A new Swords Woodland Association has been set up to make people aware of the wonderful natural amenities that Swords and its surroundings has to offer.
The idea of a Swords Woodland Association is the brainchild of local councillor, Joe Newman (NP) and he told the County Leader that the idea is gaining momentum, with support from some of his colleagues in the County Council.
He told the County Leader,
“There are huge opportunities for the whole development of urban woodland and fishing and to encourage tourism. This will be a great benefit for the health and wellbeing of the people. This group has come about because of the great resistance to the development at Knocksedan and I believe that this group will be to the fore in representing the community of Swords and it comes at just the right time to ensure that we don’t have urban sprawl, without considering the environment and eco systems and we hope to be a great asset to the County Council in this respect.”
Committee member, Edward Stevenson, who lives in Lusk was very enthusiastic about the idea said,
“I’m very familiar with the recreational facilities that are here with the park and valley, and the Woodland Association is going to try and guarantee that there will be a green belt and that it will be planned and integrated into the housing development as Swords grows in the coming decades. Education and information is very important to the success of the project.”
Fellow member, John Drinane echoed this when he said,
“I’ve been campaigning with the Council for different aspects of the environment over the past number of years and, being from the country myself, I appreciate green areas and having them accessible in your immediate area. For that reason alone, I’m interested in what the Woodland Association is setting out to do. It will only work if we have joined up thinking on it and keeping every stakeholder involved and informed. This is all about wellbeing.”
Another supporter, Ken Doyle said,
“I think the public will get behind us, when they learn all about climate change and why we need to pursue this. While we need houses, we have plans for many houses and an urban forest is needed to counteract this. After all, Swords is growing rapidly and we need our woodlands,”
Cllr Duncan Smith (Lab) is one of the councillors in favour of the association said,
“I am chairperson of the Usher’s Lake Angling Association in Swords and we are progressing with developing the lake, which is located in a beautiful woodland setting into a major amenity. We are hoping to link up with the Woodland Association to expand the public amenities in Swords and we want to see our woodlands protected and grow”.
Pictured are members of the newly formed Swords Woodland Association at Swords Town Park, Ronan Lynch, Gerry White, Ken Doyle, Cllr Duncan Smith, Cllr Joe Newman, Rita O’Sullivan, Jim Malone, Edward Stevenson and John Drinane
