A REPORT into the devastating flooding that affected thousands of homes last winter has said the state’s response to the crisis lacked leadership, coordination and communication.
The report has also suggested it is not good enough to have national emergencies spearheaded by people who are neither a senior minister nor a secretary general of a government department.
The authors, the Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, also said the effort to coordinate state agencies during the crisis was confused.
The committee has also called for a full independent investigation, by technical experts, to be carried out into what caused the flooding in the worst affected area, Cork’s River Lee basin.
The report also suggested the state was not properly informed of the risks, managed them inappropriately and was insufficiently prepared and resourced.
However, Taoiseach Brian Cowen said he believed the Government’s response to the flooding of November 2009 "went well".
"I was very satisfied with the Government response. It was immediate and when we saw the prolongation of the adverse weather conditions we put in place emergency measures and contingency procedures, so I believe all in all things went well. If there are things that could be improved for the future, and I’m sure there are, we’ll wait to see what is in the report," he said.
Environment Minister John Gormley said he also believed there was "real leadership" shown at the time. Committee chairman Sean Fleming disagreed, however. He said there was a distinct lack of clarity about who was in charge and the reaction was disjointed and confused. And, in contrast to past agricultural emergencies, when the relevant ministers were prominent, he said the members of Government were absent last winter.
However, the Fianna Fáil deputy refused to finger the Government for ultimate responsibility. He said the confused response of state agencies and the rain were primarily to blame. And he said the ESB had a conflict of interest in flood management because it wanted to keep water levels high for electricity generation.
Elsewhere, the committee said a single authority, the Office of Public Works, should be given ultimate responsibility for all aspects of management of the River Shannon.
It also called on Mr Gormley to complete and publish his department’s delayed review of the flooding catastrophe. It said it wanted this published quickly but the department was not able to do this.
However, the committee’s report was immediately criticised by victims of the flooding who said it failed to hold anybody accountable.
The solicitor advising several victims of the flood which struck Cork city, and honorary legal adviser to the Cork Flood Action Committee Joe Noonan said there was no will to find out what happened and ensure a re-occurrence was prevented.
He said the report should have found out who was accountable.
"The Oireachtas committee report draws no conclusions about the responsibility for the flooding of Cork," he said.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Showing posts with label flood planning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label flood planning. Show all posts
Wednesday, 21 July 2010
Monday, 12 July 2010
Flood threat homeowners take council fight to EU
A FAMILY made homeless as a result of the November floods crisis is set to tell the European Parliament that local council planners who allowed them to build on a flood plain are responsible for the scandal.
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, 32-year-old Tom Flatley said he and his wife Noreen were given the green light by Galway county council planners to re-develop a dilapidated farm house at Ardrahan in 2002.
The area is a known flood plain, with previous homes being severely flooded in the territory.
However, despite the history of difficulties in the region, Galway County Council allowed the Flatleys to build on the land.
When the major floods struck Galway last November, the family’s home was submerged under almost a metre of water, forcing the young couple and their one-year-old son Zac to flee their home.
An Office of Public Works (OPW) report on the site said there is no possible solution to preventing further floodings, and that despite the council failing to explain the building is on a flood plain it is not their responsibility.
However, Mr Flatley has insisted an independent hydrologist has told the family defences such as a flood wall, an embankment, a surface water drainage system or a rising water pump could be put in place.
And as a result, he is to take his complaint over the inaction by the council to the European Parliament at the request of Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins in an attempt to force the local authority to take responsibility for the situation.
"The fact is they haven’t even looked into the possible solutions. This has put us under so much pressure but there is no support there for us," he warned.
"Since November, we’ve found out that this location has flooded repeatedly over the years, to such an extent that just 50 yards up the road from us a house had to be demolished because of flooding in 1995.
"We are not looking for compensation but we are looking for some protection so we will be making a petition to the European Parliament to put our case to them."
While Galway County Council insists planning for the one-off property was the responsibility of the family, the Flatleys, who have been living in rented accommodation since the flooding, said the situation is proof of a lack of support given to him and other flood victims since the crisis eight months ago.
"Minister Martin Mansergh came to our home in November to see the damage and promised we would be helped, but nothing’s happened.
"There is a €10 million fund supposedly there for humanitarian aid, but that is so wrapped up in red tape barely anyone can access it unless you meet specific qualifications.
"We could go back and fix the damage to our home, but this will inevitably happen again unless there are defences put in there."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Speaking to the Irish Examiner, 32-year-old Tom Flatley said he and his wife Noreen were given the green light by Galway county council planners to re-develop a dilapidated farm house at Ardrahan in 2002.
The area is a known flood plain, with previous homes being severely flooded in the territory.
However, despite the history of difficulties in the region, Galway County Council allowed the Flatleys to build on the land.
When the major floods struck Galway last November, the family’s home was submerged under almost a metre of water, forcing the young couple and their one-year-old son Zac to flee their home.
An Office of Public Works (OPW) report on the site said there is no possible solution to preventing further floodings, and that despite the council failing to explain the building is on a flood plain it is not their responsibility.
However, Mr Flatley has insisted an independent hydrologist has told the family defences such as a flood wall, an embankment, a surface water drainage system or a rising water pump could be put in place.
And as a result, he is to take his complaint over the inaction by the council to the European Parliament at the request of Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins in an attempt to force the local authority to take responsibility for the situation.
"The fact is they haven’t even looked into the possible solutions. This has put us under so much pressure but there is no support there for us," he warned.
"Since November, we’ve found out that this location has flooded repeatedly over the years, to such an extent that just 50 yards up the road from us a house had to be demolished because of flooding in 1995.
"We are not looking for compensation but we are looking for some protection so we will be making a petition to the European Parliament to put our case to them."
While Galway County Council insists planning for the one-off property was the responsibility of the family, the Flatleys, who have been living in rented accommodation since the flooding, said the situation is proof of a lack of support given to him and other flood victims since the crisis eight months ago.
"Minister Martin Mansergh came to our home in November to see the damage and promised we would be helped, but nothing’s happened.
"There is a €10 million fund supposedly there for humanitarian aid, but that is so wrapped up in red tape barely anyone can access it unless you meet specific qualifications.
"We could go back and fix the damage to our home, but this will inevitably happen again unless there are defences put in there."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 1 February 2010
Minister highlights poor planning
The severe floods that devastated parts of the country in November showed up the “questionable nature” of development decisions made by some local authorities, Environment Minister John Gormley has said.
Speaking at Engineers Ireland’s Flood Prevention, Control and Management Conference last week, Mr Gormley said he would continue to review the development plans of local authorities to ensure they are adhering to national policies on flood prevention.
He said the effects of climate change would increase the risks of more frequent flooding. However, these risks could be managed by proper planning.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Speaking at Engineers Ireland’s Flood Prevention, Control and Management Conference last week, Mr Gormley said he would continue to review the development plans of local authorities to ensure they are adhering to national policies on flood prevention.
He said the effects of climate change would increase the risks of more frequent flooding. However, these risks could be managed by proper planning.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 10 December 2009
We need good planning now more than ever
Judging from the range and intensity of media debates that followed our recent flooding experience, it seems that some crucially important issues have come into clearer focus for many people. For some, there is a new sense of urgency in the way that they speak about climate change and the environment while for others there are unfamiliar questions to be asked about how basic human needs such as clean water, shelter and sanitation can be met in times of crisis. The importance of community spirit, voluntary work and public service - particularly ‘front line’ emergency services - are all seen in a new light.
On another level still there is a sense of helplessness and, quite understandably, a strong desire to lay the blame fairly and squarely at someone’s door – the council, the ESB, the developers, the so-called experts, the EU, the government. Surely there is a baddie out there who can be made to account for all this devastation? Or, in some way, do we all have to take a little bit of the responsibility? How can we begin to understand all of this? Who are we to believe?
For me, this whole episode is another example of how now, more than ever, we in Ireland need proper planning and sustainable development. We need to set aside the rhetoric and begin to understand clearly how planning permissions are granted, how land is zoned and released for development and how different interest groups can influence planning decisions. We also need to assess and understand, both now and into the future, how these decisions impact on people, on our towns and villages and on the environment generally. And, because these can sometimes be quite complex and difficult questions, we also need to engage in mature and responsible ways with the issues that come up –even if from time it involves making tough decisions.
Many people might be surprised to learn that, with very few exceptions, the power to make planning decisions in this country rests solely with local politicians (in the case of zoning) and with city and county managers (in the case of planning applications). These are difficult and very responsible roles to carry out especially when you consider that very few councillors in Ireland - or local authority managers for that matter - have any formal training in urban and regional planning. Recent examples in Ennis, where excessive amounts of land were zoned against planning advice, and Co. Monaghan, where lands in a flood plain were zoned also against professional advice are cautionary tales. This is why it is important that the opinion of qualified council planning staff is taken on board and given serious consideration before decisions are made.
If the flooding of recent days has taught us anything it is that unsustainable planning decisions are not victimless crimes. While placing new buildings in flood plains is obviously problematic, we should also remember that the scale of future flooding can be influenced by how we zone land and grant planning permissions in other areas too. The accelerated rainfall runoff caused by hundreds of acres of newly impermeable surfaces such as tarmac and concrete can change the downstream flooding characteristics of our rivers irreparably: sometimes with dramatic results. Yet all of this can be foreseen, modelled and prevented. Research, data gathering and flood mapping is more and more effective and sophisticated. The engineers, planners and other specialists in city and country councils understand these issues very well and are in a position to manage them properly.
Unfortunately, there is evidence that the voice of the specialist planning professional has weakened somewhat in recent years. Even though the number of planners employed in local authorities has increased in recent years to deal with complex changes in legislation, their objective planning advice is often not given adequate weight when decisions are made. Also, in the reform of local government services over the last few years, the post of Chief Planning Officer in Cork City, Cork County and other authorities were abolished. Records show however that that theirs were among the very few voices of caution that were expressed during the years of the construction boom.
In public service departments such as planning, which are expected to be run more and more like businesses these days, perhaps we have taken too narrow a view of who the customer is. Is it the developer who pays a hefty planning application fee? Is it the neighbour who pays a fee to make written observations? For some participants, a lot of money can be at stake in the outcome of a zoning or planning application decision. Obviously, different kinds of power relationships then come into play and the concept of the ‘customer’ can be fraught with moral questions. For example, as we are led to believe, can the customer always be right? And what about those people who never in their lives made a planning application or observation but whose homes and workplaces were recently flooded? Surely they were just as much the ‘customers’ of the planning system? Going further, if we are serious about the concept of sustainable development, perhaps we should also try to consider the needs of the generations yet to come - after all, the worst effects of some bad decisions won’t be noticed for many years after they were made.
Until now, setting aside the planners’ advice - which tends to focus on the common good rather than individual interests - has somehow been seen as not very serious. For example, to a society hungry for development at all costs, the consequences of over-zoning were seen as benign: “sure what harm would it do?” The recent floods have highlighted the folly of this approach in particularly dramatic ways. But there are other serious - though not as spectacular - knock-on effects too. Other examples of our casual attitude to planning decision-making include scattered patterns of individual house permissions across the rural landscape - in their thousands each year - and the development of workplaces and retail centres on peripheral ring road sites that are remote from homes, public transport and other facilities. These things were simply seen as dynamic symbols of economic progress while the specialists’ arguments about sustainability and proper planning got lost in all the excitement. As a result, individuals and communities for many years to come will have to deal with the declining vibrancy of many city and town centres, unsustainable commuting patterns; daily congestion, accelerated habitat loss and serious land use challenges in rural areas regarding social isolation and finding the best locations for utility lines, quarries and other essential infrastructure.
Short term pragmatic decision making, with barely half an eye to the big picture has brought us to this point. Its latest and most alarming manifestations are in the flooding crisis and the NAMA debate. Now is the time for people to take planning seriously; from now on only the highest standards of decision making should be expected from those with responsibility. Whilst the planning profession and the planning schools will continue to play their part, real change in my view will only occur when civil society, politicians of all parties and the population as a whole engage maturely with the issues, listen to specialist advice when it is available and be prepared to make tough decisions when they are needed.
By Brendan O’Sullivan. Brendan is a chartered town planner and chartered engineer, is Director of UCC’s Programme in Planning and Sustainable Development, Ireland’s newest planning school.
www.buckplanning.ie
On another level still there is a sense of helplessness and, quite understandably, a strong desire to lay the blame fairly and squarely at someone’s door – the council, the ESB, the developers, the so-called experts, the EU, the government. Surely there is a baddie out there who can be made to account for all this devastation? Or, in some way, do we all have to take a little bit of the responsibility? How can we begin to understand all of this? Who are we to believe?
For me, this whole episode is another example of how now, more than ever, we in Ireland need proper planning and sustainable development. We need to set aside the rhetoric and begin to understand clearly how planning permissions are granted, how land is zoned and released for development and how different interest groups can influence planning decisions. We also need to assess and understand, both now and into the future, how these decisions impact on people, on our towns and villages and on the environment generally. And, because these can sometimes be quite complex and difficult questions, we also need to engage in mature and responsible ways with the issues that come up –even if from time it involves making tough decisions.
Many people might be surprised to learn that, with very few exceptions, the power to make planning decisions in this country rests solely with local politicians (in the case of zoning) and with city and county managers (in the case of planning applications). These are difficult and very responsible roles to carry out especially when you consider that very few councillors in Ireland - or local authority managers for that matter - have any formal training in urban and regional planning. Recent examples in Ennis, where excessive amounts of land were zoned against planning advice, and Co. Monaghan, where lands in a flood plain were zoned also against professional advice are cautionary tales. This is why it is important that the opinion of qualified council planning staff is taken on board and given serious consideration before decisions are made.
If the flooding of recent days has taught us anything it is that unsustainable planning decisions are not victimless crimes. While placing new buildings in flood plains is obviously problematic, we should also remember that the scale of future flooding can be influenced by how we zone land and grant planning permissions in other areas too. The accelerated rainfall runoff caused by hundreds of acres of newly impermeable surfaces such as tarmac and concrete can change the downstream flooding characteristics of our rivers irreparably: sometimes with dramatic results. Yet all of this can be foreseen, modelled and prevented. Research, data gathering and flood mapping is more and more effective and sophisticated. The engineers, planners and other specialists in city and country councils understand these issues very well and are in a position to manage them properly.
Unfortunately, there is evidence that the voice of the specialist planning professional has weakened somewhat in recent years. Even though the number of planners employed in local authorities has increased in recent years to deal with complex changes in legislation, their objective planning advice is often not given adequate weight when decisions are made. Also, in the reform of local government services over the last few years, the post of Chief Planning Officer in Cork City, Cork County and other authorities were abolished. Records show however that that theirs were among the very few voices of caution that were expressed during the years of the construction boom.
In public service departments such as planning, which are expected to be run more and more like businesses these days, perhaps we have taken too narrow a view of who the customer is. Is it the developer who pays a hefty planning application fee? Is it the neighbour who pays a fee to make written observations? For some participants, a lot of money can be at stake in the outcome of a zoning or planning application decision. Obviously, different kinds of power relationships then come into play and the concept of the ‘customer’ can be fraught with moral questions. For example, as we are led to believe, can the customer always be right? And what about those people who never in their lives made a planning application or observation but whose homes and workplaces were recently flooded? Surely they were just as much the ‘customers’ of the planning system? Going further, if we are serious about the concept of sustainable development, perhaps we should also try to consider the needs of the generations yet to come - after all, the worst effects of some bad decisions won’t be noticed for many years after they were made.
Until now, setting aside the planners’ advice - which tends to focus on the common good rather than individual interests - has somehow been seen as not very serious. For example, to a society hungry for development at all costs, the consequences of over-zoning were seen as benign: “sure what harm would it do?” The recent floods have highlighted the folly of this approach in particularly dramatic ways. But there are other serious - though not as spectacular - knock-on effects too. Other examples of our casual attitude to planning decision-making include scattered patterns of individual house permissions across the rural landscape - in their thousands each year - and the development of workplaces and retail centres on peripheral ring road sites that are remote from homes, public transport and other facilities. These things were simply seen as dynamic symbols of economic progress while the specialists’ arguments about sustainability and proper planning got lost in all the excitement. As a result, individuals and communities for many years to come will have to deal with the declining vibrancy of many city and town centres, unsustainable commuting patterns; daily congestion, accelerated habitat loss and serious land use challenges in rural areas regarding social isolation and finding the best locations for utility lines, quarries and other essential infrastructure.
Short term pragmatic decision making, with barely half an eye to the big picture has brought us to this point. Its latest and most alarming manifestations are in the flooding crisis and the NAMA debate. Now is the time for people to take planning seriously; from now on only the highest standards of decision making should be expected from those with responsibility. Whilst the planning profession and the planning schools will continue to play their part, real change in my view will only occur when civil society, politicians of all parties and the population as a whole engage maturely with the issues, listen to specialist advice when it is available and be prepared to make tough decisions when they are needed.
By Brendan O’Sullivan. Brendan is a chartered town planner and chartered engineer, is Director of UCC’s Programme in Planning and Sustainable Development, Ireland’s newest planning school.
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 7 December 2009
Department criticised for allowing the rezoning of flood plain
THE wisdom of a decision by Offaly councillors and the Department of the Environment to facilitate the rezoning of a flood plain outside Tullamore has been called into question.
The Tullamore West flood plain, on the banks of the Grand Canal, was rezoned last year to allow for a €30 million housing development to be developed on 60 acres of land.
In the Irish Mail on Sunday Fine Gael councillor Tommy McKeigue called on the plan to be scrapped and the rezoning to be revoked.
He said in the context of recent flooding it was unwise to allow building on natural drainage areas.
And he called on Environment Minister John Gormley to intervene and questioned why his department had sanctioned the rezoning proposal.
"Mr Gormley has been going around for the past week blaming councillors and councils for developing on flood plains yet he is allowed this rezoning to take place [in 2008].
"Why? He was crying crocodile tears when he was driving down to Cork and those places to examine the flooding," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Gormley said the matter was dealt with at official level and was not handled by the minster directly.
He said ministers only intervened in specific circumstances and this area was considered in the context of the overall development plan for Tullamore and was not an isolated rezoning.
The rezoning proposal was supported by eight Fianna Fáil councillors and two independents.
Five Fine Gael councillors and four independents tried unsuccessfully to block it.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The Tullamore West flood plain, on the banks of the Grand Canal, was rezoned last year to allow for a €30 million housing development to be developed on 60 acres of land.
In the Irish Mail on Sunday Fine Gael councillor Tommy McKeigue called on the plan to be scrapped and the rezoning to be revoked.
He said in the context of recent flooding it was unwise to allow building on natural drainage areas.
And he called on Environment Minister John Gormley to intervene and questioned why his department had sanctioned the rezoning proposal.
"Mr Gormley has been going around for the past week blaming councillors and councils for developing on flood plains yet he is allowed this rezoning to take place [in 2008].
"Why? He was crying crocodile tears when he was driving down to Cork and those places to examine the flooding," he said.
A spokesman for Mr Gormley said the matter was dealt with at official level and was not handled by the minster directly.
He said ministers only intervened in specific circumstances and this area was considered in the context of the overall development plan for Tullamore and was not an isolated rezoning.
The rezoning proposal was supported by eight Fianna Fáil councillors and two independents.
Five Fine Gael councillors and four independents tried unsuccessfully to block it.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 1 December 2009
Minister admits poor planning to blame for devastation
THE junior minister with responsibility for flood management has admitted poor planning is to blame for many homes beingdestroyed by water in recent days and said the Government will take a much more "rigorous" approach in future.
At last 600 families have had to flee their homes as they became submerged in flood water in the past week and many fear they won’t be able to return for Christmas, if at all.
But these houses "shouldn’t have been put where they were" in the first place, according to minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, (OPW) Martin Mansergh.
After visiting many parts of the country affected by the deluge, the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary South said: "It’s very clear that a substantial number of the homes effected and in certain cases estates, have been built in very recent times on flood plains."
Despite his party being in Government for the past 12 years when planning decisions were made, he said what has happened in the past week "graphically underlines that some homes, some of which can’t be lived in again, shouldn’t have been put where they were."
The Government has not yet estimated the overall cost of the damage caused by the worst flooding in living history.
But the Green Party leader and Environment Minister, John Gormley, claimed voters themselves have to take some responsibility for destruction caused by poor planning decisions because they kept re-electing councillors who made them.
"We had local elections and these people that engaged in reckless planning in many cases, you can look at it yourself around the country, topped the polls. So what does that say?" asked Mr Gormley.
He said voters made their decision and told politicians that such poor planning decisions were fine. "And very often when there was an intervention from the Government they said ‘don’t let these Dublin lads tell us what to do. This is what happens, that’s just the reality," he said.
Both ministers were speaking at the launch of a set of guidelines issued to local authorities and An Bord Pleanála, which will only allow development in areas at high or moderate risk of flooding in "exceptional circumstances".
Mr Gormley said he believes the events of the past week will make people "far more conscious of what constitutes good planning and what’s in the best interest of the community".
Mr Mansergh said he thinks there will be "a sea change of attitudes as a result of what we have experienced".
He said: "The attitude that might even have existed a couple of months ago, simply wont be tenable."
Mr Mansergh will face questions at the Oireachtas Environment Committee today on how the Government plans to provide financial assistance to those affected by floods.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
At last 600 families have had to flee their homes as they became submerged in flood water in the past week and many fear they won’t be able to return for Christmas, if at all.
But these houses "shouldn’t have been put where they were" in the first place, according to minister with responsibility for the Office of Public Works, (OPW) Martin Mansergh.
After visiting many parts of the country affected by the deluge, the Fianna Fáil TD for Tipperary South said: "It’s very clear that a substantial number of the homes effected and in certain cases estates, have been built in very recent times on flood plains."
Despite his party being in Government for the past 12 years when planning decisions were made, he said what has happened in the past week "graphically underlines that some homes, some of which can’t be lived in again, shouldn’t have been put where they were."
The Government has not yet estimated the overall cost of the damage caused by the worst flooding in living history.
But the Green Party leader and Environment Minister, John Gormley, claimed voters themselves have to take some responsibility for destruction caused by poor planning decisions because they kept re-electing councillors who made them.
"We had local elections and these people that engaged in reckless planning in many cases, you can look at it yourself around the country, topped the polls. So what does that say?" asked Mr Gormley.
He said voters made their decision and told politicians that such poor planning decisions were fine. "And very often when there was an intervention from the Government they said ‘don’t let these Dublin lads tell us what to do. This is what happens, that’s just the reality," he said.
Both ministers were speaking at the launch of a set of guidelines issued to local authorities and An Bord Pleanála, which will only allow development in areas at high or moderate risk of flooding in "exceptional circumstances".
Mr Gormley said he believes the events of the past week will make people "far more conscious of what constitutes good planning and what’s in the best interest of the community".
Mr Mansergh said he thinks there will be "a sea change of attitudes as a result of what we have experienced".
He said: "The attitude that might even have existed a couple of months ago, simply wont be tenable."
Mr Mansergh will face questions at the Oireachtas Environment Committee today on how the Government plans to provide financial assistance to those affected by floods.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Warning of flood risk from port plan
AN EXISTING risk of flooding in Clontarf, Sandymount and Ringsend would be exacerbated by Dublin Port’s plans to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay, a Bord Pleanála hearing heard yesterday.
Citing a range of expert opinions, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2003 report entitled Climate Change, Scenarios and Impacts for Ireland , the campaign group Dublin Bay Watch said the planting of 52 acres of “hard material” in Dublin Bay represented a “considerable flooding risk” in addition to that posed by rising sea levels.
At the resumed hearing yesterday, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Brendan Wyse was told by Liam O’Dwyer that the range of expertise arrayed against the port company’s plan was extensive.
He cited from research by the EPA, UCC in collaboration with the Hydraulics and Marine Research Centre, as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to emphasise the risk of more intense storms occurring more frequently.
Dublin, he said, was cited in a number of studies as being a low-lying coastal area which was “very seriously at risk” from flooding.
Fellow Dublin Bay Watch member Peter Bailey said the EPA report had concluded the impacts of “sea level rise will be most apparent in the major cities of Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Galway” and this was a serious problem where strategic infrastructure was located.
In a legal submission on behalf of Dublin Bay Watch and the Clontarf Residents’ Association, barrister Dónall Ó’Laoire said the infill was contrary to the EU birds directive, the EU habitats directive, the directive on environmental impact assessments, and proper planning and development.
Dublin Port Company has told the inquiry the increase in port capacity provided by the infill is a matter of strategic economic importance to the State.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Citing a range of expert opinions, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) 2003 report entitled Climate Change, Scenarios and Impacts for Ireland , the campaign group Dublin Bay Watch said the planting of 52 acres of “hard material” in Dublin Bay represented a “considerable flooding risk” in addition to that posed by rising sea levels.
At the resumed hearing yesterday, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Brendan Wyse was told by Liam O’Dwyer that the range of expertise arrayed against the port company’s plan was extensive.
He cited from research by the EPA, UCC in collaboration with the Hydraulics and Marine Research Centre, as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to emphasise the risk of more intense storms occurring more frequently.
Dublin, he said, was cited in a number of studies as being a low-lying coastal area which was “very seriously at risk” from flooding.
Fellow Dublin Bay Watch member Peter Bailey said the EPA report had concluded the impacts of “sea level rise will be most apparent in the major cities of Cork, Limerick, Dublin and Galway” and this was a serious problem where strategic infrastructure was located.
In a legal submission on behalf of Dublin Bay Watch and the Clontarf Residents’ Association, barrister Dónall Ó’Laoire said the infill was contrary to the EU birds directive, the EU habitats directive, the directive on environmental impact assessments, and proper planning and development.
Dublin Port Company has told the inquiry the increase in port capacity provided by the infill is a matter of strategic economic importance to the State.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley says development land vulnerable to flood may be 'dezoned'
THE GOVERNMENT and local authorities will move to “dezone” lands that have been rezoned for development on flood plains or where there is a vulnerability to flooding.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday that more robust planning laws and guidelines would ensure a clampdown on development in areas where flooding was liable to occur.
He was speaking during the launch of his department’s new guidelines on flood-risk management in the planning process.
The new rules are aimed at ensuring a more consistent approach to planning to avoid a repeat of the damage caused by flooding this month.
A new Planning Bill, currently going through the Seanad, will also include more robust powers to oblige local authorities to implement planning guidelines, and will also require more comprehensive flood-risk assessments in areas where there is a risk of flooding.
It will also be the first piece of planning legislation that will compel local authorities to take climate change into account during the planning process.
Speaking at the launch of the guidelines, Mr Gormley said while councils could “dezone” lands previously zoned by them, he also had the powers to do so under certain sections of the planning laws and intended to use them if necessary.
The Minister said some of the councillors who were engaged in the most reckless planning had topped the poll in the local elections last June. “People have made the choice at local elections to elect people, some of whom were record rezoners.”
He said he had to balance the competing rights of local democracy and good planning. “I am trying to do it as best I can. I have been accused of being draconian. I hope that local councils will look at the areas that are vulnerable to flooding. Beyond that I can insist that dezoning can take place.”
The new guidelines require the avoidance of development in areas at risk of flooding. They also include new provisions for flood-risk assessment being prepared ahead of any decisions on planning applications or planning appeals. The document follows on from a draft publication earlier this year.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Martin Mansergh said it was clear a substantial number of homes were affected and estates have been built in very recent times on flood plains or where there was a series risk of flooding. We have to prevent that in the future.”
Dr Mansergh predicted a big change in attitude. “Attitudes that we witnessed even a couple of months ago will simply not be tenable any more.”
Both Ministers claimed that there were record sums being spent on flood relief and mitigation, but admitted that only €38 million of the €43 million allotted for works was spent this year.
Dr Mansergh said local objections and disputes and archaeological considerations had led to delays in some projects and the under-spend.
He insisted the money would be carried over into next year as part of a multi-annual budget.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday that more robust planning laws and guidelines would ensure a clampdown on development in areas where flooding was liable to occur.
He was speaking during the launch of his department’s new guidelines on flood-risk management in the planning process.
The new rules are aimed at ensuring a more consistent approach to planning to avoid a repeat of the damage caused by flooding this month.
A new Planning Bill, currently going through the Seanad, will also include more robust powers to oblige local authorities to implement planning guidelines, and will also require more comprehensive flood-risk assessments in areas where there is a risk of flooding.
It will also be the first piece of planning legislation that will compel local authorities to take climate change into account during the planning process.
Speaking at the launch of the guidelines, Mr Gormley said while councils could “dezone” lands previously zoned by them, he also had the powers to do so under certain sections of the planning laws and intended to use them if necessary.
The Minister said some of the councillors who were engaged in the most reckless planning had topped the poll in the local elections last June. “People have made the choice at local elections to elect people, some of whom were record rezoners.”
He said he had to balance the competing rights of local democracy and good planning. “I am trying to do it as best I can. I have been accused of being draconian. I hope that local councils will look at the areas that are vulnerable to flooding. Beyond that I can insist that dezoning can take place.”
The new guidelines require the avoidance of development in areas at risk of flooding. They also include new provisions for flood-risk assessment being prepared ahead of any decisions on planning applications or planning appeals. The document follows on from a draft publication earlier this year.
Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Martin Mansergh said it was clear a substantial number of homes were affected and estates have been built in very recent times on flood plains or where there was a series risk of flooding. We have to prevent that in the future.”
Dr Mansergh predicted a big change in attitude. “Attitudes that we witnessed even a couple of months ago will simply not be tenable any more.”
Both Ministers claimed that there were record sums being spent on flood relief and mitigation, but admitted that only €38 million of the €43 million allotted for works was spent this year.
Dr Mansergh said local objections and disputes and archaeological considerations had led to delays in some projects and the under-spend.
He insisted the money would be carried over into next year as part of a multi-annual budget.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 29 September 2008
€5m plan to map flood risk
A 3-D map of Dublin city is to be created showing how water flows through the capital's streets to help officials avoid the widespread flooding which hit the city in August.
The ambitious €5m project will show officials the route water takes, and allow them to plan installation of gullies and drains so the water can be removed from the city's streets without causing chaos.
And it will result in developers having to design housing schemes with fewer hard surfaces, which siphon water on to public roads, and with more green areas.
City engineer Tom Leahy said yesterday that "radical" measures would have to be taken to avoid the devastating floods which left parts of the city underwater earlier this year.
"The drainage system in Ireland was built up over time," he said. "The standards were to deal with a normal storm, but we're now at a situation where weather patterns are changing. The amount of rain falling has remained static for years, but it's falling in more intense bursts.
"The 3-D modelling is very advanced, and has never been done elsewhere on the same scale.
"The new thinking is to avoid putting water into the river, but to provide surface routes. We need to think in a radically different way.
"You're more likely to be flooded at the top of a hill because you're more exposed. If you're planning anything, no longer is there low and high risk. Fluvial (river) flooding can hit anywhere, the risks have to be assessed."
Radar
The project, part of an EU-wide Flood Resilient Cities Project, would divide the city into cells and use radar to map each area. Half the €5m cost will be funded by the EU.
For example, in Christchurch water naturally flows down Fishamble Street and into the River Liffey, but it could take a left -- depending on the ground conditions -- and go into the basement of Dublin City Council. The council is also to invest in new high-capacity pumps for use during flood events.
"We're looking at purchasing high-capacity pumps which can pump water 3km away," Mr Leahy said. "You can drive at 30kph and the hose comes out the back. Very few parts of the city are more than 3km from the sea or a river. They cost €1.5m each."
The mapping will show the 'at risk' areas across the city, and could result in a ban on use of tarmac and brick pavements, as they allow water to flow out on the road.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The ambitious €5m project will show officials the route water takes, and allow them to plan installation of gullies and drains so the water can be removed from the city's streets without causing chaos.
And it will result in developers having to design housing schemes with fewer hard surfaces, which siphon water on to public roads, and with more green areas.
City engineer Tom Leahy said yesterday that "radical" measures would have to be taken to avoid the devastating floods which left parts of the city underwater earlier this year.
"The drainage system in Ireland was built up over time," he said. "The standards were to deal with a normal storm, but we're now at a situation where weather patterns are changing. The amount of rain falling has remained static for years, but it's falling in more intense bursts.
"The 3-D modelling is very advanced, and has never been done elsewhere on the same scale.
"The new thinking is to avoid putting water into the river, but to provide surface routes. We need to think in a radically different way.
"You're more likely to be flooded at the top of a hill because you're more exposed. If you're planning anything, no longer is there low and high risk. Fluvial (river) flooding can hit anywhere, the risks have to be assessed."
Radar
The project, part of an EU-wide Flood Resilient Cities Project, would divide the city into cells and use radar to map each area. Half the €5m cost will be funded by the EU.
For example, in Christchurch water naturally flows down Fishamble Street and into the River Liffey, but it could take a left -- depending on the ground conditions -- and go into the basement of Dublin City Council. The council is also to invest in new high-capacity pumps for use during flood events.
"We're looking at purchasing high-capacity pumps which can pump water 3km away," Mr Leahy said. "You can drive at 30kph and the hose comes out the back. Very few parts of the city are more than 3km from the sea or a river. They cost €1.5m each."
The mapping will show the 'at risk' areas across the city, and could result in a ban on use of tarmac and brick pavements, as they allow water to flow out on the road.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 25 August 2008
Greencore to build near flood plain
GREENCORE has said that its plans for its 396-acre site in Mallow, Co Cork, remain unchanged despite the prospect of environment minister John Gormley introducing a ban on building on flood plains. According to documents submitted to Cork County Council, part of the development's proposed golf course, including some luxury golf lodges, will be located on a flood plain for the River Blackwater.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said that Gormley's new planning guidelines would define a flood plain as an "an area of land next to a river or stream, which is susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water during a flood event".
Mallow saw heavy flooding earlier this month after the river broke its banks and the company told the council that a comprehensive review of its flood levels would have to take place before work on the development could begin.
It has also emerged that some areas of the site prone to flooding will be left undeveloped as a "designated protected wildlife habitat with a visitors centre to promote ecological and environmental awareness".
However, a Greencore spokeswoman denied that any other elements of the development would be located on the flood plain despite references to the wildlife habitat as "the undeveloped elements of the flood plain" in the documents.
"The only part of the site that has a flooding issue is the wildlife sanctuary," she said. "The rest of the site is not on the flood plain".
She said that the company had carried out a flood assessment on the site which found that everything was up to current flood engineering standards but declined to provide specific details.
The spokeswoman also added that the golf lodges which appeared to sit on the flood plain were actually on a higher elevation than the river.
Meanwhile, the company is also pressing ahead with its plans for it 333-acre project at the former sugar factory in Carlow. It is understood that the site was not inundated during the recent floods there.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said that Gormley's new planning guidelines would define a flood plain as an "an area of land next to a river or stream, which is susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water during a flood event".
Mallow saw heavy flooding earlier this month after the river broke its banks and the company told the council that a comprehensive review of its flood levels would have to take place before work on the development could begin.
It has also emerged that some areas of the site prone to flooding will be left undeveloped as a "designated protected wildlife habitat with a visitors centre to promote ecological and environmental awareness".
However, a Greencore spokeswoman denied that any other elements of the development would be located on the flood plain despite references to the wildlife habitat as "the undeveloped elements of the flood plain" in the documents.
"The only part of the site that has a flooding issue is the wildlife sanctuary," she said. "The rest of the site is not on the flood plain".
She said that the company had carried out a flood assessment on the site which found that everything was up to current flood engineering standards but declined to provide specific details.
The spokeswoman also added that the golf lodges which appeared to sit on the flood plain were actually on a higher elevation than the river.
Meanwhile, the company is also pressing ahead with its plans for it 333-acre project at the former sugar factory in Carlow. It is understood that the site was not inundated during the recent floods there.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Greencore to build near flood plain
GREENCORE has said that its plans for its 396-acre site in Mallow, Co Cork, remain unchanged despite the prospect of environment minister John Gormley introducing a ban on building on flood plains. According to documents submitted to Cork County Council, part of the development's proposed golf course, including some luxury golf lodges, will be located on a flood plain for the River Blackwater.
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said that Gormley's new planning guidelines would define a flood plain as an "an area of land next to a river or stream, which is susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water during a flood event".
Mallow saw heavy flooding earlier this month after the river broke its banks and the company told the council that a comprehensive review of its flood levels would have to take place before work on the development could begin.
It has also emerged that some areas of the site prone to flooding will be left undeveloped as a "designated protected wildlife habitat with a visitors centre to promote ecological and environmental awareness".
However, a Greencore spokeswoman denied that any other elements of the development would be located on the flood plain despite references to the wildlife habitat as "the undeveloped elements of the flood plain" in the documents.
"The only part of the site that has a flooding issue is the wildlife sanctuary," she said. "The rest of the site is not on the flood plain".
She said that the company had carried out a flood assessment on the site which found that everything was up to current flood engineering standards but declined to provide specific details.
The spokeswoman also added that the golf lodges which appeared to sit on the flood plain were actually on a higher elevation than the river.
Meanwhile, the company is also pressing ahead with its plans for it 333-acre project at the former sugar factory in Carlow. It is understood that the site was not inundated during the recent floods there.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
A spokesman for the Department of the Environment said that Gormley's new planning guidelines would define a flood plain as an "an area of land next to a river or stream, which is susceptible to partial or complete inundation by water during a flood event".
Mallow saw heavy flooding earlier this month after the river broke its banks and the company told the council that a comprehensive review of its flood levels would have to take place before work on the development could begin.
It has also emerged that some areas of the site prone to flooding will be left undeveloped as a "designated protected wildlife habitat with a visitors centre to promote ecological and environmental awareness".
However, a Greencore spokeswoman denied that any other elements of the development would be located on the flood plain despite references to the wildlife habitat as "the undeveloped elements of the flood plain" in the documents.
"The only part of the site that has a flooding issue is the wildlife sanctuary," she said. "The rest of the site is not on the flood plain".
She said that the company had carried out a flood assessment on the site which found that everything was up to current flood engineering standards but declined to provide specific details.
The spokeswoman also added that the golf lodges which appeared to sit on the flood plain were actually on a higher elevation than the river.
Meanwhile, the company is also pressing ahead with its plans for it 333-acre project at the former sugar factory in Carlow. It is understood that the site was not inundated during the recent floods there.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley paves way to end patios
The government is considering controlling the building of garden patios, the ultimate symbol of the Celtic Tiger, following the costs of flooding in urban areas in recent weeks, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said.
Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) chief executive Mike Kemp said a review of planning laws may require detailed attention on local building controls, such as paving over small areas of gardens that can lead to flood waters rising quickly.
Gormley had appeared to focus on the construction of large housing projects on flood plains in provincial towns, but said on Friday that the review will also include an examination of paving that could lead to floods in cities.
"The issue of the increasingly frequent trend of paving over entire residential gardens is under consideration by the department, as part of the preparation of the draft guidelines on the Planning System and Flood Risk Management," an environment department spokesman said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Irish Insurance Federation (IIF) chief executive Mike Kemp said a review of planning laws may require detailed attention on local building controls, such as paving over small areas of gardens that can lead to flood waters rising quickly.
Gormley had appeared to focus on the construction of large housing projects on flood plains in provincial towns, but said on Friday that the review will also include an examination of paving that could lead to floods in cities.
"The issue of the increasingly frequent trend of paving over entire residential gardens is under consideration by the department, as part of the preparation of the draft guidelines on the Planning System and Flood Risk Management," an environment department spokesman said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
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