Clonmel environmental group secures positive outcome on two projects

A Clonmel environmental group has achieved major progress on two projects.
Agreement has been reached with Clonmel Borough District in relation to the appointment of a biodiversity officer and for the drawing up of a tree strategy for Clonmel.
According to a spokesperson for Crannach, however, no agreement was reached in relation to the review the group called for concerning the retention of some of the existing town centre trees.
MEETING
The meeting between Crannach and council officials considered three matters, the biodiversity officer, a tree strategy and the town centre trees in Clonmel.
Following the meeting Crannach stated that there was a very positive response from the council to two of Crannach’s suggestions.
“Sinead Carr, Director of Services, told Crannach that she would arrange for a tree strategy for Clonmel to be put in place which, she said would set benchmarks against best practice in terms of urban tree cover and management and set Clonmel as a leader in the area of utilising tees and tree planting to mitigate against climate change and reduce carbon footprint,” said a Crannach statement.
BIODIVERSITY OFFICER
According to Crannach the meeting was also told by Ms Carr that the council would, pending necessary funding, seek to employ a biodiversity officer for the county to augment the work of the heritage officer.
This move was also strongly welcomed by Crannach who noted that the Government was funding a limited number of these new posts as a pilot, and that Tipperary had a particular case for being amongst the front runners for such an appointment not least given the size of the county.
On the controversial question of the existing town trees, Ms Carr told Crannach that the council is standing firm on their decision to remove and replace them all without engaging the services of a tree expert to see if some of them can be saved.
“Ms Carr said that she can’t ‘unpick the plan’ at this stage as this could lead to the whole planning process having to be repeated and that in the view of the council the proper procedures had been followed in relation to public consultation under the Part 8 process.
“This contention was strongly challenged by Crannach in the meeting whose members also wanted to know why the environmental assessment of the plans by JBA Consulting had not included a tree survey of the existing 43 semi mature specimens in the town centre, a very serious omission they claimed,”went the Crannach statement.
It was asserted by council officials that such a tree survey was not a requirement of the environmental assessment.
TREE STRATEGY
“The Crannach position remains that at least some of the trees may be saved from destruction without needing to radically change the plans or go back to planning, and that the long overdue advice of a tree expert in conjunction with the engineers could allow some of the best and healthiest examples to be retained alongside the many new trees which are needed in the town centre,” said the Crannach statement.
The group said this would allow a blend of semi mature and new trees and was in line with the advice they have received from their own experts, including Professor Gerald Mills from UCD who recently visited Clonmel and advised that a value should be placed on the existing precious trees which are providing a range of vital services for the town centre.
Speaking to The Nationalist after the meeting Crannach and SuirCan member Alan Moore noted that achieving “two out of three demands ain’t bad”.
COMMON GROUND
He said that he and his colleagues were pleased to find so much common ground with the council and he warmly welcomed the announcements in relation to the tree strategy and the biodiversity officer.
He said that given that there was currently no funding for the new urban design plan, he and his committee members hoped that “common sense and compromise” would eventually prevail in relation to saving some of the finest trees in Clonmel town centre.
SCHOOL PROJECT
Such a compromise, he said, would reflect the views of the vast majority of Clonmel people.
He also reported that the Crannach project to plant trees in school grounds in the Clonmel area is forging ahead with 20 schools signed up to date.
“David Anchell is a founder member of Crannach and is sponsoring this project through his Clonmel-based Camida pharmaceutical company,” said Alan Moore this week.

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