3 Summary of current Environmental Baseline in Cork City The statutory Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028 sets out how the city will grow and develop up to 2028 while complementing a longer 2040 vision and is the most important spatial plan in the city setting. This Plan supports the development of a robust City, (and for the first time, this statutory plan also encompasses) the towns of Ballincollig, Blarney, Tower and Glanmire and their wider hinterland areas and connecting transport infrastructure across Cork City and environs (Figure 1.2). The Core Strategy Map of Cork City (Figure 1.3a and Figure 1.3b) shows the Metropolitan Area, the key towns and villages in the settlement hierarchy. The following Section summarises the current environmental baseline as outlined in the Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028, as varied, the associated SEA Environmental Report and the Cork City LECP 2023-2028 (the Plan). 3.1 Biodiversity, Flora and Fauna Information on biodiversity and flora and fauna that is relevant to project planning and development and associated environmental assessment and administrative consent of projects includes available information on designated ecological sites and protected species, ecological connectivity (including stepping stones and corridors) and non-designated habitats. Cork City supports a variety of natural and semi-natural habitats and a wide range of plant and animal species, which have come under threat due to development pressures and increased demand for new development land. Cork Harbour, the River Lee and associated water courses, estuaries, salt marshes, reedbeds and intertidal mudflats are of ecological importance, providing a habitat for a variety of plant and animal species including mosses, lichens and bats and act as a corridor for the movement of species between the surrounding countryside and urban areas. These areas contain many rare and threatened habitats and species of national and international importance, including those protected under the national and European legislation. A network of urban green spaces, including gardens, parks, graveyards, amenity walks, hedgerows, railway lines and patches of woodland and scrub, provide habitats and ecological connectivity within the City and beyond. Designated sites within and close to the City include Special Areas of Conservation 1 (SACs) (Figure 1.4) and Special Protection Areas 2 (SPAs) (Figure 1.5). There are three European sites (two SACs and one SPA) designated within/nearby, comprising: • Great Island Channel SAC (001058) – c.1.40 km to the east of the City; • Blackwater River (Cork/Waterford) SAC (002170) – c.7 km to the north of the City; and • Cork Harbour SPA (004030) – partially within the eastern parts of the City.
1 1 SACs have been selected for protection under the European Council Directive on the conservation of natural habitats and of wild fauna and flora (92/43/EEC) due to their conservation value for habitats and species of importance in the European Union. The Habitats Directive seeks to establish Natura 2000, a network of protected areas throughout the EU. It is the responsibility of each member state to designate SACs to protect habitats and species, which, together with the SPAs designated under the 1979 Birds Directive, form Natura 2000.
2 SPAs have been selected for protection under the 1979 European Council Directive on the Conservation of Wild Birds (79/409/EEC) - referred to as the Birds Directive - due to their conservation value for birds of importance in the EU.
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