While this CDP is a welcome improvement on past CDPs, given that Wicklow County Council declared a Climate and Biodiversity Emergency, the expectation was that the County Development Plan would reflect this. It falls far short of doing so. These are the biggest issues and threats in human history and a County Development Plan that reflects this is not just a requirement but a moral imperative.
Experts across the globe recognise that the collapse of biodiversity (which is now being accelerated by Climate Change) is going to have even more drastic consequences in a quicker timeframe than Climate Change. Ireland and Wicklow are equally being impacted by these issues. In the past many organisations, groups and individuals requested Wicklow County Council to take action to prevent what we are now seeing but were ignored. We are now out of time, this is the last chance saloon and this County Development Plan must reflect the genuine urgency of where we are at.
We are now in survival mode ( and that is not over-exagerrating the situation). A business-as-usual, pre-scribed format, short-term document as this CDP is, is no longer acceptable on any level and lacks the imagination, vision, short, medium and long-term targets and goals written in definitive, clear and strong language required to meet the biggest threats in human history. Not to do so is imho morally reprehensible and criminally negligent.
Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability should be the overarching frameworks and guidelines for every aspect of this CDP and should guide and underly ever objective, goal and decision. That is not evident in this document. I recommend that all weak aspirational language such as the phrase “as far as practicable” and similar phrases which occur again and again throughout the plan are removed and replaced with clear, decisive, unambiguous language backed up with clearly defined key targets and timelines. The risk of not doing all that is possible to protect the citizens against Climate Change and Biodiversity Loss far exceeds all other challenges. Too often in the past the council have used aspirational language as a get out of jail card for not doing the right thing. That approach and behaviour is no longer acceptable and shows a complete lack of respect for this and future generations.
Please note I also support the submissions by Wicklow Planning Alliance and Delgany Tidy Towns