TaraWatch

IRISH TIMES – Protection Plan to be piloted in Tara valley

HERITAGE COUNCIL PRESS RELEASE

Pilot Project Announced for Tara Skryne Landscape to Enable Better Planning Decisions and Management of the Countryside

Date: Sun, 27 Jul 2008

The Heritage Council has announced funding for a pilot project designed to significantly improve the way we manage and plan for development and economic growth in the countryside.

The pilot project will be carried out in the Tara Skryne landscape in Co. Meath by the Heritage Council in conjunction with Meath County Council. It aims to provide a framework for better planning decisions in the future as well as safeguard the environment, quality of life and the heritage aspects of one of the most important and controversial landscapes in the country. As part of the project, a landscape management plan will be developed and agreed with the local community and key stakeholders on how the landscape that they live, work or enjoy leisure activity in is developed and managed. It will also progress the Meath County Development Plan objective to designate a Landscape Conservation Area.

Announcing the approval of a budget of 25,000 euro from the Heritage Council to get the project started this year, Michael Starrett, Chief Executive of the Council said “Last year the Government announced that it is committed to developing a National Landscape Strategy. This is a further step in making that happen. The Heritage Council has been actively promoting the introduction of Landscape Management Plans for many years and we are particularly pleased that John Gormley T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is supporting this plan and is committed to the introduction of a Landscape Management Strategy. Landscape management is about accommodating change and development. It provides a much more holistic approach than the current model to planning how we manage and develop the landscape where we live. It enables local communities to play an essential role in the managing their own area and has been very successful when introduced in other European countries. This project is about finding a successful model that can be applied to special landscapes across the country and I am particularly pleased that the first test project is located in the Tara Skryne landscape. Another pilot is planned for the Burren and we hope to make an announcement of the commencement of that project in the near future”.

Michael Starrett continued. “With or without the new motorway, the Tara Skryne landscape is very special and it deserves special attention to ensure that future decisions and changes are made using the best tools available. People have conflicting interests and views on how the land we inhabit is used. All views are equally valid and this project is designed to bring conflicting views and interests together, along with planning and environmental legislation, and agree a plan for the landscape going forward that resolves conflicting interests or allows them to exist in a way that brings economic social and environmental benefits for landowners, residents and visitors alike. This is a challenging and potentially very rewarding project. It is the first time it has been tried in Ireland and we want all stakeholders with an interest in this landscape to take part in the development of this plan. Further announcements will be made in the autumn when the public consultation phase commences and we look forward to and welcome extensive public participation and debate in the development of this plan”.

Commenting on the announcement of the Heritage Council funding for the project, Meath County Manager, Tom Dowling said. “We are looking forward to working with the Heritage Council on this project and progressing the policy in the County Development Plan”.

Last year, separate studies carried out by the Heritage Council and Failte Ireland found that there was an urgent need to provide clear guidelines on land use for amenity, heritage, tourism, housing and infrastructure development and other uses. The studies found that Ireland is now the only country in Western Europe that has not specifically legislated for the planning, management and conservation of its landscapes on a consistent national level. This view is supported by recent European Environment Agency digital mapping which shows that Ireland has experienced unprecedented urbanisation and landscape fragmentation over the past number of years due to extensive new housing, major road and other infrastructure projects. This has affected open countryside, villages and towns in all parts of the country and the extent of the impact on the landscape is greater than in other parts of Europe. Most importantly it is having detrimental effects on our overall quality of life, on the water we drink and the air that we breathe.

Work on the Tara Skryne Landscape Management Plan will commence this autumn. The initial stage of the project is expected to be completed within 18-24 months. It will build on the existing landscape characterisation map for the area and examines current and potential land use and develop a plan for the area led by the local authority in conjunction with the local community. The Heritage Council and Meath County Council will initially provide funding for the project. Addition funding is expected from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government next year. The cost of project is expected to be in the region of 125,000 euro.

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TaraWatch to present petition to UNESCO in Quebec

Belfast Telegraph – Breaking News – 2 July 2008

Members of the TaraWatch campaign group are delivering a petition to UNESCO today in their latest effort to halt the construction of the M3 motorway in the historic Tara-Skryne valley.

The group is due to present the petition to the world heritage organisation during a trip to Quebec aimed at gaining international support for their campaign.

Meanwhile, campaigners will also be taking part in the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin today to highlight their concerns about the M3 project.

See also:

Press Association - Heaney Boosts Hill of Tara campaign
Irish Independent – TaraWatch to present petition to UNESCO in Quebec
Irish Independent – Tara campaigners in bid to have M3 motorway ruling truck out
Belfast Telegraph – Tara conservation lobby group to meet UNESCO
Herald.ie – Auction to raise funds for TaraWatch campaign
Mid Ulster Mail – Artist helps Hill of Tara campaign

Archaeologists ‘used to destroy heritage’, conference told

The Irish Times – Friday, July 4, 2008
CHARLIE TAYLOR

ARCHAEOLOGISTS working on excavations for the controversial M3 motorway feared they would be “sacked, blacklisted or bullied out of their profession” for not supporting the building of the chosen route, it was claimed yesterday. Speaking at a debate on the motorway near Tara at the sixth World Archaeological Congress at UCD, Maggie Ronayne, a lecturer in the department of archaeology at NUI, Galway, said pressure was put on site directors and field teams by archaeologists employed by the National Roads Authority (NRA).

“Lip service was paid to archaeology, but archaeologists were used to destroy our heritage,” said Ms Ronayne. “From the point of view of archaeology, the route chosen by the NRA was the least desirable, and other routes were not properly considered because they were not profitable for developers.” Ms Ronayne, who recently claimed that reports submitted to the NRA had been altered, said the building of the motorway posed serious ethical questions for archaeologists worldwide. She would be asking congress to pass a resolution calling for the rerouting of the M3. She said the Minister for the Environment’s decision to support the nomination of the Hill of Tara as a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco) world heritage site, given the construction of the motorway, could have serious implications for other world sites.

A number of organisations, including the NRA, the campaign group TaraWatch, and the Department of the Environment’s chief archaeologist, Brian Duffy, spoke at the debate. While many speakers expressed their opposition to the motorway, it was acknowledged that there had been benefits associated with it. These included the discovery of a number of archaeological finds such as the Lismullin monument. According to Mary Deevy, a senior archaeologist with the NRA, some €30 million had been spent on archaeology research related to the Hill of Tara since work began on the motorway. Mr Duffy said it was impossible to consider building a major road anywhere in the country without it having an impact. Laura Grealish of TaraWatch called on the congress to pass a resolution demanding a stop to work on the M3 in its present route. “It wouldn’t be legally binding but it would send out a powerful message. I think it would make Ireland the embarrassment of the global archaeological community.”