7.12.7 Peatlands
EC P17
Support the preparation of a comprehensive “after use” framework plan for the industrial peatlands and associated workshops, office buildings, industrial sites and power stations in Kildare, acknowledging the significant contribution that these expansive lands make towards the special landscape of the Bog of Allen including the creation of a National Peatlands Park, being a focal point for the environmental landscape, conservation and amenity.
EC O53
Support the implementation of the recommendations contained in the National Peatlands Strategy 2015 and any subsequent revisions including the creation of a National Peatlands Park and Peatland Centre of Excellence.
County Kildare has huge potential in conservation and biodiversity and the end of industrial extraction puts forward a new agenda in terms of economic sustainability, County Kildare should seize the oportunity to engage with stakeholders and develop a new Peatland Centre of Excellence as set out in the National Peatland Strategy. The County already has many environmental educational facilities which could support this, such as the Bog of Allen Nature Centre and Lullymore Heritage and Discovery Centre but this needs to be first realised in policy and joined up thinking.