Bord Pleanála to rule on Brackloon Wood access closure

Anton McNulty

Keep Ireland Open have referred the closure of an access to Brackloon Wood to An Bord PleanΡla to decide whether it should be considered development under the planning act.
The entrance to the wood is located just off the N59, approximately 7km from Westport on the Leenane Road. The entrance, which is located beside a private house, was sealed off  and has been closed since late last year, preventing the public from accessing the wood.
The 4km public trail through the Coillte-owned woodland is popular among tourists and locals alike. The closed entrance, which is marked on a map advertising the trail on a Coillte website, is one of two entrances to the wood and trail.
Keep Ireland Open recently referred the matter to An Bord PleanΡla after Mayo County Council said that due to the minimal nature of the work, they did not consider the closure to be development under the Planning and Development Act.
A spokesperson for Keep Ireland Open explained that the organisation does not agree with the county council’s assessment.
“Brackloon Wood is a great amenity and tourist attraction, and we don’t agree that one of the entrances should be closed off. We are happy that the matter has now been referred to An Bord PleanΡla, and they will decide on it. We hope the result will allow the public to continue to have access to the wood at that location,” the spokesperson said.
Keep Ireland Open also feels that a proposal to open a new entrance to the wood would result in the felling of trees and would not be appropriate.
Brackloon Wood lies along the Owenwee River and consists of 74 hectares of native oak and is classified as a semi-natural Atlantic oak woodland. Some of the oaks date back over 200 years. Coillte felled the  coniferous trees planted under the oak canopy in the 1960s as part of the restoration process.
In place of the non-native conifers, Coillte planted oaks and other native trees raised from local seedstock. Brackloon Wood is also home to wood sorrel, hard fern, bilberry and an extremely rare orchid, the narrow-leaved helleborine (Cephalanthera longifolia). Extinct already in Northern Ireland, the orchid is protected under the 1999 Flora Protection Order in the Republic of Ireland. Animals common to the area include badgers, foxes and pine martens.
An Bord PleanΡla is due to make their decision by the end of July.