Mr. Dick Roche T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, turned the sod at the site of the new visitor centre for Ballycroy National Park, County Mayo.
Ballycroy National Park was established in 1998 and consists of almost 12,000 hectares of some of the most important blanket bog in Europe. The Owenduff area in the Nephin Mountains, in particular, is a wild and remote area of blanket bog, cliffs and river habitats containing many rare species of plants.
The area is also important as a roosting, feeding and breeding site for certain migratory bird species - including the Greenland White-Fronted Goose. The Golden Eagle - which has been reintroduced to Ireland from Glenveagh National Park in County Donegal - has also been spotted in the National Park in Ballycroy.
The visitor centre is being built under the Government's National Development Plan at a cost of €3.8m. In order to maximise the benefit for the local community, the visitor centre is being built in the village of Ballycroy, rather than in the National Park itself. It will be constructed on a site of 42 hectares overlooking Blacksod Bay.
The new building - measuring some 650 square metres - will include reception and exhibition areas on the ground level, with a tearoom, education area and toilets on the first floor level. A lift will provide access to both floors and to a viewing platform.
Importantly, the visitor centre is being built on the principles of sustainability, for example -
* It will include solar panels for electricity generation;
* It is being built into the hill - thereby providing a high level of insulation and reducing energy needs;
* The building will be heated using ground source heat pumps - and
* The centre will include a rainwater collection system.
Landscaping and walking routes will be provided around the new centre and, in the longer-term, a series of looped walks will be laid out at the National Park itself.
Speaking at the sod turning, Minister Roche said - "The visitor centre for Ballycroy National Park, County Mayo will be a major new attraction for Ballycroy and all of the surrounding communities of North West Mayo. I believe that it will help to attract significant business and employment for the county - in terms of the spin-off from tourism - and will help to raise the profile of the area, both at home and internationally."
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