Campaigners have been granted leave to seek a judicial review of the decision to approve the controversial €20m flood defence project in the Blackpool area of Cork City.
The Save Our Bride Otters (SOBO) group, which is opposed to the proposed culverting of a 350m stretch of the river Bride as part of the plan, was granted leave on all seven grounds, with a date set in October for the exchange of documents.
The judicial review was sought on several grounds, including what SOBO claims are the inadequacies of the Arterial Drainage Act on which the decision is based, alleged failures by the Office of Public Works (OPW) to consult properly and alleged failure to safeguard existing habitats for a variety of species, including otters, as required by a variety of EU directives.
The group, which is fundraising to fund its legal challenge, welcomed the court decision.
“The River Bride has a place in Blackpool’s past and, hopefully, its future too,” it said in a statement.
“To cover it over and effectively sterilise a large section of the river is not a modern solution to flooding.”
‘Less destructive options’
SOBO spokesman Chris Moody said Blackpool’s flooding issues can be solved by exploring far less destructive options.
“The OPW have already identified upstream storage as a viable solution to protect Blackpool from flooding,” he said.
“It is our sincere belief that the OPW are progressing with an option that is both uneconomic and vulnerable to a successful legal challenge due to the environmental destruction it will entail, particularly when they have effectively admitted in their own option report that less costly and more environmentally friendly alternatives exist.”
And a day after OPW minister Patrick O’Donovan visited Blackpool and warned that the greatest impact of any delay to the scheme would be felt by residents and businesses at risk of flooding, Mr Moody said SOBO does not want to add to their hardship.
“We believe that the emergency flood measures implemented by Cork City Council after flooding in 2012/13, which involved the removal of a number of blockage hazards implicated in flooding, has greatly reduced flood risk in the village,” he said.
Article originally appeared on the Irish examiner.
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