Re: Development and building of houses At Monroe
East, Ladys Abbey, and
The Cross Ardfinnan. and the placement of a sewage treatment plant just
below the bridge
1 Environment
Has any study been done on the effect of the increase in population
from these houses which will almost definitely increase the population
by at least 200.
The influx of more than possibly 100 outside families into our community
can have a negative effect as well as a positive. Will we be importing
trouble from outside with this huge increase? The Council should look
at all these aspects and talk to the locals before giving any permission
to build.
The sewage from these houses will be going to the new treatment plant
in the village. Is the present piping system able to take the increase
in sewage not alone from the above development but also from the development
at Ladys Abbey and at Spitalands? Has any environmental Impact Study
been done to work out the consequences of this treatment plant down
river from its location which just happens to be where all the youngsters
of the village go to fish.
Will these three developments have an effect on our water supply which
is giving trouble as it is. Will these developments be allowed to knock
our trees as the development at Lady s Abbey was allowed and destroyed
one of our local features? A rookery that has been at Lady s Abbey
for a very long time. These trees were a great storm shelter when gales
drove in from the South.
2 Infrastructure
How will our school be able to cope with an influx of children the developments
at Monroe East, Lady s Abbey and at The Cross (Spitalands) may
bring or has any thought been given to this area. Traffic congestion
at some of our more dangerous areas i.e. The Bridge, The Hill up to
Castle View and especially at the entrances to the proposed developments
which are on the most dangerous roads in the village.
3 Effect on persons living alongside these
developments
The quite and tranquil settings that the locals enjoy now will be gone.
The building of a crèche, a shopping centre, and a service yard
along side the home of two old age pensioners is going to change their
style of life and definitely not for the better.
It seems to me that these developments are going ahead without any consultation
with the local residents and are of a commercial nature which has nothing
to do with the structured development of our beautiful village which
the South Tipperary Co. Council should be doing, instead of allowing
commercial interests to ruin our peaceful way of life.
GREEN PARTY LAUNCH SAVE OUR SALMON CAMPAIGN
WILD salmon could face extinction from Irish rivers if new commercial
fishing quotas are approved by the Government, it was claimed yesterday.
Launching its Help Save Our Salmon campaign on Dublin's Liffey, the
Green Party urged Marine Minister Pat 'The Cope' Gallagher to consider
reducing this year's wild salmon commercial catch from 139,900 to 97,000
fish. The Greens have launched a nationwide postcard campaign and travelling
road show to oppose the draft regulations for the Wild Salmon and Sea
Trout Tagging Scheme (2005). "The wild Atlantic salmon is under threat
of extinction for many reasons like climate change, pollution and Predators
said the party's marine spokesman Eamon Ryan. "But the greatest threat
comes from that other predator species, the Fianna Fail and Progressive
Democrat politician." The public is being asked to send the postcards
to the minister as part of the public consultation process which closes
on April 13. The Greens have also planned a road show of 17 meetings
with local anglers around the country in the next fortnight. Mr Ryan
claimed that allowing an extra 42,000 fish to be caught could push salmon
into extinction on some rivers. "Only some 900 salmon came back to the
Liffey last year, which is less than a fifth of the numbers needed for
the river to be properly restocked. "Many of these precious fish will
be caught on nets off the Cork and Kerry coast as they turn for home.
We see no problem with the local netting of fish where one knows that
stocks of the local river can take it, but it makes no sense to continue
the indiscriminate drift netting of salmon at sea where it is impossible
to know what river the fish are destined for," said Mr Ryan. The department
yesterday said that the consultation process was still open, and added
that the minister would consider all submissions received on what the
final quota should be.
The urbanisation of a quite country village
Call your local public representative and demand an explanation
as to why Ardfinnan is being bombarded with building development that
have nothing to do with the growth of the village
Letter to Ardfinnan.Net:
In a recent supplement to the Nationalist called “An Economic Review
of Tipperary 2007: A Bright and Vibrant Future” the editor makes the
point that through the appropriate zoning of land, a balance can be
achieved which facilitates development and simultaneously preserves
the heritage and landscape of the county. We are being assured that
our future economic, social and cultural environment will not be compromised
by an increase in development but the fact is, getting the balance right
can only ever be an aspiration unless more weight is given to the concerns
of the communities which are affected by the planned changes.
Ardfinnan is one of many villages undergoing immense change at the moment.
I feel very strongly that the power to direct the social and cultural
environment of our community should be in the hands of the local people
themselves and more importantly that these are crucial aspects of our
shared and lived experience, which we have a great deal more control
over than is being currently claimed or exercised.
There is a strong and urgent need for the voice of the community to
be heard and heeded and for a community-centred strategy to be energetically
pursued in response to the speed of the changes unfolding around us.
I feel very strongly that the destiny of the village lies in the hands
of the people living in the village.
Presently in Ardfinnan about 52 hectares of land is zoned for development.
In the Development Plan for Tipperary, out of a list of over thirty
villages listed on the County Development Plan website, Ardfinnan has
the second largest amount of zoned land. There are currently seven developments
at various stages of completion. At a conservative estimate there are
over 300 houses being built which equates to a doubling of the population
of the village. Most people may be surprised by the speed of these developments.
Eoin Dillon, (a member of the National Council of the Irish Auctioneers
and Valuers Institute), makes the point that the infrastructure in most
small villages in this county is not sufficient to support the projected
increases in population and that a slow down in property sales is probable
even an oversupply of houses in some parts of the county, if land that
is now zoned is developed within the period of the County Plan. I would
urge that this is the time for a realistic appraisal of what is happening
to the village of Ardfinnan and encourage a community wide awareness
of the challenges the village faces, in a bid to protect and safeguard
the social, cultural and rural environment that is presently enjoyed
by the inhabitants of the village. The current advertisements for the
houses for sale in Ardfinnan’s new developments are using a perception
of what the village has to offer as a selling point, promising “ all
that incorporates the best of village living in a stunning rural setting…within
easy access to all local amenities”. I would like to bring to peoples’
attention some of the realities of the situation at present in the village.
Childcare Provision.:
At the moment there is a community-based playschool catering for 15
children every morning from 9.30-12.30 five days a week with two additional
afternoon sessions. Already a waiting list exists for those places and
the demand is increasing. This is housed in the Community Centre on
a temporary bases while the Playschool Committee, a dedicated voluntary
committee, very much committed to providing affordable playschool places,
were awaiting the construction of a purpose built playschool. This was
promised in 2003 as part of the Lady’s Abbey development. As the development
enters Phase 2 this has not happened. For anyone new coming into the
area with young children at present there is no guarantee of any playschool
or affordable childcare being available.
Youth:
People in the village are no doubt aware of the lack of facilities and
focus for our young people. This was apparent and reached a disturbing
level on Halloween Night as it did in many other communities around
the country. We accept that the lack of facilities and activities requires
a response from local authorities and local government but more involvement
from parents within the community is urgently needed, A meeting was
held on Monday November 13th in Ardfinnan Community Hall introducing
a representative from An Fogra Youth Group. In order for An Fogra to
start up a youth programme in Ardfinnan, parental and adult involvement
is essential to facilitate the running and supervision of any proposed
youth activities. Unless steps are taken now to actively nurture and
support our young people and encourage a sense of pride in their village
we are knowingly choosing to ignore the potential for major future problems
and given the level of development this problem will only escalate.
Services and Infrastructure:
There has been a consistent and unresolved issue of water supply in
St Finnans and surrounding areas for many years now. This begs the question
as to whether the new concentrations of housing developments in that
area will only exacerbate the problem and whether people living in the
new developments will be faced with intermittent water supply without
notification of disruption of supplies, as the people of St Finnans
have had to endure without explanation for so long. The impact of burst
water mains on the road surfaces in various parts of the village is
also cause for concern. The speed and quantity of traffic presently
passing through the village has never been affectively addressed. Our
local Post Office is still under threat of closure and I would urge
people to utilize it in every way they feasibly can to ensure it remains
a vital part of village life.
School Bus Services:
Another pertinent issue that concerns parents in the village who choose
to send their children to secondary school in Clonmel and which will
affect many perspective buyers in the new housing developments, is the
high cost of a privately run school bus service. At the moment this
service costs 1000 Euro per child per year. If you qualify for the Bus
Eireann school service the nearest collection and drop-off point is
Knocklofty (half way to Clonmel) or Newcastle. It must be noted that
the Bus Eireann school bus leaves from a garage in Ardfinnan. This issue
is due to the government’s school transport policy and may have been
acceptable in the past when the majority of our village children had
a choice of three schools in Cahir. This is not the case now and it
is an issue that needs addressing.
Lady’s Abbey:
A very urgent issue that people can get behind now is the proposed desecration
of Lady’s Abbey boreen by a developer who wants to cut down all of the
trees, widen the boreen and destroy one of the oldest, most historical
and scenic walks in the village, part of which is the Rainbow Padraig
path. There is an obvious contradiction in the developers’ promises
of houses surrounded by idyllic natural beauty while they aggressively
destroy the very unique environmental features that people are seeking
when they move to a village like Ardfinnan and which the local people
have enjoyed for generations. Only for the vigilance of a member of
the community it is frightening to think that the developer was on the
verge of destroying a hundred beautiful beech trees, conveniently numbered
incorrectly in the development plans. This issue must be raised at a
community level as soon as possible.
Capping:
For those of you who are not aware, we can get together in force and
demand no further planning permission for large developments be granted
in Ardfinnan. I call on the entire community including all new home
owners, to participate in the protection and safeguarding of our very
unique heritage as a matter of urgency.
The village of Ardfinnan is a precious and valuable place and I think
that we must take measures as a community to ensure that its value to
developers as units per hectare is not given priority over the value
it has to the people of Ardfinnan as their own unique and beautiful
village with its very particular character and history.
All of the opinions expressed above are my own but I believe a lot of
people in the community have similar concerns. I urge everyone to attend
the meeting advertised above and actively voice those concerns.
Helen Nugent,
Main St,
Ardfinnan
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