A post on the weekend's fire at Ringaskiddy, leading to a more general strategic note on Cobh:

At today's meeting of Cork County Council, a discussion was had on Saturday's fire at the R & H grain store, Ringaskiddy.

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This, and similar incidents like it in the industrial areas of the harbour, would of course be of concern to anyone living in the area, including Cobh. As Cllr Marcia D'Alton pointed out, prevailing winds would generally be from Ringaskiddy to Cobh (not the case on Sat.).

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We have received good ongoing communication from Cork County Council on the matter - fire crews remained on site throughout last night to ensure that the blaze was brought completely under control.

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The nature of the fire meant that, whilst there was a huge spike in particulate matter and sulphur dioxide over the w/end (recorded in Cobh), no hazardous materials in addition to thebasic risk associated with smoke (albeit serious in itself) are thought to be involved.

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Cork County Council's major emergency plan, updated last December, can be found at: https://www.corkcoco.ie/.../cork-county-council-major...
Cllrs Sheppard and Rasmussen spoke well on the issue, though it is of course something all local councillors would be concerned about.

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Cork County Council have an emergency planning system in place, the response on Saturday was very good, and thanks are due to all involved, especially to the crews who responded from all over the county.

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Beyond the immediate event, and existing measures, the question was raised, initially by Cllr Séamus McGrath, about whether more detailed local area emergency planning might be considered, and whether council might look at if and how comms might be improved as well.

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This will all be assessed, and reports issued. I'm writing all this, not just as a report on what was discussed at today's meeting, but to air some of the complex issues which must be considered in relation to the harbour and Cobh.

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Although unlikely to transpire, all responses in the event of a major emergency affecting the island must be considered, incl. evacuation. There was, as many will be aware, an accident on Belvelly Bridge today, and the road was blocked (no one was hurt, thankfully).

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This particular issue, that of the bridge, has relevance for everyday life of course, not just extreme events. In relation to Belvelly Bridge, Cork County Council are exploring two options:

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1. Engaging a study on what might be done to the existing structure (e.g. could the footpath be relocated to the other side of the wall, with a new structure, in order to create a little more space for the carriageway).

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2. Exploring the feasibility of completely overhauling the entire road.

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A new bridge might solve an immediate capacity issue, but if everyone continues to drive, and the population continues to rise, then this will result in inevitable bottlenecks further along, leading to a demand for more road-space, etc.

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Ultimately, our towns and cities do not have the capacity to create much more (if any) new road space for continued car dominance. The topography of Cobh as well leads to similar space issues. It is the essence of unsustainability.

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For a given width of carriageway, e.g. 3.5 metres about 2,000 people per hour can be moved by car, whereas public tranport can move thousands more ( https://nacto.org/.../introduc.../why/designing-move-people/).

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A new bridge would also have implications for the historic vista, if it is located near to Belvelly Castle, and environmentally, as it would have to traverse the harbours two, overlapping Natura protected sites.

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Anyway, I have digressed a lot in this post, which has been a little less concise than I usually do. These are complex issues to wrestle with, but they are certainly on the radar of council officials and councillors.

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I'd be interested to hear what people think ...with respect to more formal public consultation issues, the draft document for the new county development plan, to come into effect in 2022, is scheduled for publication in February.

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I will let it be known when that consultation is open. The plan is the overall guidance document for the development of the county. What kind of houses, where those houses should be, what kind of transport there should be, how we should consider the environment, etc.

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P.S. Returning to air quality for those who are not aware, there are two air quality monitoring stations on Cobh. Their data, and a background to interpreting that data, can be accessed at the following addresses:

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Carrig House station (aka 'Cork Harbour'):
http://www.epa.ie/air/quality/data/cch/
Carrignafoy station:
https://www.epa.ie/air/quality/data/CLC/

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