Suircan calls on public to help save Clonmel town centre trees

Suircan Environmental is a voluntary group based in Clonmel dedicated to promoting and protecting the natural heritage of the area.
They have been active since 2008 and have been involved in a range of projects including tree planting, removing invasive plant species and contributing to the development of Suir Island as the “Green Heart” of Clonmel. Members of Suircan also attend the Town Forum, along with business owners and council officials.
Suircan took part in the recent public consultation exercise carried out by Tipperary County Council for the Clonmel Town Urban Design Project. Like the vast majority of the public, Suircan broadly support the aims and ambitions of the project to revitalise and refresh the town’s main streets. However on close reading of the plans, Suircan discovered that RPS Engineers who drew up the plans propose to remove all the existing trees on Gladstone and O’Connell Streets and to replace them with new young trees of a different species. Suircan were especially concerned that the felling of the old trees would not have been obvious to members of the public who viewed the plans online or at the Council Civic Office as this was not stated in the planners’ information.

CONSULTATION
EXERCISE
Suircan duly contributed to the consultation exercise under the Part 8 planning process and lodged their objection to the tree removal, along with a number of similar objections by members of the public who had also discovered that the old trees would be destroyed.
These objections have all been subsequently overruled in the final version of the plan which has been signed off by the Chief Executive of the County Council and the trees are due to be felled as a result

DEMOCRATIC PROCESS
Suircan is now seeking to understand:
What is the democratic process underpinning the public consultation exercise for the Town Centre Plan? A large number of people objected to the trees being felled so why are their views not being respected?
The reasons for the tree removal and the reasons why the plan cannot be at the very least adapted to preserve some of the healthiest of these semi-mature specimens.
Suircan points to international studies which document the many added values of mature trees to the health and wellbeing of town dwellers and to research which compare the much greater biodiversity and carbon capture value of a mature versus a young tree, as well as the benefits of shade and beauty of older trees.

HEALTHY TREES
They also believe that the felling of these beautiful and much-loved healthy trees in a public space at this time sends out a terrible message to the public about our authorities’ failure to understand the climate and biodiversity crisis facing our planet. They are convinced that local authorities have a particular responsibility to demonstrate leadership by good example at a time when excessive tree and hedgerow removal is increasingly the subject of public disquiet and protest. They point out the considerable financial outlay of removing and replacing trees. They also maintain that a less severe pruning regime would allow the existing trees to flourish in future years and to provide shade and habitat for humans, birdlife and invertebrates for many years to come.
On a positive note, Suircan has recently engaged with Tipperary County Council to explore their concerns. The engineer responsible has agreed to share the ground plans for the town centre with Suircan and has suggested a possible compromise whereby the existing trees might be relocated.
Suircan are happy to engage with this discussion but remain of the view that the trees should be preserved. In the meantime, Suircan is asking for concerned members of the public who share their concerns and who would like the council to review the plans to remove the trees to email Suircan at suircanclonmel@gmail.com or send a message to their Facebook page SuirCan.