AMAZON has claimed that plans for a transatlantic cable project in the Castlefreke area are ‘unlikely’ to affect the Special Area of Conservation (sac) at Long Strand, despite it being included in the company’s licence application form.
Social Democrats Cllr Isobel Towse met with members of the Amazon team responsible for the proposed cable last week to raise concerns expressed by the local community at potential damage to the environment.
Cllr Towse said Amazon identified Castlefreke as a site for the project as ‘they believed it was possible to navigate around major fishing grounds, shipping routes, offshore wind, fish nurseries, and has the appropriate geology and onshore networks.’
‘I outlined very strong resistance to any development on the sac on Long Strand and concerns for the maritime life in the area,’ Cllr Towse continued.
‘There are three sections of beach included in the survey area – the western side of Owennahincha, the carpark side of Owennahincha, and Long Strand sac. The Amazon team indicated that due to regulations, they were required to identify a 500m long stretch of the coast line for the survey licence. Due to this requirement the sac was included, but they indicated that Amazon are highly unlikely to consider Long Strand as a possible site going forward.’
‘The current proposal is for survey works only, which would likely include one day of onshore works including GPS readings, topographic surveys, various probes into the sand.
‘As well as two to three days of inshore survey on a local fishing boat using sonar imaging and taking small samples of the sediment on the sea bed.
‘We were told the most intrusive survey work would possibly involve trial pits/a digger digging a hole at a beach, and registered our concerns at this possibility but were told this would be extremely unlikely.’
Despite Amazon stating in the application that ‘consultation with the local community is ongoing’, local environmental groups like Castlefreke Our Woods Our Walks (Cowow) have said there has been a lack of information and communication to date.
This was a point that Cllr Towse made at the meeting.
‘I encouraged Amazon to reach out to local community groups, businesses and local residents through public meetings or other forums about this project, which they were very receptive to,’ she said.
If planning permission is granted, work on the cable itself will not start until 2027.
‘This would require a small telecoms manhole at existing infrastructure close to the beach and a 3-4cm wide cable which would be fed under the beach with minimal disturbance and no disruption to the dunes,’ said Cllr Towse.
‘Work offshore would involve burying the cable 1.5m deep into the sediment on the seabed in a shallow trench roughly half a foot wide.’
Cllr Towse has appealed to members of the public to make a concentrated submission on the issue of the SAC needing to remain intact and to insist that survey works must be non-intrusive.
A public meeting, which will be co-hosted by COWOW, Cllr Towse and newly-appointed biodiversity minister Christopher O’Sullivan, will take place on Thursday February 6th at 7pm in the Celtic Ross Hotel in Rosscarbery.
