April 8th, 2019
Concerns have been raised about the
removal of trees on lands owned by a third-level education institution in Cork City.
Griffith College Cork has been
criticised for cutting down a number of trees on parklands of the former St
Patrick’s Hospice on Wellington road last summer. The college purchased the
former St Patrick’s Hospice and its environs in 2016.
The issue was highlighted by the Green Party’s Oliver Moran, who shared mages of the parklands before and after the trees were cut down on his Twitter account, prompting a public rebuke of the college’s actions.
Mr Moran tweeted that Griffith has
turned “designated landscape” into a “dead zone” adding that various animals
used to live on the now cleared land.
In a statement to The Green News,
a spokesperson for Griffith said that the college removed “six small trees”
from its property last summer followed “a decade of overgrowth”.
“Jim Daly, the Head of Griffith
College Cork consulted closely with local residents at the time; a number of
residents visited the campus to view the buildings and this area as part of the
process,” the statement read.
The educational institute said that
complaints from residents regarding “anti-social behaviour” in its parkland
property partly encouraged the move.
“This was deemed to be a health and safety concern. The College plans to grass this area and use it as a recreation space for its students and staff.”
Speaking to The Green News,
Mr Moran accused the college of “misrepresenting” residents, claiming that locals
had unsuccessfully voiced their dissatisfaction to its management.
“The residents visited the college
and met with Jim Daly, yes, but to make their protests known. And they have
written again to the college recently demanding the landscape restored,” Mr Moran
said.
Resident Cathal O’Shea also took to Twitter claiming that
residents were not consulted about tree felling, adding that locals were only
invited to take a “tour” of the campus grounds.
Mr Moran also criticised Griffith
College’s decision to grass the area, reasoning that the parklands’ value transcended
such solution.
“Re-sowing the site with grass isn’t
good enough. It was zoned by Cork City Council for landscape preservation
specifically because of its tree canopy and ecology,” he said.
“Sowing it now as a lawn is a signal
that Griffith College have no intention of restoring the ecology of tree cover.”
Mr Moran reasoned that the College
has failed to set a good example for its students when it comes to preserving
natural amenities.
“What kind of message does it send
to the students there about the importance of nature,” he asked.
“It is embarrassing that we have
secondary school students striking for climate action and the management of
third-level institutions doing vandalism like this.”
He added that Cork City Council must
bolster its landscape preservation guidelines to include the conservation of
trees. As it stands a Special Amenity Area or a Tree Protection Order can
thwart tree felling on parklands.
“What Cork City Council needs to do is to follow-up on the weak designation it has with ones that actually carry weight,” he said.
The post Concerns over tree removal in Cork City appeared first on Green News Ireland.
