All derelict buildings should be brought back into use and vacant sites left for more than a strict period should be CPO'd and developed. There should be an ethos of Reuse and/or Repurpose empty buildings. Vacant site levies need to be enforced to fund rebuilding. Compulsory Sales Orders should be considered.
Remove the blight that is Dereliction.
Blackpool Village requires a new Library in the centre of the village, near the Church. The retail park is not the centre of Blackpool.
Improve standards of housing with good insulation and energy efficient heating. Houses need more storage space for bikes and buggies etc.
All development should be required to show the total carbon impact of building it. Including proximity to amenities.
Have a 'human' centred city not a 'car' centred one.
A bus route to Kerry Pike is missing off the CMATS plan. Please ask for extension of existing route.
Cycle lanes on Northside need to be connected.
Re-route proposed cycle lane through Glen River Park, should be put along the North Ring Road. The Glen Park is a nature reserve used by families and has a delicate variety of precious biodiversity - do not destroy this by a lit up cycleway. Pedestrians and cycling do not mix.
No housing estate should be built without a bus route within 200m. Existing housing estates should be serviced by a bus.
Reduce speed limits in the city centre and residential roads to 30kmph.
Increase traffic calming in residential areas near schools, especially Redemption Road.
Reduce traffic volume in the city centre and improve public transport - as per plan.
Protect the Glen River Park as a nature reserve. Do not route the cycleway through it.
Orchard Court Park is neglected it needs playground equipment or similar.
Protect our rivers from the OPW. Do not culvert the Bride River, it is a habitat to many species such as otter, herons, dippers, ducks and trout and acquatic life. The proposal to culvert the Bride is in direct contravention of the Habitats Directive.
Ensure all rivers are assigned a status and receive protection from polluters and pollution.
Create more green space in the North West Ward for wildlife, separate from playgrounds and playing fields.
Landscape Preservation Zones are ignored. Areas behind Commons Road, near Tivoli/Lower Glanmire Road and behind Griffith College have had their tree canopy removed by their owners. The Planning Applications for any of these areas should be opposed and the trees reinstated. Protection of trees needs to be implemented.
Do not allow our historic Quays to be destroyed by the OPW.
Improve grants for people to repair older houses, that they are living in.
Conserve what is left of historic buildings in Blackpool, along the Bride and the Glen Rivers. Cork was built on these historic commercial and industrial areas. Support the plan to regenerate Blackpool village and history museum.
Open up the Bride River to people as an amenity, don't allow it to be put in a pipe and deprive the people of Cork of another green and blue space. There is a tree-lined river bank in Blackpool that few people know about.
Each river needs to be assigned a Status. Monitor pollution events and prosecute the polluters.
Provide air monitors in areas other than parks.
Micro electricity producers should be paid for the electricity they feed back to the grid.
Noise pollution has a bad effect on the health of citizens. Efforts should be made to resurface roads with low noise values and traffic speeds should be reduced. There is no enforcement of high decibel vehicles, especially at night.
Villages within the city like Blackpool should be given back their identity, with signage, community hubs and facilities in the centre of the village. Reinstate Blackpool near the Community Centre and Church - the centre is not the Retail Park! A new library is required to replace the existing - it is leased and was a temporary arrangement.
All new developments should be led by our Planners - not developers.
Trees should be planted in all urban areas.
Developments should not be built on flood plains.
Section 5 Mitigation Measures:
These suggested measures are very laudable, but are being completely ignored on the ground. Roundup is being sprayed around every park and roadway. This is in direct contravention to the Polinator Plan that the City Council signed up to. Roundup is a known carcinogen and is dangerous to humans, animals and insects - especially bees.
Regarding water quality there is no joined up thinking between Irish Water, the City Council, the EPA and Inland Waterways. There should be a clear responsibility on the Council to report sightings of pollution to Irish Water or the EPA. This does not happen in parks or river catchments.
There is no protection afforded to quayside walls and natural heritage.
There is nothing being done about noise pollution. Every night we are plagued by people driving extra noisey cars at speed along Watercourse Road and surrounding areas. Main roads should be resurfaced with noise reducing coverings.
All the knowledge relating to protection of rivers, trees, nature and heritage is in this report. It is completely ignored by the City Council and the OPW. Please address this - we want a healthy city! Just because the OPW has funds to cover up a lot of mistakes we should not grant them permission to destroy the beautiful heritage and biodiversity of our rivers.
The proposed route is not appropriate, through the Nature Reserve that is the Glen River Park. The construction of the path would require a lot of work to widen the pathway, destroy trees and possibly disrupt the river. This park is a quiet oasis in the city. The park is used by families and people walking their dogs. The biodiversity in the Glen is vulnerable to over intrusion by speeding bicycles. Lighting would destroy insect and bird habitat. Just leave the park alone!!
An alternative route along the North Ring Road/A20 is much more suitable for cycling and safer for school children, as it could be a wider path with better lighting. It is less hilly than the route through the park. There is a wide footpath on the Park side of the North Ring Road that can easily be widened to accommodate the cycleway, this option is cheaper and does not destroy the biodiversity of the Glen Park.