Cautious welcome for consultation process offered by proprietors of the Derg Marina site
Following a lively 1½ hour debate and the deferral of a motion before North Tipperary County Council (NTCC) to allow for the public consultation of the Derg Marina site until the next council meeting to be held on Monday 19th February, Ballina Marina Action Group cautiously welcome the announcement, that following intense public pressure and lobbying of local and national representatives, the proprietors of the Derg Marina site have agreed in a letter to North Tipperary County Council, to participate in a consultation process with the public of Ballina / Killaloe. They have stated they will be announcing an initiative to meet with the local community in the form of workshops which will be advertised in the local press and via a newsletter distributed to all homes in the local area and will have in place facilities to enable feedback from the public and will welcome any suggestions to improve the scheme. They also have agreed to meet the 7 local Nenagh / Newport councillors and local representatives in advance of the public meeting.
Whilst we welcome this compromise from the proprietors, we are concerned that their consultation process has no legal basis and therefore there is no requirement for them to act on any of the public feedback received and any amendments would be entirely a goodwill gesture on their part.
The requirements of the marina master plan provide for the enhancement of amenities, improved public access, marina and shore based activities, complementary retail and commercial development, the retention of existing services and the protection of the integrity of the Special Protection Area (SPA), Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and proposed Natural Heritage Area (NHA) on a site zoned integrated tourism.
The Marina is unique in that it is one of only 2 sites in Ballina requiring a master plan for a site that abounds a Special Protection Area (SPA), A Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and a Natural Heritage Area (NHA) in addition to being located in a high amenity area and in a recognised heritage town. The other site Cullenagh was given a public consultation process that had produced a viable and excellent plan for the people of Cullenagh.
We call on the NTCC to facilitate a process called Area Action Planning designed for input a community level prior to the planning process commencing. This has been widely used throughout the country to include the community, but despite being stated as strategy 1 on the planning section of the NTCC website, has never before been used in North Tipperary.
Ballina Marina Action Group is not against development, we seek sensible sustainable development with community input for the marina site. We believe that open dialogue between all parties will deliver the best project for the community, county and the developer. We would like to thank all the councillors, groups and individuals who took an interest in our campaign to date and took the time to attend the debate on Monday and look forward to their input in the future.