Garryduff plans to be revealed
Coillte is planning to make a presentation to the Strategic Policy Committee of Cork City Council about controversial plans for Old Court Woods, the Cork Independent has learned.
Last month, Coillte applied for a forest road works license from the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine which, if granted, would allow for a 360 metre road to be built. This is for the purpose of felling trees in the woods, known locally as Garryduff woods.
Residents and recreational users of the woods have, in the past few weeks, voiced their concerns about the planned works at the local amenity.
News that Coillte will make a presentation came a number of days after it was agreed that Cork City Council would ask Coillte for ownership of the woods after it was decided to suspend standing orders during Monday’s meeting of Cork City Council to discuss the planned works.
Fianna Fáil councillors Mary Rose Desmond and Terry Shannon asked for the suspension of standing orders as it was the last full meeting before the deadline for public submissions on 26 June.
Speaking with the Cork Independent, Cllr Desmond explained: “Cork City Council would have been making a submission even if we didn’t bring the issue up for discussion but we wanted to make sure the submission was about protecting the woods and to slow or stop the process of building the forest road while conversations are taking place about the council taking over the ownership of the woods.
“This is a small wood in the middle of a suburban area and it’s time to call it a day on tree felling as it would have a generational impact not just for us but for many of the protected species that live there like the red squirrel. It’s also steeped in history so there’s a myriad of reasons why the wood should stay as it is.” She added: “We want it kept the way it is. Let nature be nature. We don’t want picnic tables or anything like that we just want it to stay as it is.”
In a statement to the Cork Independent, Bernard Burke, Coillte Business Area Manager for South Munster, said the planned works are necessary primarily for safety reasons after storm damage and proposed plans would be discussed with local residents and interested parties before any works commences.
Due to Covid-19, he said engagement with local residents was difficult, adding that Coillte couldn’t engage person-to-person and he apologised for that.
He said: “We have already been in contact with community representatives, local councillors and TDs and are now looking to broaden this out. Coillte has requested that we make a presentation to the Strategic Policy Committee of the city council on the proposals and we want to engage directly with the local residents too. We are investigating the best way to do that, whether that be a virtual town hall or some form of direct engagement. We also encourage any resident who has a concern to message us on info@coillte.ie.”
Mr Burke said Coillte has managed these woods in such a way to support biodiversity and minimise the impact on recreation users. “Coillte applied this low impact approach to the entire forest of 26 hectares. In line with the biodiversity objective of the entire forest, Coillte has been managing a six hectare area, which was planted to produce timber, in a way that, while trees in this area are gradually removed to produce wood, there is always a tree canopy in place. In line with this policy, Coillte have removed trees from this part of the forest in a low impact manner in 2006, 2009 and 2012.”
He continued: “However, more recently, there has been a lot of damage to the trees in this area of the forest. Following strong storms, nearly half of this part of the forest has been badly damaged by wind. Wind-blown and wind-snapped trees are scattered throughout. This has resulted in a large number of leaning trees which are danger to the public. Coillte made the decision to clear up this area and then move back to a low impact approach. This means that the trees need to be removed in one operation and the area will then be immediately replanted.
“In order to carry out this operation, Coillte was considering extending the existing forest road to access this part of the forest. Once the forest operations have been completed, the road would serve as an additional walking route in the forest,” concluded Mr Burke.
The issue was also brought up in the Dáil yesterday by Sinn Féin TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire. He asked the Minister for Climate Action and the Environment Richard Bruton to intervene with Coillte wto preserve the woods. Speaking in the Dáil, he said: “I have written to Coillte, regarding Old Court Woods. This is an area of considerable biodiversity. There is a variety of squirrels, including the increasingly rare red squirrel, jay birds, rabbits, foxes and possibly badgers.”