Environment « Thurles Information

River Suir Pedestrian Walkway Closed.

As we posted on October 10th last; the decision to close the River Suir walkway to all pedestrians; [starting from the “Swinging Gates” at the junction of Thomond Road and Emmet Street, through to the junction of Slievenamon Road and Clongour Road.], forecast to commence on October 5th according to the Tipperary Co. Council website had failed to materialise.

Work eventually began yesterday, seven days late (October 12th) starting at the Thomond Road and Emmet Street junction. Currently the work being undertaken appears to be the installation of ducting to carry wiring for proposed future public lighting.

No drawings or details have been provided by council officials for this upgrade work, with those responsible claiming that such resurfacing of this existing pedestrian way and other works, does not require design drawings. They claim a Habitats Directive Assessment Screening Report has been carried out for this proposed work, with a local fisheries representative having been consulted.

Most people believe that this threatened upgrade is really to provide a cycling path, instead of the existing footpath, along the river bank, at the expense of leisurely pedestrian traffic and much badly needed seating areas.

How To Kill A River.

On October 4th last we published that the River Suir walkway here in Thurles would be closed to all pedestrians; starting from the “Swinging Gates” at the junction of Thomond Road and Emmet Street, through to the junction of Slievenamon Road and Clongour Road. We gleaned this information from the Tipperary Co. Council’s own website.

Up to today, Sunday October 10th, the walkway has remained open with thankfully no re-surfacing work undertaken. A social media publication from Councillors Mr Seamus Hanafin (Fianna Fáil) and a live radio communication from Mr Jim Ryan (Non Party), each seeking to enhance future election profiles, had seriously angered those volunteers who for years had kept this area clean and litter free. Latter volunteers had not in any way been consulted about this resurfacing work and felt that the funding acquired should have been better spent on the river itself, now an embarrassing, foul-smelling eyesore, rather than spent on widening the existing walkway with 3meters wide tarmac strips.

The video slide-show, hereunder, further acknowledges and fully recognizes the reality of the public’s desire for a change in how funding was being spent.

No drawings or details have been provided by council officials for this work, with those responsible claiming that this work to resurface the existing path, does not require design drawings. However, a Habitats Directive Assessment Screening Report they claim, has been carried out for the proposed advance works and the local fisheries representative has been consulted.

Most people believe that this threatened upgrade is really to provide a cycling path along the river bank, at the expense of leisurely pedestrian traffic and much badly needed seating areas.

Regrettably, no volunteers have turned up recently to clean this River Walk area, further clarifying remarks made by Thurles.Info that Thurles County Councillors and their officials have deliberately and slowly killed off all local voluntarism.
The result is litter everywhere in the form of bottles, cans, condoms, rotting fish half eaten by feral cats and takeaway boxes; mainly strewn about due to the total absence of appropriate litter bins; which we have continuously highlighted as required for this area.

Here in Thurles town the River Suir exists, running parallel on the west side by the river walk and on the east side by the Thurles town park. Here exists a huge amenity, in both a ‘Blue Way’ and a ‘Green Way’. Blue spaces/ways are areas such as the river Suir, while both banks provide Green ways, and a number of health benefits.

With this in mind, we learn this week, from the Institute for Global Health, that a lack of green spaces has caused nearly 43,000 premature deaths in nearly 900 European cities.
Scientists, with the Institute, confirm that urban parks help to improve air quality, filtering out toxic pollutants that kill scores of people every year.

Researchers state green spaces offer no-cost spaces for people to exercise, helping drive down obesity rates and improve heart and lung health, while improving social interaction.

Same other benefits of green spaces include reduced stress and improved sleep, with other associated studies claiming reduced cognitive decline in the elderly.

Green spaces have also been found to reduce some the negative health impacts of urban living, acting as a filter to both noise and air pollution, latter which are thought to reduce life expectancy by increasing blood pressure.

The academic team claim that these benefits are also good for mental wellbeing and stress levels. The data behind this research is so strong that the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends every home should be within at least 300m of a green space area containing at least half a hectare in size.

Researchers at a United States University [University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)], found that children residing within that state who grew up within a third of a mile of a park or green space were at a lower risk of becoming obese by the age of 18, and were less at-risk from chronic health problems in their later years. They found that regardless of a families wealth, those that lived close to a park or green space or blue space, were less distressed.

One of the studies examined found that nearly 30% more teenagers were inclined to spend an hour or more doing some form of physical activity, five days a week, when they lived near parks and green spaces.

Scientific analysis claim that over 40,000 people in Europe die early, every year, because they do not live in areas with enough green space provided.

River Suir Walk, Thurles To Close, Effective From Oct. 5th.

The River Suir walkway here in Thurles will be closed to all pedestrians; starting from the “Swinging Gates” at the junction of Thomond Road and Emmet Street, through to the junction of Slievenamon Road and Clongour Road.

Same comes into effect from 7:00am on tomorrow morning, Tuesday October 5th to 7:00pm on Tuesday October 19th 2021.

The closure is required to facilitate resurfacing work, which has greatly angered local residents and those who over the years had freely volunteered, offered their servives to keep the area clean of litter, beer cans, wine bottles and syringes.

Sadly, none of the aforementioned volunteers were consulted about the resurfacing work and feel that the funding acquired should have been better spent on the river itself, now an embarrassing, foul-smelling eyesore, rather than spent on widening the existing walkway with tarmac.

‘Paw-Parents’ Worried About Noise From Illegal Fireworks

During the Covid-19 pandemic of the last 20 or so months, many households became first-time ‘paw-parents’, buying puppies or rescuing dogs held in shelters. These new ‘paw-parents’ did so in the knowledge that a pet could be the cure to keeping family members from tearing each other’s hair out, as they cocooned together, with more time to spare, corralled at home.

Now, according to the Irish Society for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ISPCA), same owners of these pets are extremely worried by the noise soon to be generated by illegal fireworks, the use of which becomes an increasing problem in the weeks before, during and after the Halloween period.

In the past, here in Co. Tipperary, thankfully for a short time only, fireworks were fashionable to entertain guests at weddings. Hotels, newly married couples, Insurance companies and professional licenced fireworks operators soon found themselves in legal wrangles, particularly by members of the farming community, when frightened mares lost their foals and terrorised cattle lost their calves or bursting through wire fences, ended up having to be put down, because of broken limbs.

**Fireworks, valued at some €1,000 seized by Clonmel Gardaí**.

Recently the Minister for Justice, Ms Heather Humphreys, launched a fireworks awareness campaign at the Dublin Fire Brigade Training Centre in association with members of An Garda Síochána, Dublin Fire Brigade and the ISPCA. The Minister warned that people who sell or light fireworks this Halloween face fines of up to €10,000 and or up to five years in prison.

Legislation came into effect in 2006, which make it an offence to possess fireworks with intent to sell or supply without a licence; light unlicensed fireworks, or throw or direct a lit firework at any person or property.

Gardaí attached to Clonmel Garda Station in South Tipperary, carried out a search under warrant in the Oldbridge area of Clonmel on September 27th last. During the course of this search, a large amount of fireworks, valued at some €1,000, were seized.

Gardaí are now reminding the public that such items are illegal and dangerous. Gardaí are continuing to target the sale and supply of fireworks and to address such anti-social behaviour in communities; same part of “Operation Tombola“.

Fireworks include items which burn and explode to produce noise or a visual effect for entertainment. Sparklers, bangers, fountains and rockets are all categorised as fireworks.

Most fireworks here in the Irish Republic can only be bought and used by professional, licenced operators. They require a licence to import them into Ireland and the way they are stored and used is strictly regulated by our laws on explosives.

Let’s all work together to have a safe and fun Halloween this year!

Thurles Residents Heartened By High Court Decision On Offaly Recycling Facility.

A High Court judge, Mr Justice Garrett Simons, has ruled that a waste recycling facility in Co. Offaly, can now only accept construction and demolition waste.

In his judgment, Mr Simons made orders prohibiting the site; latter controlled by the facility operator Guessford Ltd, trading as Oxigen Environmental at Barnan, Daingean, Co Offaly, (62mls from Thurles) from accepting any other type of waste material.

The judge made his ruling in proceedings brought by several local residents, all of whom live in the vicinity of the site. The residents had argued that certain activities being carried out at the facility were in breach of its planning permission and unexceptionable within a residential community.

The facility can no longer accept material such as mixed dry recyclables, from household or commercial skips or waste from civic amenity sites.

Oxigen, in opposing this action, had argued that it was authorised, thanks to a permit initially granted by Offaly Co Council in 2010, to carry out a much broader range of activities at the facility, including receiving and treating commercial waste and timber.

However, Mr Justice Garrett Simons said that he was making an order prohibiting Oxigen from accepting fridges, waste electrical and electronic equipment, beds, mattresses, sofas and tyres and the treatment of timber by shredding same, at the site. Was this where our Tipperary Mattress Bonus Give-away were bound?

**Cabragh Business Park, Ballycurrane, Thurles, Co. Tipperary**.

A similar case is pending here in Thurles, following Tipperary County Council’s decision to grant planning permission for yet a third material recovery facility within Thurles Town.

This latest facility was proposed for construction at the now visibly dishevelled looking Cabragh Business Park, at Ballycurrane, Thurles; same situated in the immediate vicinity of several private housing estates and within meters of a vast area of preserved wetland habitat.
Permission was initially, poorly applied for in February 2021, by Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd and because of planning application failures, was applied for again in July 2021.

As expected, over sixty persons, as individuals together with local businesses; some of the latter who are themselves based in Cabragh Business Park, have now lodged objections with the Tipperary Co. Council local authority and with An Bord Pleanala, following the granting of permission by Tipperary Co. Council, subject to 11 further conditions imposed by the latter.

It should be highlighted that initially, in the middle of the Covid-19 Pandemic, the objectors unable to meet as a group [in keeping with Public Health Guidelines, demanding strict adherence to social distancing and face covering.] communicated with all elected Councillors and Teachtaí Dála (latter Irish elected politicans) within the county of Tipperary.
The communication sought to seek that the planning application be set back, until such time as the COVID restrictions were removed. However, response from elected representatives, as is always expected, went almost totally unanswered.

Local residents and objectors to the proposed planning and the granting of permission by Tipperary Co. Council, are now somewhat heartened by this recent High Court ruling, which could have severely impacted on those residing close to the Co. Offaly facility.

Interesting to note that all 60 plus objectors to the Thurles ‘Ryan Cleaning Event Specialists Ltd’ planning application had to pay €20.00 each to the local authority to object, while Teachtaí Dála and Local Councillors are totally exempt. We see this in recent communications accepted by Tipperary Co. Council to planning objections, made by Co. Tipperary TD Mr Jackie Cahill and Councillor Sean Ryan, Littleton, Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Both men use the phrase in their objection communications “I am advised that as a councillor submitting a personal planning submission that I am exempt from the planning fee”.