COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Thursday, June 18, 2015

MOTION NO. 303

MOTION: Councillor F.N. Duffy

Page 100 Included in Actions -

> Continue to develop Sli na Slainte walking routes in consultation with community groups.

>  New Walkways and Cycleways will be established on a legal and permanent basis and will be sign/posted/waymarked.

>  Encourage, promote, provide and facilitate access to forestry and woodlands, including private forestry, in co-operation with Coillte, the Forest Service and other agencies, for walking routes (including long distance and looped walks), mountain trails, nature trails, mountain bike trails, bridle paths, hiking, orienteering and other non-noise generating recreational activities for the benefit of local people and tourists and take into account the Forest Service 2006 publication “Forest Recreation Guide for Owners and Managers”.

>  Recognising the importance and potential of walking and cycling from a local as well as a tourism perspective, create, provide, promote, improve, develop, protect, sustain, support, enhance, encourage and facilitate the creation of a high quality dedicated network of cycling/walking routes and tourist trails(including looped walks, local walks, community walks and medium/long distance walks) and public/rural footpaths, in rural areas (including suitable linear lands along  established rights of way, strategic green corridors and other off-road routes). Ensure that these routes are, where possible, free of vehicular traffic and are well-marked and maintained and are convenient, safe and pleasant. Enhance and extend existing routes, by utilising links from residential areas through parks and open spaces to facilitate a secure, safe green network and linking with Sli na Slainte and existing or new public rights of way, to provide access to scenic, mountain, lakeshore and river features and views of special interest, particularly where these have a historical association and to open up diverse landscape. Create more people friendly places,walking/cycling routes should be designed to incorporate current thinking and best practice from experience in other locations. Off-road walkways can be established by informal, formal agreements with landowners or by acquisition.   

>  Reserve land adjacent to river and canal banks and lakeshores to facilitate walking/cycling routes and other recreational activities and to act as buffer zones between new developments and river corridors and other water bodies.

>  Recognizing the role played by natural amenities and landscape, as part of our heritage and as a major resource both for visitors and local people, provide, support, maintain, promote, encourage, protect, preserve, improve, safeguard, facilitate and enhance public access to our natural heritage including mountains, commonage and other hill land, moorlands, forests, rivers, lakes, valleys, 2000 Natura sites, nature reserves, other natural amenities and to the countryside generally by creating a meaningful network of access routes as the opportunity or need arises. Consider appropriate rural recreational and tourism related developments which would facilitate public access to sensitive landscapes. This will be done in co-operation with state agencies, other interested bodies and local community groups.  

>  Recognising the importance of archaeology and National Monuments as part of our heritage and inheritance, provide, promote, enhance, facilitate, encourage, support, and protect public access to archaeological sites National monuments, battlefields historic burial grounds and graveyards and sites of historic interest, in direct ownership, guardianship  or control of the Council and/or the State  or private ownership. Appropriate signage will be put in place. Information on access to sites will be made be available on the Council’s web-site.(Insert address).

>  Protect, preserve, improve  and maintain existing publicrights of way to  archaeological sites and designate  traditional walking routes as public rights of way and in other cases, routes will be acquired by agreement with landowners or by way of compulsory powers.

>  Applications for new development for aggregate extraction, processing and associated processes, shall identify existing public rights of way and walking routes which may be impacted on are adjacent to the development site. They shall be kept free from development as Rights of Way/Walking Routes. Ensure that tourist, natural or recreational amenities will not be materially affected

>  It is the policy of the Council to enter into immediate negotiations with the Forest Service to take over the management and/or ownership of Massy Woods.

>  Encourage, promote, provide and facilitate access to forestry and woodlands, including private forestry, in co-operation with Coillte, the Forest Service and other agencies, for walking routes (including long distance and looped walks), mountain trails, nature trails, mountain bike trails, bridle paths, hiking, orienteering and other non-noise generating recreational activities for the benefit of local people and tourists and take into account the Forest Service 2006 publication “Forest Recreation Guide for Owners and Managers”.

Co-signed by Cllrs  Paul Gogarty, Deirdre O'Donovan, Guss O'Connell, Dermot Richardson, Francis Timmons & Dermot Looney

REPORT:

The issues raised in the motion relate to a number of issues including heritage, tourism and biodiversity issues that are already covered under various chapters of the Draft County Development Plan and are not directly relevant to Chapter 6 Transport and Mobility. Responses to the various aspects of the motion are set out under sub headings below.

Sli na Sláinte Routes:

Sli na Sláinte walking routes are identified under a nationwide partnership that is supported by the HSE and Irish Sports Council and largely relates to the sign posting of existing routes. The further signposting and identification of such routes is beyond the strategic land use function of the County Development Plan.

Public Rights of Way:

In accordance with the provisions of Planning and Development Legislation, HCL 16 Objective 1 of the Draft Development Plan seeks to preserve and map public rights of way as they come to the attention of the Council. When this occurs, notice must be given to the owner or occupier of the lands who has a right of appeal to the Circuit Court. There is no other basis to establish legal and permanent routes under Planning and Development Legislation.

Access Routes and Permissive Paths:

HCL 16 Objective 2 of the Draft County Development Plan seeks to promote and facilitate the creation of Permissive Access Routes and heritage trails that will provide access to (inter alia) forestry, woodlands, waterways, rural areas, upland/mountain areas and between historic villages in partnership with landowners, semi-state and other public bodies. This objective could be amended to include Coilte and the Forest Service as examples of such bodies.

HCL 16 Objective 3 seeks to promote and facilitate the continued development of the Dublin Mountains Way in association with the Dublin Mountains Partnership particularly routes that provide access to regional and local networks of walking, running , hiking and mountain bike trails and other recreational facilities. This objective could be amended to encourage the routing of new trails and rerouting of existing trails off public roads.

Access and Protection of Watercourses:

GI2 Objective 12 of the Draft Plan provides for a minimum biodiversity protection zone of 10 metres from all watercourses in the County with the full extent of the protection zone to be determined during the consideration of green routes and trails.

Access to Historic Sites:

HCL 16 Objective 4 seeks to promote and improves access, in partnership with the relevant landowners, to all the historic sites in the County and seek to maximise their tourism potential in partnership with the relevant landowners.

Ownership of Lands:

The acquisition of lands is beyond the strategic land use function of the County Development Plan.

Recommendation

It is recommended that this motion is adopted with amendment.

Amend HCL 16 Objective 2 (Permissive Access Routes) to include Coillte and the Forest Service as examples of land owners and semi-state bodies that Permissive Access Routes could be developed in partnership with.

Amend HCL 16 Objective 3 (Dublin Mountains Way) to encourage the routing of new trails and rerouting of existing trails off public roads.