Kerry County Council plays down fears over Valentia UNESCO ‘buffer zone’

There were calls for Kerry County Council to explain what impact a ‘buffer zone’ – required in and around UNESCO-recognised sites – would have on Valentia Island, particularly when it comes to acquiring planning permission and developing future housing on the island.

Independent Councillor Johnny Healy-Rae raised the matter at last Friday’s Kenmare Municipal District meeting, and he said he has received about 200 e-mails from people concerned about the potential impact of a buffer zone on areas marked in the draft Kenmare Local Area Plan.

The Valentia Transatlantic Cable project has long sought UNESCO World Heritage site status for Valentia Cable Station. The first transatlantic message was sent from Valentia slate yard to Newfoundland, Canada, in 1858, and a successful connection established between the two locations, eight years later, was a milestone breakthrough for international communications. The cable station in Valentia and associated features were last year included on UNESCO’s tentative list, an important step towards acquiring full World Heritage Site status.

But UNESCO requires buffer zones, including and surrounding these sites, to protect them from any “inappropriate development or uses.” This is reflected in the draft Local Area Plan but has caused confusion among Valentia residents, many of whom are fearful of what this zoning would entail for the island’s sustainable development.

“People locally have an awful fear of this,” said Cllr Healy-Rae. “I hadn’t taken any notice of it, I have to say, until I started going through it in detail, and people are very, very worried about it.

“People in locations such as Brú na Bóinne feel there are awful restrictions in place because of this.”

He said people are fearful that the designation will prevent future one-off housing or housing estates being built on the island.

Kerry County Council’s response, however, seemed to move to calm these fears. It explained that the structures covered by the proposed buffer zone are already protected structures.

Development is not prohibited in these areas, but proposals must integrate with and respect the built heritage of the protected structures.

There is already a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in Killarney, which the Council said had not impacted proper planning and development in the area.

Kenmare MD manager Martin O’Donoghue said the zoning in Valentia would differ from the kind mentioned by Cllr Healy-Rae at Brú na Bóinne.

“This [Valentia’s UNESCO site] is an industrial UNESCO designation,” he said. “The archaeological heritage at Brú na Bóinne is entirely different because of the risk of what’s underground, and they’re still finding archaeological sites in the broader Brú na Bóinne complex.” Fianna Fáil Cllr Norma Moriarty pointed out that, in Devon and Cornwall in the United Kingdom, mining recommenced after a site received the same UNESCO status as Valentia is pursuing. She said it was important to allay fears about the buffer zone: “What we don’t want is to miss a great opportunity”.

Mr O’Donghue said Kerry County Council management could not attend public meetings relating to the draft plan as that would involve stepping outside the statutory process that must be followed. He said, however, that staff are available to deal with “legitimate queries and concerns”.

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