Dear Galway First,
It should be noted that An Bord Pleanala's Inspector - Mr Michael Walsh, originally from Woodquay, made the correct decision in advising that the entirety of the project be rejected due to its tracking through the Lough Corrib cSPC (candidate Special Area of Conservation ).
Having read the entire report, and the An Bord Pleanala direction granting consent for the major part of the scheme including that affecting the cSAC area and the Corrib River crossing, it is clear that the provisions of Article 6 of the EU Habitats Directive and Irish Regulations of 1997 have not been addressed or resolved. The scheme affects "priority habitat" of limestone pavement on the Menlo side of the River Corrib.
This decision ensures that an appeal to Europe is virtually guaranteed.
To hear the five political gurus on Galway Bay FM last week (Messrs Fahey, O'Cuiv, McCormack, O'Brolchain and Grealish ), one would think that they had learn't anything from this outcome. It is quite clear that there will be no Galway City Outer By-pass in the near future simply because those who have been promoting this road over the past 10 years failed to address the real issue, which is this country’s continued overuse and overdependence on the use of the private motor car, and, lack of provision for serious public transport alternatives. There is of course, now no money left to proceed anyway.
To quote Mr Michael Starrett chief executive of the Heritage Council, "the scheme was based on out-of-date traffic management thinking and on 'road engineering solutions' dating from the late 1970s, in an attempt to resolve economic, social and environmental issues which the city now faced."
He was speaking, not in Galway, or about Galway, but, in Kilkenny where he addressed an oral hearing into proposals to build a new bridge across the River Nore and to construct a new road through the centre of medieval Kilkenny. He went on to say that "times have moved on significantly in the intervening period. Across Europe, approaches to how the management of such issues in our medieval towns and cities are dealt with have been imaginative and realistic and cost effective." He could just as easily have been talking about Galway.
What our city TDs would also need to understand, is that when the Bord refers to the need for planning authorities to have to have looked at all alternative routes, that European Legislation also demands that they would have looked at all alternative means (not just routes ) of moving people and goods, ie, better provision for public transport.
It should also be noted that in abusing organisations and individuals who have spoken out against this road, they, the TDs are also abusing the many professional planning organisations which have also spoken out about “poor” planning decisions being made.
Mr John O'Connor chairman of An Bord Pleanala recently commented that "the planning system's resources need to be refocused to encourage public good 'rather than vested interests’, special pleading and expediency”. (Environment Ireland Conference, Sept 08 ).
Mr Colm McCarthy, a respected economist, said that "the focus of Government policy on the promotion of housing demand and of home ownership, has led to massive problems of sprawl". Mr McCarthy argued that this "low density sprawl makes public transport solutions expensive as well as ineffective. Car-commuting over long distances is an inevitable consequence of this policy, which should be reversed in favour of consolidation of the existing built-up areas.” RIAI (Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland ) National Housing Conference, Galway, April, 2005.
The EENGO, a coalition of environmental (ecological ) NGOs, has said in a document entitled - 2020 Vision – Sustainable Travel and Transport: Public Consultation Document 2008, that “the concept of transport as a discrete area of policy making is past. No more can new transport be framed or formed in isolation: since January 24 2008 Ireland is under an EU obligation to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to 20 per cent below 2005 levels by 2020. This 20 per cent reduction will become legally binding by the end of 2008. Subject to international agreements, there is likely to be provision for an upward revision of up to a 30 per cent cut.”
If we continue our present travel patterns, traffic congestion will increase, there will be a resulting loss in economic competitiveness, our quality of life and the quality of the natural environment will decline, we will not be able to meet our international obligations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. In short, our travel trends are not sustainable.
In conclusion it should be noted, that encouraging housing growth west of the Corrib, particularly in remote towns and villages promotes the kind of ribbon development and one off housing that encourage car commuting into Galway, which is where the jobs are will be found to be unsustainable.
It is time for some visionary planning to determine just how Galway City and County might move ahead in future and avoid the pitfalls of our present car dominated 'urban sprawl'.
Issued by An Taisce,
Galway Association,
Derrick Hambleton, Chairman.
