An Taisce seeks green test for local agri development

An Taisce is proposing that Westmeath County Council include a policy objective in its new county development plan limiting agricultural development in the county.

The submission on the draft county development plan by the Westmeath branch of An Taisce argued that animal and agricultural emissions impacting on climate change in Westmeath should be a matter for 'robust consideration' by the council in policies regarding agriculture.

It proposed that the draft county development should ensure that further agricultural development should only be supported by the council in its policies where it is demonstrably shown not to increase deterioration in water quality, to comply with the Habitats Directive and not add to further emissions in line with EU and national climate change targets.

This would represent a significant change to the relevant section in the draft development plan by the council to 'support agricultural development as a contributory means of maintaining population and sustaining the rural economy, whilst maintaining and enhancing the standing of the rural environment and through application of the EU Water Framework Directive and EU Habitats Directive.'

An Taisce argued that 'agriculture and forestry are the main sources of pollution to water bodies in Westmeath along with septic tanks from one-off housing'.

It said the increase in dairy herds should be monitored, in particular, with baseline water samples required from a wide area of the proposed location of the increase in the dairy herd. "It should not be acceptable that an agricultural enterprise can create a new potential source of pollution without specific controls no more than a non-agricultural enterprise currently could."

An Taisce also criticised the Westmeath draft county development plan for failing to reflect the urgency of the climate change crisis.

it said that "a new economic order must emerge", not just nationally but locally, based on wise and careful use of resources, real sustainability, renewable energy, greater self sufficiency, social cohesion and adaptation to a world where relatively cheap energy is no longer available.

A source of surprise to An Taisce was that there was no reference to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals adopted by United Nations in 2015.

They suggest that these goals be given greater prominence in the "strategic vision and aims" section of the CDP as they are far wider than climate change alone, and reflect and encompass economic, social and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

The documents describes the current County Development Plan (2014 to 2020) as being particularly weak in the area of transition to renewable energy use, and while they welcome aims such as phasing out of the burning of turf or peat for electricity generation, they criticise the fact that there is no target or timetable provided, and say the policy fails to recognise that making the transition to a sustainable society requires a much more wide approach to changing the way we obtain and use energy tools and other resources.

The document goes on to recommend a shift away from dispersed, car-orientated development patterns to walkable, cycle-able transit orientations and consolidated urban forms.

Another suggestion is that the objective to investigate the feasibility of providing bike sharing schemes for Mullingar and Athlone be enhanced into a targeted and timetabled plan.

Also suggested is the provision of 30kmh zones near each village and town to facilitate the use of roads for exercise.

The submission also proposes that concerts and plays performed in the county be live streamed to reach wider audiences and that funding assistance be provided for opera and music festivals in Westmeath.