LISFANNON BEACH ATTRACTING ATTENTION

Photo: A broken battery case on the beach at Lisfannon

Photo: Water line Lisfannon beach

Photo: Dumping on the beach.

Photo: Asbestos pipes dumped illegally

Dear Ian,
I have read in your earlier articles about work being carried out at Lisfannon beach in Buncrana. Initially the work was to accommodate the silt that was being dredged up near the pier to allow the lifeboat and ferry in. What on earth is going on now? The area of boulders is so vast that it is now cutting off the beach at medium tide and looks so unsightly. Have you any information about what is happening there please? Regards I.B. Buncrana.

Reply
I checked with the Department of Marine they told me that the work being carried out was initiated by the Buncrana Municipal golf course.
Before you throw your arms up in despair I must add that I have checked and they do have permission to go ahead with the work. A couple of issues bother me though. Just what is going into the landfill? Yes, there seems to be mountains of soil going into the site from where Aldi are putting up their new building. There also seems to be loads of builder’s rubbish going in too. I’ve seen concrete, plastic, metal and fibreglass in there and the rubbish is actually on the tide line so it will leach into the Swilly eventually. The other issue is that by putting up the stone barrier the sand dunes are effectively being made redundant. Sand dunes by their very nature move with the tidal conditions, they actually act as a buffer in storms. By sealing them in the effect of the storms will invariably cause the very silting that the wall was initially built to counteract. The silting could end up in any part of the peninsula. It would be interesting to see if the impact assessment study shows any predictions where this would happen. It is difficult to put up opposition to work such as this (although some try!). Mainly because if you do it is seen to be in opposition to business people who claim to bring jobs to the area. Care is needed when a town expands quickly such as Buncrana. There is talk of developing the shorefront with high-rise apartments and shopping outlets. If this is the case then an area that used to be walked from Lisfannon to Swan Park will be blocked. It would make more sense to build these types of properties inland where they do not destroy our natural resources and leave the shorefront as a year long amenity for locals and tourists alike. Most of us tend to have a short memory when it comes to environmental issues, we wouldn’t build houses on municipal dumps if we didn’t. Maybe the next generation to come will be trying to stop a housing development being built on the reclaimed area on Lisfannon beach!

Update: Since this was written the Environmental Protection Agency assesed the site and stopped all dumping of illegal waste. The Agency also looked at the shortcomings of the recycling centre that is placed next to the tourist information centre in Buncrana town. The Council also had their wrists slapped for dumping road materials next to the river.

Environmental