Gormley pledges no
development
- along M3 at Tara
By - Seán Mac Connell,
Agriculture Correspondent.
A commitment that there will be no major development
along the route of the M3 near Tara was given by the
Minister for the Environment John Gormley at the
weekend.
Launching National Heritage Week in Farmleigh, Dublin,
the Minister said this was a prime example of the clash
between heritage and development.
He said as Minister he could not comment on the decision
of An Bord Pleanála.
However, the Heritage Council wanted to designate such
zones as Tara as landscape conservation areas to prevent
major development on them.
"The decision on the M3 was taken in 2003. I am the
Minister in place now, and I have to take decisions now
on how to protect our heritage".
"I have taken the advice of the Heritage Council. They
want Tara to be designated as a landscape conservation
area, and I am committed to doing that".
"That is the only way and the best way to ensure that we
do not attract unnecessary development along the M3", he
said.
Officially launching National Heritage Week, Mr. Gormley
said for the first time this year every county was
participating in heritage week, and with close to 1,000
unique events taking place, there was something to appeal
to all tastes.
These include late-night walks to study bats,
storytelling on Cape Clear island, a medieval magic show
in a castle, and learning more about the nation's
heritage through guided walks and lectures taking place
across the country.
A new initiative in this, the 16th. year of the heritage
week, was the sponsorship by the Heritage Council of
events in Derry and Carrickfergus, and Mr. Gormley said
he looked forward to further linkages with our Northern
counterparts.
He said recent research carried out by the council
highlighted the public's support for a more proactive
approach to protecting our heritage. National awareness
of the event grew considerably last year, he said, with
over 60 per cent of the Irish public being aware of the
week's events.
He said Fáilte Ireland research showed that 82 per
cent of tourists rated scenery as an important reason for
visiting Ireland, and scenic landscapes, coastlines,
towns and village were the core product of that
industry.
"We must meet the challenge of protecting their
distinctiveness and character for ourselves and for
others if we are to ensure that our tourism industry
continues to grow".
He said no generation in Ireland's history had a greater
impact on the country's landscape but our aspiration now
should be not how high we could build, but how much we
could sustain.
Michael Starrett, chief executive of the Heritage
Council, said the growing involvement from the community
was unsurpassed in Europe, and there were local heritage
events taking place in every part of the country.
© The Irish Times, Monday, 27th. August 2007.
Related Articles:
Minister
Gormley publishes File on National Monument at
Lismullin.
