AIE Request 25-23
Under the AIE Regs to request any ecologist reports or other environmental assessments that consider the impact of chainmesh/security/other fencing on wildlife and biodiversity in relation to greenway/blueway developments in Meath
In particular to include:
– length of fencing in km in each greenway/blueway development
– mesh size in fencing
– any mitigation measures such as wildlife passes, and the spec for these measures, eg spacing, size of wildlife passes, no wire mesh etc
For the purposes of this AIE please consider the years 2020 to date
Summary of Decision
The Boyne Valley to Lakelands County Greenway (BVLCG) is the only Greenway which is being delivered within the period of this request, 2020 to date. In relation to the first part of the request I am refusing same as the records are already in the public domain and can be accessed at
• At the planning office (Buvinda House, Dublin Road, Navan, Co. Meath, C15 Y291)
• https://www.eplanning.ie/MeathCC/searchtypes
Quoting the following references P8/13007 and P8/13009
In relation to the second part of the request I attach herewith details of standard construction details for fencing:
CC-SCD-00301-03 (Post and Rail)
CC-SCD-00304-03 (Stock Proof)
The fencing details allow for wildlife to push under the fence, while deterring pedestrians and pets using the greenway from entering private property. Wildlife crossing points are not used on greenways because there is no risk of road collisions.
The extent to which fencing has been applied to the greenway is as follows:
Navan to Tara Mines
o Total Distance of Boundary 4.8Km
o Stock Proof Fencing 350m
o Post and rail Fencing 850m
o Security Fencing 252m
Tara Mines to Wilkinstown
o Total Distance of Boundary 10.8Km
o Stock Proof Fencing 1400m
o Post and rail Fencing 495m
Wilkinstown to Castletown (Under Construction)
o Total Distance of Boundary 9.1 Km
o Stock Proof Fencing 8318m
o Post and rail Fencing 830m
Castletown to Nobber
o Total Distance of Boundary 12.4Km
o Stock Proof Fencing 300m
o Post and rail Fencing 1680m
Nobber to Kingscourt (Under Construction)
o Total Distance of Boundary 22Km
o Stock Proof Fencing 11730m
o Post and rail Fencing 2880m
One cannot stop counting the types of fences when cycling along these greenways. I cycled it but never again. I felt like I am on a prison run for long stretches due to pointless fences on either side. I cycled thousands of kilometers of greenways across Europe but I never encountered so much fencing anywhere. What a shame.
Having recently walked the Navan to Wilkinstown stretch I also wondered about the fencing. Some of it is clearly needed for safety reasons and some to keep dogs away from fields with sheep/cows, but the fencing doesn’t
“allow for wildlife to push under the fence” along most of the way. Should I flag this with the council? Thanks for the informative post.
Greenways have a big impact on wildlife corridors, particularly if the fencing is double chainlink and embedded into hard engineering.