SEA Environmental Report for the Draft Cork City Development Plan 2022-2028
assessment and administrative consent of projects includes that on designated ecological sites and protected species, ecological connectivity (including stepping stones and corridors) and non-designated habitats. 4.6.2 Overview of High Value Biodiversity and Designations 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 8 For more detail refer to Section 4.6.3. 9 For more detail refer to Section 4.6.3. 10 For more detail refer to Section 4.6.4. 11 For more details refer to Error! Reference source not found. . 12 For more detail refer to Sections 4.6.6 and 4.9.7. 13 For more detail refer to Section 0. 14 Areas that have been excluded from the ‘Open Season Order’ so that game birds can rest and feed undisturbed. There is one Wildfowl Sanctuary within Cork City: The Lough, Cork (WFS-12). 15 The Flora (Protection) Order, 2015 (S.I. No. 356 of 2015) gives legal protection to 65 species of bryophytes in the Republic of Ireland (25 liverworts and 40 mosses). There are four locations within the City with a number of species protected by the Order, including: Blarney ( Entosthodon muhlenbergii ); north of Cork City ( Bryum intermedium ); Cork City ( Scleropodium touretii ); and Passage ( Scleropodium touretii ). For more details refer to: https://dahg.maps.arcgis.com/. 16 TPOs are a planning mechanism whereby individual trees or groups of trees can be identified as important and protected by a TPO. There are 12 TPOs identified within the City. During the lifetime of the Development Plan, Cork City Council will continue to evaluate trees in the City and, where appropriate, make new Tree Protection Orders.
ecological connectivity within the City and beyond. Ecological designations in Cork City include: Special Protection Areas 8 ; Special Areas of Conservation 9 ; Proposed Natural Heritage Areas 10 ; Ramsar sites 11 Certain entries to the Water Framework Directive Register of Protected Areas 12 ; Salmonid Rivers identified by Regulations (S.I. 293 only) 13 ; Wildfowl Sanctuaries 14 ; Flora Protection Order sites 15 ; and Tree Preservation Orders 16 (TPOs) . The zone of influence of the Plan beyond the City area with respect to impacts upon ecology via surface waters – including designated ecology – can be estimated to be areas within 15 km of the City boundary and all downstream areas of catchments which drain the City. 4.6.3 European Sites European sites in the City occur along the main waterways and areas adjacent to the coastline. European sites comprise: Special Areas of Conservation 17 (SACs); and Special Protection Areas 18 (SPAs). The SEA uses the same general zone of influence cited in the AA, a 15 km buffer around the City. There are three European sites (two SACs and one SPA) designated within this zone (mapped on Figure 4.1). These comprise: 17 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. The European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) Regulations 2011 consolidate the European Communities (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1997 to 2005 and the European Communities (Birds and Natural Habitats) (Control of Recreational Activities) Regulations 2010. The Regulations have been prepared to address several judgments of the Court of Justice of the European Union against Ireland, notably cases C-418/04 and C-183/05, in respect of failure to transpose elements of the Birds Directive and the Habitats Directive into Irish law. 18 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.
CAAS for Cork City Council
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