Reply To: Down With An Taisce!!!
In response to aland, I would rather not disclose fully my interest – if you read my Interests/Hobbies information on my profile, that will give you one indication of what I do. But it isn’t my professional entirety.
And in reply to vinnyfitz, I believe the ‘sin’ An Taisce is guilty of is not being ‘A Champion for a Quality Life’ – it’s slogan – but being the complete opposite. As par the small info I have provide in my 2nd last post, An Taisce in Cork certainly hasn’t objected to one or two projects (and don’t get me wrong I acknowledge the validity of some of their arguments), but they object to EVERY project (w/ the accepted exception of No.6 Lapps Quay) in Cork over the passed 3 years. Some on spurious, inappropriate grounds that all cause trouble – for the neighbouring residents, for developers, for planners, for prospective employees and so on. In fairness to ABP, I often find myself in more agreeance with their decisions than that of CCC (eg. overturning the decision on Kenny Group’s South Main Street proposal). I don’t believe in developers free-reign. If that was the case, eye-sores and half-arsed buildings would spring up everywhere – I appreciate conditioning – but An Taisce has objected everywhere!!! This does cause untold damage to the community quite often – I know, I actively involve myself in trying to rectify these situations at a voluntary level. I resent the fact, that An Taisce causes such seemingly malicious jeporadisation of these projects. For example, Water Street and Cornmarket Street are classic examples of An Taisce struggling to make a case against a project, they really have nothing to go on, so why do they object?
Though such poor cases may or may not affect the planning outcome, they do cause delay, angst and in one incident of note, a withdraw by developers costing hundreds of jobs at a site that had NO architectural note and had been zoned by planners for its proposed use. Like I said, I’m all for conservation, I often work for it, but at the rate of behaviour by An Taisce in Cork, it must be accepted to be intolerable. I further resent the fact that all this objection comes from within Cork, but by people that aren’t Corkonian, bar 1 or 2. A Champion for Quality of Life considers the best outcome for ALL people, and the city as a whole. Some of An Taisce’s ’causes’ are dangers to public safety, beyond ANY sort of repair, and in locations that cannot be utilised for anything other that simply standing there looking rotten. I will provide examples of these upon request.
I empathised with Diaspora’s difficult position, but understand, An Taisce has often put me in such hard-wearing positions.
