Wetlands project in Tullamore 'a blight' on area says councillor
It was never meant to look like a soccer pitch says biodiversity officer
WHAT was initially deemed to be a new amenity for Tullamore has now been described as ''a blight'' on the area.
The Wetlands in Kilcruttin is part of the Tullamore Living River Project. At a Tullamore Municipal District meeting in 2022 it was described as setting out to deliver ''a landmark project for residents and future visitors to Tullamore town.''
However, far from attracting locals or visitors it has become somewhat of an eyesore and is not conducive to walking or spending time in, the March meeting of the municipal district heard.
The aim of the feature is to enhance biodiversity, allow flood relief and engage the local community with their spatial surroundings, these were the sentiments expressed by Mary Hussey, Senior Engineer, with Offaly County Council, at a municipal meeting in 2022.
Ms Hussey said the project involved 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 was proposed.
At this month's meeting of the council, Cathaoirleach, Councillor Declan Harvey said he had recently taken a call from a teacher at Scoil Bhride who told him that pupils from the school had taken part in a litter pick in the Kilcruttin Wetlands.
''They had to leave with the amount of rubbish that was in it. The kids were literally shocked, they asked me to ensure the council were aware of it,'' he said.
Cllr Harvey made his comments following a presentation on the draft biodiversity strategy for Offaly by Ricky Whelan, biodiversity officer for the county.
Councillor Tony McCormack asked what stage the wetlands project was at. ''Is it fully finished, I can see the walkways there but it always looks very raggedy and very badly maintained. I know you are going to say that is the whole idea. It is to let it go wild and allow the wild flowers to grow and allow the birds and whatever species of animal or insects to live in the area.
"It's not really conducive to people walking to be honest with you. It doesn't look great. It's kind of a blight on that area down there. I just feel it could look an awful lot better. It could be used as a walkway or a walking park for people. Are there any plans or can you put that into your biodiversity plan for us going forward to definitely do something with that?'' Cllr McCormack asked Mr Whelan.
In response Mr Whelan said that the Tullamore Living River Project is not completely finished.
He said there were six or seven sites up the river beyond the boundary of the town that need to be completed.
''The primary purpose is to create a large habitat for biodiversity. It was never meant to look like a soccer pitch. We did respond to negative comments recently, the fence rail is low to make it more welcoming instead of a big marauding fence,'' he said.
''It is meant to be a hidden gem, We do need to make it a little more open. We did run public events to promote what it is and what it's purpose is and try to get to the hearts and minds of people to communicate what it is for. We will definitely look into the litter there, if people go down looking for wildlife they don't want to find litter,'' he agreed.