Craggagh locals lodge objection to Department of Agriculture over controversial forestry plans

A community group objecting to forestry proposals in their area have vowed to campaign for a ban on sitka spruce trees if their objection is unsuccessful.

‘Save Craggagh has lodged an objection to 14.6-hectare sitka spruce forest in Craggagh.

The community, which is located between Balla and Kiltimagh, has expressed concerns over the development’s potential impacts on farming, scenery, housing and the environment.

Woodland Invest, a French investment company, intends to sew primarily non-native sitka spruce – which is used to manufacture pallets and chippings.

A public meeting on the matter organised by the Rural Ireland Organisation which took place in Balla last Monday drew a crowd of over 100.

Gerry Conroy, a resident of Craggagh and a member of Save Craggagh, described the issue as ‘a dark cloud over our area’.

“We have a school and a community centre beside us, the school is struggling enough to keep numbers as it is. If we don’t continue to have young farmers farming in the area the farmlands is going to get planted, people will move out, and there’ll be no young families and we’ll have a community with one or two houses left,” Mr Conroy told The Mayo News yesterday.

“You won’t even have a bird singing. It will kill off all of the biodiversity in the place.”

The proposed development is divided up into 12 different parcels, the largest of which is 5.39 hectares.

The Department of Agriculture must screen each piece of ‘uncultivated land or semi-natural area’ that is designated for intensive agriculture.

The land was historically owned by the Begley family.

Before being acquired by Woodland Invest, the land was owned by Greenbelt, who planted some of the area.

Mr Conroy estimated that approximately 50 percent of Craggagh is covered by forestry at present.

“If we plant all the land in our area, well we’ll have no farmers. Farmers keep small towns going. They have done, historically, because the farmer is going to town every other day buying stuff, so he’ll keep every little shop in the place going.”

Regarding Save Craggagh’s proposal to have sitka spruce banned in Ireland, Mr Conroy claimed these trees could have a detrimental impact on biodiversity and on local water bodies.

“You’d just see it just spread and it takes over the place. Then when it’s harvested in 30 years’ time it’s like a bombsite in Ukraine or Gaza. It looks devastating altogether,” he said.

Mr Conroy also took aim at the government’s forestry policy, which he said was incentivising ‘vulture funds’ to purchase large tracts of land.

“We are asking if the government could look at alternative farming methods for the local farmers and incentivise that with tax breaks and with grants as well and help the young farmers buy land and keep the economics of rural Ireland turning over rather than just mass planting for the benefit of pension funds.”

The matter has already been raised in the Dáil by Mayo Fine Gael TD Alan Dillon.

Local councillor Donna Sheridan told The Mayo News that there was ‘absolutely nothing’ county councillors could do about the application, which was made to the Department of Agriculture. 

“It is very frustrating when you see how difficult it can be for people to get once-off rural planning in Craggagh, but this plantation can happen with no, from what I can see as no public consultation, or very little,” said the Fine Gael representative.

Local election candidate Harry Barrett (Independent) has called for the development to be halted altogether.

Meanwhile, Aontú’s Paul Lawless has written to Minister for Agriculture, Charlie McConalogue, and Pippa Hackett, Minister of State in the Department of Agriculture to meet with Save Craggagh regarding the issue.