and heritage sites, and we have to respect that and work within the confines of the law,” he added.
(Photo: Volunteers planting the trees last month at Mad Yolk Farm in Rosshill against the backdrop of Galway Bay.)
From the Galway City Tribune – An impassioned plea for a ‘masterplan’ that would guide Galway City into the future has been made in the Dáil. Galway West TD Catherine Connolly stated this week that there needed to be an all-inclusive approach with “vision and leadership” in order to build a sustainable city.
Deputy Connolly spoke at length at the crisis surrounding traffic and housing in Galway city and said that not all of the blame could be laid at the door of the local authority.
She said that her preference would be the provision of light rail as the main form of public transport, but that this would have to be driven by the government.
“I sat on the local council for 17 years and despaired at all of the solutions going down one road, metaphorically and literally. In 2005 we put Park & Ride into the development plan, but that has not been rolled out. A 2016 transport strategy was outdated at the time and still has not been updated.
“Due to the housing crisis in the city, a task force was set up in 2019. Not a single report or analysis has been published on the cause of the crisis,” added Deputy Connolly.
She then referred to a report from the Land Development Agency (LDA) that identified lands suitable for the provision of housing. But she said that two-thirds of these had significant problems and a large portion was in Merlin Park University Hospital which, she said, would never have housing built on it.
In response, Minister Simon Harris spoke of the continuing job investment in the city and also in higher education, which is his portfolio.
But turning his attention to traffic congestion, he accepted that there were “real issues” when it came to transport, mobility and accessibility around Galway.
“We share the view that we need a Park & Ride facility and I understand there are also Bus Connects plans.
“I also suggest that the City Council reflect on her comments. I am proud to be in a Government that is providing unparalleled levels of investment to local authorities and unparalleled opportunities for local authorities to draw down,” he said.
Then Minister Harris referred to the controversial Galway City Outer Ring Road which he said was “struck down by An Bord Pleanála”, despite a lot of energy having been put into that project.
However, Deputy Connolly picked up on this and pointed out that An Bord Pleanála did not say ‘No’ to the ring road.
“The High Court said ‘No’ to the ring road because An Bord Pleanála acknowledged it failed utterly to consider climate change and our climate change obligations.
“That tells us something about An Bord Pleanála and the management that submitted such a plan.”
In the end, Minister Harris agreed that there needed to be a masterplan for Galway City.
“I suggest it is for the local authority to come up with a vision and then work with the Government to try to fund and implement that.”
The new Salmon Weir pedestrian and cycle bridge will be officially opened to the public next Friday, May 26.
Work on the €10 million bridge got underway in April 2022, before the main structure was hoisted into place in early December.
A lunchtime tape-cutting ceremony will take place on Friday, as the first pedestrians and cyclists traverse the as-yet-unnamed bridge.
The Chief Executive of Galway City Council, Brendan McGrath, previously said the bridge, once opened, would remove existing conflicts between pedestrians, cyclists and traffic “as well as facilitating the Cross-City Link public transport corridor over the existing 200-year-old bridge”.
The naming of the new bridge has been under discussion by the Council’s Civic Commemorations Committee since late last year.
One name that has been in the mix for some time is that of the first woman in Europe to graduate with an engineering degree – Alice Perry.
Ms Perry, who was from Wellpark, graduated from Queen’s College Galway (now University of Galway) in 1906. The university’s engineering building is named in her honour.
The bridge was built by Jons Civil Engineering firm in County Meath and was assembled off-site before being transported to Galway. Funding for the project was provided in full by the National Transport Authority and the European Regional Development Fund.
(Photo: Sheila Gallagher captured the city’s new pedestrian footbridge being raised on the south side of the Salmon Weir Bridge in December. It will officially open next Friday, May 26).
From the Galway City Tribune – Minister of State for Local Government and Planning, Kieran O’Donnell was labelled a “disgrace” for overturning councillors’ decisions to rezone land in the new City Development Plan.
Minister O’Donnell (pictured) confirmed in a letter to Council Chief Executive Brendan McGrath last week that he was reversing 25 material alternations made by councillors to the CDP 2023-29. He made the decision on the advice of Office of Planning Regulator (OPR).
Minister O’Donnell directed that 14 land parcels that were subject to land-use zoning changes by councillors as part of the Material Alterations to the Draft CDP should be reversed.
He directed that a further 11 land parcels in the city should become “unzoned”.
The Minister found that the CDP had not been made in a manner consistent with recommendations of the OPR, which required specific changes to the plan to ensure consistency with the national planning laws and guidelines.
At last week’s Council meeting Cllr Eddie Hoare (FG) asked for clarity on the process by which councillors could rezone the lands that had been changed by the Minister’s direction.
Cllr Declan McDonnell said, “What he [Minister O’Donnell] has done is an absolute disgrace”.
And he asked: “Do we have to have another development plan meeting to deal with it?”
Both Cllrs Hoare and McDonnell wondered what would become of the lands that were rezoned or unzoned by the ministerial direction.
Mr McGrath said the Council had put forward an argument in favour of retaining the material alterations in the plan, but ultimately the Minister sided with OPR.
He said if councillors want to make alterations to the new plan, they could go through the process of making a material alteration but this was lengthy.
The Save Roscam Peninsula campaign welcomed the Minister’s decision.
In a statement to the Galway City Tribune, it said the direction would mean the Roscam village area on the Roscam Peninsula will be unzoned and a number of land parcels would revert back to agriculture/high amenity.
A spokesperson for the campaign said: “the material alterations made by city councillors following lobbying by developers continued the long-standing practice of councillors facilitating a developer-led plan rather than an evidence- and policy-based plan that meets the needs of the city.
“The Minister’s direction is an important step in restoring confidence in the planning system. It is clear from the City Council’s own evidence on future housing projections that there was no requirement to zone these lands for residential purposes in order to meet the needs of the targeted population increase up to 2029,” the spokesperson added.
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