1. Planning goals must be applied to protect our environment
Kerry County Council’s planning authorities should be firm in following the principles and goals laid down in the county development plan. Otherwise these goals will never be achieved.
Here is a recent planning decision which shows how these aims are diluted and, in fact, not applied.
The last county development stipulated that “It is an objective of the Council to … enhance biodiversity.”
The planning authorities, granting planning permission in this case, remarked in their decision: “the development will not seriously injure the amenities of the area” – the amenity in this instance being the area’s natural biodiversity.
To enhance means “to intensify, increase, or further improve the quality, value, or extent of” something, and that was the principle set out in the county development plan. The planning decision took an entirely different direction: the development was fine so long as it didn’t seriously injure the area.
The last county development plan, and local area plans, all featured key goals – to promote sustainable development; to protect the natural, built and social environment; “to conserve, manage and where possible enhance the area’s natural heritage, including habitats, species, landscapes;” to “integrate environmental considerations into local planning, by … maximising bio-diversity,” and so on. The necessity of these measures is well understood – and popularly supported. The planning authorities should in that case take a positive approach to implementing them.
2. All of the environment must be protected
Various pockets of Co. Kerry are designated as Special Areas of Conservation (SACs) or Special Protection Areas (SPAs) and these habitats are granted special protection. However, all of the county’s natural environment is important – it is one of our greatest resources – and all of it should be given consideration. Focusing only on particular areas or particular species of flora and fauna while ignoring others is a shortsighted policy. In fact, rather than managing the environment as a natural (and economic) resource, it suggests that the environment as such will only be taken care of when it’s rare, or even in danger of extinction.
We include below a short illustration of one of the many pockets of the Kerry landscape which is at present a great resource for wildlife and a good example of natural biodiversity, the Milltown River estuary beside Dingle. And, as important as they are, areas like this are given no significant status in current plans. We submit that their value should in fact be acknowledged in the county development plan and promoted by the planning authorities.
THE MILLTOWN RIVER HABITAT
The Milltown river is an important local habitat. It is a tidal estuary, a marshy wetland, with several confluent micro habitats – riverine, estuarine and shoreline. As a result it offers multiple opportunities for wildlife to thrive.
It is home to Curlews, who feed and nest here. Kerry man Dr Barry O’Donovan, Wildlife Inspector with the National Parks and Wildlife Service, pointed out recently that there are only a few breeding pairs in the county and without intervention these birds could be extinct within 10 years – and no Irish child will ever again hear the Curlew's distinctive call, which was once common in the countryside.
The estuary is a wintering ground for diverse wader and wildfowl species, including the listed Red Curlew, as well as Redshank, Black-Headed Gulls and Wigeon. Other regular wintering species include Mallard, Oystercatcher, Little Egret, Turnstone, Greenshank and Ringed Plover. It is a Gull roost for Herring, Common, Great Black-Backed, Iceland, Glaucous and Mediterranean Gull. Kingfisher regularly winter here.
Some rare migrating species visit this site, including Whimbrel and Goosander. Swans arrive occasionally too. It is a daily feeding ground for Heron while Cormorants use the estuary to wash and dry their wings.
In March and April, Light-bellied Brent Geese numbers build below Milltown bridge. These birds roost at Milltown, feed here, and wash and preen here as it provides mudflats for feeding, islands for safe roosting and fresh water for washing and drinking. They feed up at this point to prepare for their journey to their breeding ground in the East Canadian High Arctic. Theirs is one of the longest journeys and the shortest breeding season of any goose. This population winters from August to May almost entirely in Ireland so we are responsible for their welfare.
Since Milltown is a magnet for waders and wildfowl it attracts top daytime predators, notably Peregrine Falcon. The riverbank is also a favourite riverine habitat for Bank Vole.
As part of the National Barn Owl conservation programme, Barn Owl (Red list species) breed in a nest box within 2 km of the Distillery. This has been one of the most successful nest boxes for raising young Barn Owls in Kerry.
The Local Authorities Waters Programme monitors the river environment and it is also a field of research and study for the Sacred Heart University, Dingle, marine science programme. Further research would reveal much more about the importance and extent of this habitat’s biodiversity. There is currently a 12-month marine and shore survey being conducted before an extension to Dingle marina is built. It is revealing nocturnal mammal activity previously unknown. It is reasonable to assume that similar surveys would also discover more wildlife in the Milltown estuary habitat.
Reference: Michael O’Clery, The Dingle Peninsula Bird Report 2004–2006; 2007–2008; 2009–2010; 2011–2013.
Peter Malone and Eileen O’Sullivan
Milltown, Dingle, Co. Kerry