Uimhir Thagarta Uathúil: 
KK-C63-CDP18-32
Stádas: 
Submitted
Údar: 
Michael Morris

6 Environment and Climate Change

Loss of trust by the people in Co Co planning.

Example 1.Many thousands of Kilkenny people and others protested about the Central Access Scheme by signing petitions, meeting public representatives, public marches etc. Instead Co Co ignored public opinion and spent over 20 million euros of public money and excessive property taxes on a great unwanted vanity bridge - money which could be used better elsewhere.

Example 2. The Co Co had public consultations on the brewery site. But the people who attended were not told about the transfer of the brewery site public lands to a private agency (NMTA). It was not a meaningful consultation. Now important decisions about the brewery site is now in the control of commercial interests.The proposed high (4-5 stories) modern glass box buildings on the brewery site are totally out of character with a medieval inner city. Historic Kilkenny is a two storey city. The public are given no choices - it is top down planning.

Example 3.The grotesque four- five storey Walkin Street development near old cinema in a Victorian two-storey part of kilkenny was opposed by many local residents as out of character - but Co Co again rode rougshod over local public opinion.

Suggestions

1. Brewery site is an ancient medieval site which needs full archaeological excavation.

2. The site should be a inner city public park - like Central Park, New York, several parks (Hyde Park etc) in London or the Mall, Washington DC.

3. No modernistic cheap glass box buildings

4. Take back control of public assets and lands from NMTA.

5. Excess inner city traffic caused by new Central Access Scheme bridge - need to build / complete ring road to take traffic out of inner city.

6. Measure nitrous oxide emissions in kilkenny urban area. Extra inner city traffic traffic is causing pollutant nitrous oxide emissions and higher air pollution in urban Kilkenny. The so called “eddy covariance method” in Innsbruck measures the concentration of Carbon dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and volatile organic compounds in an urban setting. These pollutants will have a detrimental health impact especially with people suffering from asthma and chronic respiratory conditions. (Traffic especially diesel cars accounts for 80 per cent of nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide is classified as a hazardous air pollutant).

7. Park and ride scheme needed in kilkenny to reduce congestion.

8. Keep monstrous modernistic office blocks in out of town business parks.

9. No high rise office blocks for inner Kilkenny.

Main opinion: 

6. Climate change.

Traffic is the main source of urban air pollution and the Kilkenny Central Access Scheme and St Frances Bridge has made urban kilkenny air pollution much worse. Nitrous oxide is a toxic air pollutant mainly caused by diesel cars.The pollution will cause exacerbation of pre existing asthma with several studies suggesting a contribution to new onset asthma as well. Outdoor air pollution contributed more than 3% of the annual disability adjusted life years lost in the Global Burden of Disease comparative risk assessment. It In UK more than 1,000 nurseries are in close proximity to roads where the level of nitrogen dioxide exceeds the legal limit if 40 micro grams per cubic metre of air. Traffic fumes on childrens’ health is damaging. Lung growth is reduced, with long term ill health and premature death. (Guardian 4 April 2017). Co co needs a plan to reduce high levels of harmful emissions eg complete ring road to reduce inner city congestion.

Agricultural emissions are very high. Ireland is set to miss 2020 emissions targets by a substantial amount according to Environmental Protection Agency. Ireland will be one of two countries that will not make their 2020 targets. This will lead to massive fines of millions of Euro. Agriculture accounts for one third of Ireland’s total emissions fir 2015. Ireland’s agriculture emissions are “uniquely high” while the state is one of the largest contributors to emissions from agriculture in the developed world (Irish times 13 feb 2017). The Intergivernmental Panel on Climate Change IPCC which met in Dublin in February 2017 has proposals to underpin the implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement.

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