Passage Grave to be destroyed

meditraitor

I know this is a long shot but is anyone here familiar with the ins and outs of Irish Law regarding a development which will completely destroy a megalithic tomb

This site
http://www.megalithomania.com/show/site/1370
http://www.themodernantiquarian.com/post/32687

Has been earmarked for a new port
http://www.droghedaport.ie/cms/publish/printer_101.shtml

The tomb is were the car park will be located on this picture

http://www.progressivedemocrats.ie/press_room/1616/



At the moment it is in the planning stage, but I believe this is in the latter stages and find it very disheartening that the site, as well as the surrounding area which is one of the most beautifull stretches of beach on the east coast of Ireland left clean of development can be just bulldozered into the ground.

The first picture on this link shows were the new development is to be,

http://www.balbriggan.net/photosaug05.htm

The tomb itself is on top of the far cliff which will be the centre of the new development, any help or advice will be most welcome

Mark..

Asiaprod

meditraitor wrote:

I know this is a long shot but is anyone here familiar with the ins and outs of Irish Law regarding a development which will completely destroy a megalithic tomb

Hi Mark,
Don't know anything about the law, but I would imagine that people power (protest/camp on site) along with media attention (TV/Radio) would be something to look into. I wish you luck, good cause.

lostexpectation

read this thread discussing total redevelopement of dublin port, Im not sure if the Balbriggan developement is soley based on this proposal by the PDs http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=4528

i don't think its as ahead in planning as they claim, key is to find out who own the lands and how much they donating to the PDs

and if the development goes ahead make sure they carry out every requirement in law they must in the planning which of course they wont'

boneless

These structures are covered by the National Monuments Act in all it's amended forms to date, BUT... the present minister for Environment is able to bypass this act by ministerial order, a la the motorway through the Tara / Skryne Valley.

The fact that they are marked on an OS map is a help, though. It means they were surveyed under the Discovery Program of the 1990's.

I was up there a while back. It is an amazing landscape!!

lostexpectation

that first site is amazing resource and so well made using using presnet web and gpd tech, if its not on a sticky it should be

that and mythicalireland site are some amazing amateur history resources

meditraitor

lostexpectation wrote:

read this thread discussing total redevelopement of dublin port, Im not sure if the Balbriggan developement is soley based on this proposal by the PDs http://www.archiseek.com/content/showthread.php?t=4528

i don't think its as ahead in planning as they claim, key is to find out who own the lands and how much they donating to the PDs

and if the development goes ahead make sure they carry out every requirement in law they must in the planning which of course they wont'

Thanks for the link dude, glad to see it is being discussed elsewhere

Drogheda Port Authority, the semistate company who is proposing this development have already agreed a deal for an option on the 150 Acres of land surrounding the site,

The Dublin Port Company’s plan to extend its facilities would be obsolete if a proposal by the Drogheda Port Company to develop a new deepwater facility at Bremore, north of Balbriggan gets the green light.

The Dublin Port Company is planning to infill 50 acres of Dublin Bay in a bid to boost capacity at the port.
However, the Drogheda Port Company has acquired an option on 150 acres of land for the first phase of its proposed deepwater facility, which would have the capacity to handle five million tonne of freight a year in its initial phase. Further expansion of the facility could boost this figure to 20 million tonnes annually.

A report commissioned by the Drogheda Port Company says the National Spatial Strategy has identified a need to divert traffic out of Dublin Port to other locations, especially on the east coast.

http://www.irishtrucker.com//news/2005/may/2705051.asp

And Meath county council have rezoned the adjacent land

East Meath zones land adjacent to Bremore Port

Jul 27, 2005


Meath County Council have rezoned 240 acres of land at Gormanston, Co Meath for Industrial and logistics development in the East Meath Development Plan. The lands are adjacent to Bremore, the location of Irelands new Deepwater Port. Meath County Manager Tom Dowling said that the local authority had opted for industrial zoning due to the potential synergies with the ports development. He advised the local representatives that the zoning would be a significant opportunity for Meath to generate employment and benefit from the new Deepwater Port.



Drogheda Port Company Chairman Mr Patrick Traynor in welcoming the rezoning stated that the lands had the potential in conjunction with the port itself to become the primary logistics and distribution centre in Ireland, located on the Dublin\Belfast economic corridor with direct access to the M1 motorway. He stated that the rezoning is a good strategic planning decision by the council and fully in line with the objectives of the National Spatial Strategy to offer development opportunities outside existing congested hubs.



Bremore\Gormanston is also being mooted as the northern location for the new Dublin outer orbital route.

So It has the look of a project that is being seriously concidered

boneless wrote:

I was up there a while back. It is an amazing landscape!!

It sure is, one of the last areas Balbriggan for walking without being surrounded by development,,

lostexpectation

is the passage grave in the area of phase 1 ? which will most likely be built?

about the passage grave especially could you presuade them to section the grave area off within the harbour site as a feature it'd make them all look caring and sharing im sure they'd loved to be seen as that.

meditraitor

The site of Phase 1 is directly on top of the Passage grave, Im not sure that drogheda port authority would want a large chunk of the main area for their new port to be cordoned off for the protection of this site, but its always an avenue to be investigated

It is becoming clear as well that there is no real protection for such sites in Ireland if they are deemed to be in the way of progress.

Under current Irish law, it would have little to no protection. In 2004, the Minister for the Environment amended the National Monuments Act, to give himself the power to order the damage, sale or destruction of any site of monument in the country if he deems it in "the national interest".

But there is another angle I have discovered in my investigations, might prove to be fruitfull

http://www.heritageaction.org/?page=theheritagejournal&id=16
Seems Im not the first to express Concern
mark

boneless

That's a good angle to halt development in the area as some EU law can be brought to bear on endangered species... Either that or get Wrigleys to sponser the site. They seem to have the inside track with the Minister!!