An Taisce has made a submission on the new Cork Port application to An Bord Pleanala under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006. The application is largely a repeat of a previous proposal refused by An Bord Pleanála on 25th June 2008 (Ref: 04.PA0003), for development at Oyster Bank, Ringaskiddy. The refusal was on grounds that relocation of current port facilities from Tivoli which is served by a railway line and ‘has reasonably direct access to the national road network’ to Ringaskiddy‘ to an area which is not connected to the national rail system and would be totally reliant on road based transport’ would be ‘contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area’.

Among other issues raised, An Taisce has stressed the need for An Bord Pleanala to assess climate change given, the unpredictability of north Atlantic ocean temperature warming in generating more regular and intense storm patterns, increased risks from the combination of high tides, Atlantic storm conditions and concentrated periods of high rainfall in river catchments upstream from urban centres. This was reflected in the floods which affected Cork and Limerick cities in the early part of 2014, and storm damage over a wide area of coastline particularly in Co Clare.

Download the submission here.