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A proposed deepwater container port at Bremore in north Co
Dublin may be moved farther north to Gormanston, Co Meath,
to avoid encroaching on a neolithic complex of passage tombs.
A spokesman for Treasury Holdings, which is planning to develop
the new facility in partnership with Drogheda Port, confirmed
that one of the options now being considered was to “shift
it off Bremore headland” for archaeological reasons.
He said it had become clear at an early stage that the neolithic
complex at Bremore was “very significant” and the developers
would be anxious to avoid it by examining alternative locations,
such as Gormanston. However, no final decision has been taken.
One of the constraints is that the Gormanston site is partly
covered by an EU-designated special protection area (SPA)
for wild birds.
It is also believed to contain another archaeological complex,
though this is not thought to be as significant as the one
located at Bremore.
“We’ve done a significant amount of preliminary work, including
archaeological investigations by Margaret Gowen and Company,”
the spokesman said - adding that Treasury would now be taking
on an environmental specialist to assess the Gormanston option.
Treasury acquired options to purchase several landholdings
at Bremore before entering into partnership with Drogheda
Port, but it is understood the company holds none for Gormanston.
Land in the area would be cheaper to acquire now due to the
property crash.
“We now have to work through the environmental issues as
well as the cultural heritage and archaeological issues,”
the spokesman said. He added that Treasury and its partners
would be consulting with “all the various interests”, such
as An Taisce, which it has met already.
It is likely to be autumn before a firmer proposal will be
put out for consultation.
“Ireland needs a deepwater port - the IDA (Industrial Development
Authority) is conscious that we are losing projects because
we don’t have one,” according to the spokesman.
An Taisce’s monuments and antiquities committee has warned
that any port development at Bremore would “completely obliterate
a passage tomb cemetery of neolithic date with affinities
to Newgrange and a mid-16th century historic harbour site”.
Commenting on the possibility that it could be relocated
to Gormanston, committee chairman Dr Mark Clinton said it
would be likely to affect a sandy beach “most beloved in the
locality” - together with shoreline that forms part of the
river Nanny SPA.
Any such plan would require a full assessment of its environmental
effects to be prepared and placed before the public prior
to being approved.
“It would appear that the exact opposite of these legal requirements
is in motion,” Dr Clinton said.
He also queried the need for a new port, noting that throughput
at Drogheda Port had fallen by 50 per cent in 2008, according
to its most recent set of accounts, while business at Dublin
Port was down by 10 per cent. “There is no need for a new
deepwater port,” he said.
Source - The Irish Times
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