Row over marl extraction plan
March 13 1996
A quiet east Mayo community is up in arms over proposals to have marl extracted from the village.
Locals from Barnacogue, a scenic valley near Knock Airport, fear their water supply will be contaminated and that the untouched scenery of the area will be destroyed forever if the excavation goes ahead. An appeal has been lodged with Mayo County Council against planning permission being granted to Border Hardcore & Rockery Stone Company Limited who are behind the project.
Residents claim that the excavation of the site on a commercial basis will seriously affect the visual amenity of this quiet and unspoiled landscape. Even allowing for reinstatement of the valley over a period of at least five years, they say the charcater of the area will be lost for good.
A number of locals are deeply concerned that the proposal to tamper with spring wells on the site will have a detrimental effect on their water supply. It is believed that the main spring on the location may be the source from which neighbouring wells are supplied. These in turn are the main source of drinking water used by many homes and farms in the area.
Farmers in the area have ruled the proposal as out of hand due to the pollution hazards. There are also concerns that a river at the north eastern side of the site may also be at risk of contamination from marl seepage and other agents. This river carries surface water from the hills of Barnacogue to the lake in neighbouring Killaturley, going underground there and resurfacing at Carrowcannada where it feeds the Swinford town water supply.
The transportation of the marl will also cause problems. The roads leading to the site are narrow and winding, with many steep hills. Increased traffic of heavily laden trucks will seriously damage the already poor surfaces of the roads.
The planning application indicates that excavation will be small scale, with not more than 1,000 tonnes of marl being extracted every year. There are also regulations on the times at which excavations may take place.
The locals however feel concerned that there are no safeguards or controls in place to monitor the amount of marl removed, the times or the methods used once the developemnt commences.
Their list of objections states: "We fell strongly that a scenic untouched
valley such as this should not be disturbed in this proposed manner for the
short term gain of outside commercial interests.
"This marl outcrop forms part of the scenery of the valley and its
commercial excavation in the manner proposed can only destroy the area."
Connaught Telegraph - News - Mar 1996
Connaught Telegraph - Sports - Mar 1996
