Concern over number of windfarms mooted for Mayo 'heritage site'

Members of the Lacken/Ballycastle Landscape Protection Group have issued a statement outlining how they are extremely concerned about the increasing number of large-scale windfarms that are currently being proposed and planned for their area.

These include 29 turbines at Glenora, 21 at Tyrawley (Lacken), 8 at Keerglen, potentially 22 at Clydagh and undetermined numbers at Carrowcullen and Carrowmacshane.

The statement elaborated: "Potentially we are looking at over 100 towering wind turbines in an area that until very recently was on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List, i.e., the Ceide Fields and the Boglands of North and West Mayo.

"The question arises as to where this fits into the whole planning spectrum.

"County development plans are now regarded as central to both county and national planning.

"The Mayo County Development plan was adopted in June 2022 and covers the period from 2022 to 2028.

"In terms of suitability for windfarms, there are three designations: ‘Suitable’, ‘Unsuitable’ and ‘Open to Consideration’.

"While the scenic areas of West Mayo such as, Westport, Achill, Louisburgh were designated as unsuitable for windfarms, areas of North Mayo were not so designated.

"These scenic areas are designated ‘Open to Consideration’. Given their significance, they should clearly have been designated as ‘Unsuitable for Development’.

"We believe that this dramatic turnaround in the status and position of this location of outstanding natural beauty and unique, world-renowned archaeological heritage is a matter of public interest and public policy that needs to be investigated and properly explained.

"A Freedom of Information request by this group has established that Mayo County Council failed to respond to several correspondences from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage inviting the council to submit an application to have the Ceide Fields and the Boglands of North Mayo maintained on the UNESCO Tentative List.

"To date, no satisfactory explanation has been offered by Mayo County Council as to the reasons not to re-apply other than to claim there was a lack of local support.

"There is, however, no substantive evidence to support this contention or no evidence that the council took any meaningful, proactive steps to engage with the wider community to elicit or garner support.

"Subsequent to the abandonment of the Ceide Fields from the UNESCO list, a plethora of applications and potential applications for windfarms in the area has surfaced.

"If the Ceide Fields and surrounding boglands had retained UNESCO tentative status (as it ought), there would have been no windfarm applications in the Ballycastle/Lacken area as they would have no prospect of success.

"A reasonable person can only assume that the Council’s failure to advocate for a listing on the UNESCO list had a more cynical motive, that of removing the perceived obstacles for windfarms in the area.

"We believe that the potential cumulative impact of the massing of such a large number of windmills in this sensitive and vulnerable rural area is potentially extremely damaging to the environment, landscape, archaeology, and traditional rural way of life in this area not to mention the negative health implications by way, of noise, shadow flicker and infrasound on those people living close to the turbines.

"The explosive growth of data centres in this country to meet the insatiable needs of 'Big Tech', and their requirement for massive amounts of electricity is driving the headlong rush for windfarms in North Mayo and other areas.

"Last year alone, Ireland's energy hungry data centres consumed more electricity than all of its urban areas combined. They used up a staggering 21% of the country’s electricity and this is expected to rise to 31% in the next three years.

"By contrast the average electric consumption by data centres throughout Europe is just 2.7%.

"It is well known that the vast proliferation of data centres increases the price that ordinary consumers pay for electricity and is one of the reasons why Ireland has amongst the highest electricity charges in Europe.

"Our political establishment is bowing the knee to the Big Tech sector whilst in that process is sacrificing our areas of incalculable archaeological worth, and the natural, scenic coastal landscape of the Ballycastle/Lacken area.

"In the absence of any satisfactory response from Mayo County Council for the abandonment of the Ceide Fields, the local authority and our local elected representatives are, as a result, prioritising the demands of large commercial, corporate interests to the detriment of local residents.

"If the Irish government wishes to facilitate data centres at the level envisaged, they need to strategically plan for the energy required and also for the 20,000 new homes that they intend to build every year for the foreseeable future.

"Due to the unpredictable and intermittent nature of wind and sun in Ireland, renewable energy alone is clearly not the answer to the massive additional energy needs involved.

"The question needs to be asked, if renewable energy is going to substantially reduce Irelands’ consumption of fossil fuels, why are we, in practise, doing the very opposite and planning for more fossil fuel-based energy plants and controversial new port terminals to facilitate the import of LNG gas.

"This area of north Mayo, which is now being heavily targeted for windfarms, has for many years been the subject of restrictive planning policy for residential housing.

"By granting planning permission to large windfarms while simultaneously refusing permission to local residents (usual on the visual amenity grounds) to build family homes is grossly unfair and unjust.

"This reflects the indifference of our politicians and planners to this area which has been neglected for years and is subject to depopulation and decline.

"It also represents a prioritizing of corporate interests to those of the preservation of our archaeological heritage, our precious landscape, our natural environment and our pristine coastal scenery.

"The proliferation of windfarms in the area will lead to the degradation of the Ceide Fields, the world renowned neolithic site.

"It will also have a negative impact on Downpatrick Head with its panoramic natural scenery and rare geological features which is now a major signature point on the Wild Atlantic Way.

"Also negatively impacted will be the beaches and strands at Lacken and Kilcummin, the Lacken Salt Marsh and Kilcummin Head.

"These areas are of considerable ecological significance and this has been recognised in their designation status under the Special Area of Conservation (SAC).

"In relation to the proposed Lacken Wind farm, most of the turbines will be located in the areas draining into Lacken Salt Marsh and in an area with the finest example of the old Rundale system of farming which predates the Famine.

"The whole character of the open hill landscape of Lacken and Ballycastle will be severely compromised and its landscape dramatically altered in perpetuity.

"It is well recognised by archaeologist’s who were involved in previous excavations in this extensive area that underneath the peat in these rolling hills lies the Ceide Fields system of fields, dwelling areas and megalithic tombs which together make up the most extensive stone age monument in the world which is more than 6,000 years old.

"There has been no engagement from either Mayo County Council or the wind company developers with the communities and people whose ancestors have protected this unique heritage down through the ages.

"The Mayo politicians and planners appear to be apathetic to the abandonment of this ancient, sacred, unique, heritage area to benefit the insatiable needs of large corporate interests who are solely interested in profit. Instead of preserving and enriching our unique natural assets, our untarnished natural landscape and our scenic coastlines, it appears that our political establishment are content to acquiesce in its degradation and will be content to oversee these windfarms and steer them into being.

"In the words of our most influential and celebrated Mayo journalist, John Healy: “It’s time to shout STOP'.

"In this context, it is time firstly for a full and proper explanation from Mayo County Council for its decision not to apply to retain the UNESCO status of the Ceide Fields and North and West Mayo Boglands.

"Secondly, it is past time for the Mayo County Development Plan to be revised and to actively protect these areas in the same fashion as those of West Mayo by redesignating these areas as unsuitable for development."

The statement was signed by Teresa Fagan, chairperson, and John Kelly, committee member.