A Letter from the Chair

 

Philip Geoghegan, Chairman, Wicklow Uplands Council.

 

 

As I cruise through the last few weeks of chairmanship, I might have engaged in an end-of-term blast. The reality is that I don’t have anything to blast about… I am as proud as anyone of the role and achievements of the Wicklow Uplands Council.

We took stock in many different ways as the recession played out its painful course; over the period there was a belt-tightening prudence in our approach to everything. And we came through in good shape.

 

 

Navigating the recession

With funding reduced, we kept safely afloat. We chose not to take on a consultant to tell us how to navigate into the future, instead we put our faith in ourselves as a broadly based Council and worked through a well-managed programme to agree a three-year strategy. It was a transparent process; nothing was taken away and those proposals which did not meet everyone’s personal preference were listed as an appendix to the report, allowing for anyone to trace the origins of the strategy.

 

 

Post-recession Dynamic Progress of Council

Proactive

Working through consensus, the pace and breadth of the work programme may not always be fully effective. Prioritised Issues tend to be reactive, based on perceived weakness or deficiency in the uplands. In reality our main activities in the last three years have been proactive, for example:

• pressing for a new management deal for uplands farmers;
• The evolution of an ambitious project to connect Bray to Rathdrum and Laragh with a cycleway and walking trail.

Both programmes have benefitted from sub-committee delegation, with expert support from our managers, Cara and Dorothy.

 

Reactive

Sometimes we have to be reactive, when issues arise of major concern to the uplands, for example;

• The possible privatisation of Coillte. Members acted inclusively on behalf of communities of interest, clearly demonstrating the interconnectedness of issues, integral to the living heritage of the uplands.
• The planning application for wind turbines in the Tinahealy/ Aughrim area presented an issue with likely ramifications throughout the uplands and we made a powerful environmental and social argument against them.
• We criticised Eirgrid proposals for power lines. Whilst confining our interest to the uplands, we focussed on the environmental threat to tourism and local enjoyment of special places.

 

 

Part of the Heritage Council family

The description of the Heritage Council of our role for their 20th anniversary is as an essential part of a community-based heritage infrastructure. They list six key projects showing our continuing “investment and support of 10 Irish Uplands Partnerships building on the success of the Wicklow Uplands Council.” We are seen to be an integral part of the family of the Heritage Council. We shall try looking into the future, built on a secure and constructive past.

Author: Philip Geoghegan, Chairman, Wicklow Uplands Council.