Millions of euro to fix ‘most polluted river in the country’
WICKLOW County Tourism ( WCT) will be requesting an increase in funding from Wicklow County Council in 2018, the monthly meeting heard on Monday.
In their presentation to the elected members, Wicklow County Tourism manager Fred Verdier and chairman Pat Mellon outlined the projects they undertook in the past year and outlined their plans for the coming year.
Wicklow County Council provided the tourism body with €80,000 last year but WCT are hoping for an allocation of €96,000 for the year ahead.
Mr Mellon said: ‘Our objective is to grow revenue by 20 per cent so we request an increase in local authority support by 20 per cent. In 2007, Wicklow County Council’s contribution was €135,000. I promise you any 20 per cent increase will be money well spent and it will be put to good use.’
Mr Mellon warned that Brexit was the biggest challenge facing Irish tourism.
‘On average, visitors from the UK are spending 20 per cent less. The UK is also now more cost effective to other countries. We already have competition from other countries but there is a potential €100 million loss nationally.
‘We need to be proactive. This isn’t the time to ease off. The next two to three years are going to be crucial in that respect.’
In 2016, the WCT website had 440,000 sessions, up 27 per cent from 2015. There were 2.7 viewers, with figures already up by 26 per cent for 2017.
Of the visitors coming to Wicklow, 56 per cent are Irish, 10 per cent are from the UK and 10 per cent from the US. WCT Facebook likes improved by 74 per cent. They have also been developing one video production a week, some of which have reached over 150,000 people.
Ongoing projects include the continued promotion of the Wicklow Way, including an E-Book which will be both printable and downloadable.
‘It will have points of historical interest, local fauna, wildlife and points of geographical interest. It will also help to divert people into local shops and cafés along the route,’ sad Mr Verdier. 5000 years of History is also being developed. ‘Wicklow is like a summary of Ireland’s history. We are looking to encompass the early Christian period, Vikings, Normans, rebellions, big houses and gardens, industrialisation, family history and literature and arts,’ added Mr Verdier.
Alongside Cllr Miriam McGrath, WCT also plan to take the lead with Mobility Mojo, a new user generated content app for accessible travel.
An application has also been made for a new app which would allow users to chose a walk and details of its distance, location and terrain. The map would open with a walk marked and a marker on the app’s current location. THE Avoca River was described as the ‘most polluted in the country’ at Monday’s meeting of Wicklow County Council.
Jonathan Sexton provided the elected members with an update of the Water Framework Directive - Draft Basin Management Plan, and sought feedback on any water body which Councillors feel may be at risk.
Cllr Tommy Annesley said: ‘ The Avoca River is the most polluted in Ireland, between raw sewerage and the Avoca Mines. It was proposed many years ago that it would be cleared up. I wonder what the current situation is and what sort of costing would be required?’
Cllr Pat Fitzgerald said the river had been clearly deteriorating for the past number of decades.
‘Back in the 1980s you could swim in it. Now, if you did go for a swim, you would come out a different colour.’
He added that even sub-aqua divers were reluctant to swim in the river.
Mr Sexton replied that the proposal Cllr Annesley was referring to involved two options – a quick fix and a proper fix – both of which would cost hundreds of millions. While the biology around the river has improved, fish numbers are still bad. After heavy rain, flushes of pollution still enter the river.