Dennis the menace!
COUNTY COUNTING THE COST AFTER TWO STORMS
Sligo’s coastline has been battered two week-ends in a row leading to fears of permanent damage.
Strandhill and Rosses Point bore the brunt of storm Ciara and Dennis with fears in both villages about severe erosion of dunes.
In Strandhill, a portion of the sea wall which protects an ancient burial ground at Killaspugbrone in Strandhill has been washed away.
The issue was raised at Monday’s meeting of the Borough District of Sligo by Cllr Declan Bree who called for the wall to be repaired urgently before “bones are washed into the sea.” Cllr Bree also told the meeting that representatives of the business community in Strandhill had expressed concern about the erosion at the seafront and the area South of the village.
Senior Engineer, Tom Brennan said said the €20,000 allocated by the Council for coastal erosion this year would be supplemented by funding from the OPW. “We need to review what damage has taken place. Killaspugbrone and Strandhill are no doubt not the only places damaged recently,” added Brennan.
There are also concerns in Rosses Point at the battering it has got
TOURISM in Strandhill could be impacted by the continued coastal erosion that is happening at one of Sligo’s most popular seaside resorts.
That’s the view of one local businessman who says a long-term solution needs to be found to ensure the iconic seafront is not damaged any further.
Businessman Neil Byrne, who operates Mammy Johnson’s and the Strand Bar, says he is “concerned for the future of tourism in Strandhill” due to the disintegration of certain areas of the duneland in the locality.
“Coastal erosion has gone out of all control in the last few years,” Neil told The Sligo Champion.
“There are over 400 people employed in businesses in Strandhill and urgent action needs to take place with a united front and a coordinated approach.”
Some work has been carried out to prevent damage, but Neil says it needs to be extended to cover the whole seafront.
“There were some protection measures put in place, but that has served to put pressure on the weaker areas. It has now started to happen in the Special Area of Conservation.
“I’m not an expert, but there are reports and studies there on how it should be approached. It has happened in Lahinch in county Clare. We need the EPA to come in, do a study and provide a long-term solution. If you do a half-job, it’ ll put pressure on the weaker areas – the work needs to be carried on.”
Voya Seaweed Baths’ front door is a mere 20 metres from the sea, and for proprietor Neil Walton the recent bad weather provides major difficulties.
Some cappings from the top of the wall along the sea were dislodged in Strandhill while large rocks and boulders were thrown up from the seashore onto the roadway.
“The storm was a bit of a challenge,” Neil commented.
“The challenge with Strandhill is that you had three different forms of energy. You had your ground atmospheric pressure on the sea, creating big swells up to 32 foot, you had the wind energy behind gusting from 85 to 100 kilometres at a time and then you had a big spring tide of 4.2 metres so when that tide pushes in and you have the wind behind it and you have that big ground swell, that created the damage on the seafront here in Strandhill.”
While there were several warnings in place alerting the public of the severity of Storm Ciara on the weekend before last, Neil says that the Tuesday morning afterward proved to be the biggest threat.
“I was a little bit caught out on the Tuesday morning. I knew that we might get waves breaching but I didn’t think they would breach that much so I was a little bit taken back by it but not fully surprised.”
The efforts of Sligo County Council in aiding Strandhill in terms of flood defences are to be welcomed, Neil says, but further action is required on the vulnerable dune structure to north of the village where erosion is causing severe problems.
“In fairness to the local authorities they’re doing a fantastic job as it is. Robert Lindsay and his crew are brilliant at managing the sea front so if they think it’s going to be dangerous they’ ll close off the road.
“But I do think there is a lot more that could be done going to the north side of Strandhill, the dune system has been eroded significantly over the last ten years and I do think there should be an action plan put in place.”