Government urged to buy Wicklow plot to double the size of rare oak wood
Environmental groups say it "is a rare opportunity to protect and enhance one of Ireland's oldest nature reserves"
The Irish government has been urged to buy a plot of land in Wicklow that could double the size of a rare and ancient oak wood. Environmental groups say it "is a rare opportunity to protect and enhance one of Ireland's oldest nature reserves" - the Glen of the Downs.
Irish Environmental Network Members An Taisce, the Irish Wildlife Trust, the Native Woodland Trust, along with ReWild Wicklow have written to Nature Minister Malcom Noonan with their request.
They said: "This is a rare opportunity to protect and enhance one of Ireland's oldest nature reserves and a site of international significance as recognised by its designation as a Special Area of Conservation."
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The 197 acres at Kindlestown Road, Delgany, Co Wicklow is described as a mixture of grassland and forestry, mainly of mature coniferous species. It is 3km from Greystones and 15km south of Bray and previously had planning permission for a golf course. We understand the asking price is €6.5 million. Old oak woodlands are an extremely rare habitat in Ireland today.
The Irish Environmental Network says the sale presents a unique opportunity for the State to more than double the size of the Glen of the Downs and connect it with Kindlestown Woodland to help Ireland deliver on legal obligations under the EU Habitats Directive and the Nature Restoration Law to increase woodland.
A spokesperson for the environmental groups said the most ecologically sound way to achieve that would be to expand and connect existing old woods, like the Glen of the Downs, which they described as one of the most significant.
Part of the forest was felled over 25 years years ago despite a three-year campaign that saw people living among the trees in a bid to save them amid plans to widen the N11. The scheme was changed slightly following court action.
The IEN added: "While this plan may seem ambitious, we believe it is a necessary and prudent investment into Wicklow’s and Ireland’s future. The State will not be alone in this endeavour as there is immense support for nature restoration within communities across Wicklow for Nature Restoration.
"We have seen this in the local support for an associated petition and in the growing grass-roots conservation movement in the county, including the now regular collaboration between ReWild Wicklow and the NPWS."
A spokesperson for the Department of Housing said: "The National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage occasionally purchases land for strategic and conservation purposes and such acquisitions are, and must be, considered carefully on a case-by-case basis.
"In light of the commercial sensitivity of these considerations and the strategic implications of bringing these considerations into the public domain, we are not in a position to comment on any individual site that is offered for sale."
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