New committee to look at city flood plans

Save Cork City has welcomed the news that the flood plans for Morrison’s Island will be taken on by a new Climate Action Committee.

The committee is due to be established by Cork City Council over the next three months after a motion by the Green Party was passed in City Hall on Monday night.

The Committee will be made up of 11 people from elected representatives and those from the general public, too.

Leader of the council party, Cllr Dan Boyle told the media after the meeting that the planned public realm and flood defence project will now be under the remit of this new committee, describing it as one of its “key objectives”.

The option still exists to withdraw the plans from being implemented, he also added.

Save Cork City have lobbied against the flood plans for Morrision’s Island for more than two years with a campaign called Love the Lee.

John Hegarty, the group’s director, told the Cork Independent: “We are very happy with the proposal for a Climate Action Committee for Cork. We welcome the broad remit to recommend change and new policy that is based on sustainable and long term thinking.

“There’s no doubt but that we can all benefit from consideration of the issues that relate to climate change and biodiversity in our city. This new measure will hopefully lead to a new era of progressive and representative democracy for Cork and help to define our unique identity as a city. Our city councillors should be warmly congratulated for such progressive action.”

Another plan under the remit of the Climate Action Committee will be the Cork Metropolitan Area Transport Study.