Up to 2,000 trees to be planted at Tullamore's newest amenity

UP to 2,000 trees are to be planted in what will be Tullamore's newest amenity site. Located at Kilcruttin, the Wetlands Park Project will be further progressed in the next planting season which is imminent and Offaly County Council is coordinating with its arborist to return to site with approximately 1,500-to 2,000 trees and hedging plants to complete the planting design.

It is envisaged that most of this planting will be completed before the Christmas break, weather permitting.

Further works to allow pedestrian access to and around the planted areas so that the wetland can be enjoyed as an amenity will progress early in the New Year.

The project, as it continues to develop, is attracting interest from many parties including national retail companies who wish to support the work and Council appointed consultants who are developing a Countywide Tree Management Policy.

''The Tullamore Wetland site is identified by the consultants as one of the key scalable sites for tree planting and biodiversity enhancement. The Council were contacted by An Taisce in relation to partnering with them on a European pond development project and the finer details are being examined around the qualifying criteria. As the Council is recruiting a dedicated in house Biodiversity Officer, the Tullamore Wetland Site will be subject to a “biodiversity study” over the coming number of years, recording the extent and changes of biodiversity across the site over time,'' a spokesperson for the council said.

''This project sets out to deliver a landmark project for the residents and future visitors to Tullamore town which provides amenities, improves water quality, enhances biodiversity, allows flood relief and engages the local community with their spatial surroundings, said Mary Hussey, Senior Engineer, at a meeting of Tullamore Municipal District.

Ms Hussey said the project involves converting land at Kilcruttin into an ''attractive wetland filter area and wetlands park.''

It is envisaged the project will provide valuable habitat for wetland wildlife such as riverside flora, dragonflies, butterflies and bird species. Flowers such as lady's smock, meadowsweet, yellow flag, water mint and king cup are all beautiful wetland plant species that would grow well in this new area, it's proposed.