Munster Express Online

Dear Editor,

Many of your readers will remember my letter published in The Munster Express on February 22nd of this year, appealing to all of your readers who visit, and love Garrarus as much as I do, to please object to the massive housing estate and golf course development being planned for my beautiful Garrarus.

Sir, in this letter I would like to repeat that appeal. It is now just as important as before as the developers have submitted their Further Information / revised plans to Waterford County Council. The revised plans haven’t changed much except the huge ‘executive’ houses are now planned to be built almost on the cliff edge of Garrarus Strand. I would find this totally unacceptable, as would all the people who use the wonderful unspoilt amenity that is Garrarus Strand.

I am concerned that many of your readers may not be fully aware of the huge scale of this proposed development, or how damaging it would be to our beautiful coastline, landscape, national heritage, biodiversity and to our way of life. This huge development will profoundly change the landscape of this beautiful area forever. It will be too late to have misgivings once the damage is done, as it will be irreversible. If this is allowed to happen future generations will be denied the beauty and freedom that we once enjoyed, and they will not thank us for allowing it to happen.

The development would consist of a 142 room hotel with an extra 50 rooms in an adjacent wing, leisure centre, spa, and golf clubhouse, 51 two storey houses and 28 ‘executive’ houses and an 18 hole golf course, ESB substations, and oil and water storage tanks.

To describe the impact of this development I would describe it as a small town being built on the cliff top between Garrarus and Kilfarassy, It would be a closed compound complete with a fence around it and a gate lodge with security personnel. The developers plan to thrust this massive complex in the middle of our small rural community. It would create a separate community within our naturally rural community. In my opinion this is not the way the Planning Authority should be going as it would create a ‘them and us’ situation, especially when the buzzword in political circles is ‘inclusiveness’.

The height of the hotel is about the same height as the Metalman and the hotel and courtyard complex is roughly the size of Croke Park! The developers are trying to say that this complex will fit in with the local landscape, that it will not have a negative impact, and won’t be seen. I find this an insult to my intelligence as the only way that I would not be able to see this massive development is if I were to crawl around the roads on my hands and knees or go around with my eyes closed.

In a feeble attempt to justify their planned destruction of Garrarus and Kilfarassy the developers have said the following. ‘The modest cliff along southern site boundary is not distinctive and is only visible to occasional walkers at low tide or to limited sea goers in this vicinity’ and ‘ undulating pastureland that could not be considered distinctive at any point along the southern seaboard’. These are the developers words, not mine. I have taken them down from the planning file that they submitted to the County Council.

This is an unforgiveable dismissal of our unspoilt scenic landscape and our beautiful Coastline that has been described and quite rightly so as the Jewel in the Crown of County Waterford, and it shows that the developers will go to any lengths to justify this damaging proposal. I am aghast at their attitude as are all the people who share my love of Garrarus.

Our beautiful coastline and scenic landscape is not just distinctive, it is unique and it seems the developers have no idea, or perhaps they don’t care what this special place means to us. If they consider this area to be so ‘indistinctive’ and only ‘modest’ why do they want to invest so much money in building this huge complex here. It seems to me they are trying desperately to ride two horses at the same time.

I would also like to make your readers aware that the area where this development is being planned is a Special Protected Area ( SPA) under EU law. There is an endangered breed of bird nesting at Garrarus called the Chough. These birds are protected by that law and they are red listed by bird protection agencies. The construction of this huge development could destroy these birds and the other animals whose habitat is at Garrarus.

All the people who visit Garrarus would not agree with their dismissive description, neither would all the artists who paint Garrarus, I certainly don’t and anyone that I have spoken to are enraged at their attitude.

Garrarus Strand is visited by thousands of people every year and the numbers are growing every year as people become aware of its unique, unspoilt beauty. I know this as they all pass by my gate. The most familiar landmark in Garrarus is my former next door neighbour and family friend, the late Mikey Mac’s old farmhouse. Mikey’s house which is much loved by locals and visitors alike and is part of our local heritage, will be bulldozed out of it, if this development goes ahead.

Sir, I am so desperate to get my message to your readers and would again ask them to please help me save my Beautiful Garrarus from destruction by sending an objection to the Further Information to Waterford County Council. This is our last chance to save this wonderful area that means so much to so many, and we must do it on our own as our county councillors don’t want to know and will not even answer any correspondence in relation to this.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank most sincerely all the people who objected to this development in February. It is vital that we impress on Waterford County Council exactly how we feel about this damaging proposal, as if it goes ahead our entire beautiful coastline is in danger of future developments such as this.

Yours Sincerely,

Frances Walsh

Cul Tra, Garrarus,

Tramore, Co. Waterford