Public consultation launched on proposal to deal with Wicklow dump that is getting washed into Irish Sea

Wicklow Sinn Féin TD John Brady has welcomed the public consultation process that has commenced by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council on plans to address the Old Bray landfill on the North Beach in Bray that is being washed into the sea. The consultation process is taking place prior to the detailed design and construction of the coastal protection project.

Welcoming the consultation process Teachta Brady said “I’m delighted that after campaigning for the last 13 years to get a resolution to the serious environmental problem at the old landfill at North Beach in Bray, things are now progressing. Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has opened a consultation process which is taking place prior to the detailed design and construction of the coastal protection project. The council has chosen a preferred option and this is now on public display.”

“The old dump contains more than 104,000 cubic metres of waste including, broken asbestos tiles, and excessive levels of ammoniacal nitrogen, potassium and manganese. Due to coastal erosion the old landfill has been getting washed into the Irish Sea, causing an environmental disaster.”

“The proposed work consists of the placing of an armourstone revetment at the toe of the cliff at the landfill and stabilising the cliff face above by re-grading to a long term stable slope. The work will prevent contaminated material reaching the foreshore. It is proposed to maintain beach access by means of a path along the cliff top and a set of access steps down through the revetment at the northern end.

Bray Sinn Féin representative Grace McManus said “Addressing the environmental disaster at the old Bray landfill has been a priority for Sinn Féin for many years. It’s a huge achievement to get plans to address the erosion at the dump to this advanced stage. The public consultation process is open until December 14th and people can view the proposals on the website for Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/infrastructure-climate-change/coastal-protection-measures-at-the-former-bray-lan/. It’s critical that once the plans are approved that work commences as quickly as possible.”

Teachta Brady concluded “It’s been a long process to get to this stage. We need to finally close the destructive environmental chapter. I will continue to lobby the Minister to ensure that the funding is in place to allow the work proceed without delay once the plan is approved. “Ends