Planning sought for re-wetting of lands in Carndonagh

The Barrack Hill Town Park steering committee BHTPSC in Carndonagh is seeking planning permission to develop a wetland area. 

Chairperson Carmel Doherty, on behalf of the BHTPSC, has applied to construct the wetlands area with an off-road nature walk and cycleway loop adjacent to the Ballywilly Brook just off the Ballyloskey Road. It is hoped that future trails could incorporate the park and wetland, connecting different areas and communities across the town and attracting additional visitors.

The proposed wetland area will also be partially adjacent to 21 homes under construction in Barrack Hill by Donegal County Council. There will be an access road into the new housing estate, and the wetland trail will commence close to the start of this access road. 

The wetland area will consist of three shallow wetland ponds with water swales. Permission is also being sought for ground contouring and excavation, which involve fundamental earthmoving practices used in construction and landscaping to reshape the land's surface and prepare it for re-wetting

Also listed in the application is additional native vegetation planting and seeding for wildflower areas. A nature trail path of stone construction along the Brook and around the wetland ponds is also proposed. 

Other details proposed in the planning application include a short boardwalk across the created pond and wetland area, a bird hide, one Interpretation panel, and a lectern to provide information signage for visitors, perimeter fencing around the ponds and all associated site works and ancillary development.

The wetland will be accessible through a gate close to one of the ponds and will only be accessible during guided tours and school excursions. The nature Trail will take visitors around the wetlands, and no access to the ponds will be permitted without authorised personnel and only with supervision. This is to ensure the safety of the public, particularly children, and to create an undisturbed area for wildlife to establish. 

The idea behind the project occurred after an urban wetlands area was recommended by the Biodiversity Action Plan, which resulted from the biodiversity audit commissioned by ECO Carn, of which the BHTPSC is a member.

For a period of time, BHTPSC had sought funding for the project, but in 2023, funding was received from the Local Authority Waters Programme (LAWPRO). Since then, the BHTPSC commissioned the Inishowen Rivers Trust to examine the feasibility of creating the wetland on a greenfield site owned by Donegal County Council.  

In the application to LAWPRO, the BHTPSC outlined that their primary aims for the facility would be to help address the issue of flooding of the Millbrae through using nature-based solutions and improve the water quality of the Ballywilly Brook. They are also hoping to protect and enhance the biodiversity of the area, to provide an aesthetic community amenity, and to provide varied habitats rich in biodiversity for primary and post-primary students to investigate, instead of travelling long distances to carry out these projects.

“The committee wishes to provide access to the river for enjoyment, but also for water monitoring. We want the area to be an educational resource for the community but also for tourists, which therefore requires environmentally friendly, long-lasting signage,” BHTPSC stated in their application to LAWPRO.

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The planning application also contained a letter from Donegal County Council stating that they had no objection in principle to the use of the Council-owned lands to construct a wetland area. 

Submissions on the development can be made on the application until September 10, with a decision due during the first week in October.