Extension of Carlow Northern Relief Road,
Graiguecullen, Carlow
Option 3
Environmental study - flora and fauna
Report for Laois County Council
July 2012
Roger Goodwillie & Associates, Lavistown House, Kilkenny. Tel. 056-7765145
1. INTRODUCTION
This report is written for the Roads Design Office of Laois County Council to
describe the ecology of the Option 3 route proposed for an extension of the Carlow
Northern Relief Road and assess the impact and implications for the nearby cSAC. It
results from a request from Mr John Beggan, Laois County Council.
The site was visited in June 2012 by Roger Goodwillie MIEEM.
The report is written in a form consistent with the NPWS guidelines (DoEHLG 2009)
so that an appropriate assessment may be undertaken by the relevant authority. It
begins with a short description of the site from north to south using the habitat types
of Fossitt (2000).
2. DESCRIPTION OF ROUTE
2.1 Physical setting
The route springs directly from the roundabout on the Portlaoise road (R430) and runs
south and then SSE to join the Numbers Road east of Laurel Lodge and west of a
former farm and house – Fruithill Cottage. Substantial clearance has taken place of
hedges and old buildings so the southern hedge along Number Road is augmented by
stone and concrete bulldozed from nearby to give the maximum area for tillage.
The route is at first parallel to a stream (Monure Stream) and 80-100m away but
swings away from it to the south.
2.2 Vegetation & Habitats
The route is split between recolonising bare ground (ED3 in Fossitt 2000) and arable
crops (BC1) with hedgerows (WL1) at the southern end. The bare ground is derived
from building land where drains and roadways began to be put in but were then
abandoned. Piles of topsoil occur in places but in general the ground is firm and
almost covered by a vegetation which is developing into grassland. The grasses
include rough-stalked meadowgrass Poa trivialis, Yorkshire fog Holcus lanatus and
creeping bent Agrostis stolonifera but more prominent (because of grazing) are
Ranunculus repens
R.acris
Trifolium repens
Carex flacca
C.hirta
Odontites vernus
creeping buttercup
meadow buttercup
white clover
glaucous sedge
hairy sedge
red bartsia
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Plantago major
Senecio jacobaea
Potentilla reptans
Bellis perennis
Trifolium dubium
Juncus inflexus
greater plantain
ragwort
cinquefoil
daisy
yellow trefoil
hard rush
In slightly damper places, whether depressions or compacted ground, amphibious
bistort Persicaria amphibia, fleabane Pulicaria dysenterica and a little moss
Calliergonella cuspidatum appear. There are also one or two plants of brookweed
Samolus valerandi in wet vehicle tracks.
This area is closely grazed by horses and is divided from the turnip field to the south
by a fence and track of hardcore. Beaked hawksbeard Crepis vesicaria, the
willowherbs Epilobium parviflorum and E.ciliatum and nipplewort Lapsana
communis are prominent here.
The arable field contains few weed species in general though in some of the corners a
variety of common plants occurs, e.g.
Veronica persica
Brassica rapa
Elytrigia repens
Chenopodium album
Polygonum aviculare
Euphorbia helioscopia
Lamium purpureum
field speedwell
wild turnip
scutch
white goosefoot
knotgrass
sun spurge
red deadnettle
Along the southern edge the hedge has been made broader by piled up stone and
concrete, partly from demolished farm buildings nearby. A weedy growth of tall
species or scrambling species is covering this, especially
Calystegia silvatica
Rumex obtusifolius
Stachys sylvatica
Dactylis glomerata
Geranium robertianum
Armoracia rusticana
large bindweed
broad-leaved dock
hedge woundwort
cocksfoot
herb robert
horseradish
The alignment ends with a large ash tree Fraxinus excelsior on the Numbers Road.
Elsewhere along this road there are thick hedges with, on the northern side, abundant
bindweed. As it leaves the built-up area of Carlow there are three large horse chestnut
Aesculus hippocastanum opposite the entrance to a well-wooded house on the
southern side which itself has an impressive oak tree with two trunks. In 2012 this tree
did not appear to be in good health although this could have been because of the late
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frost in May. This property has many trees in a landscaped setting and is probably
used by bats as a feeding area. It is matched on the northern side by two beech trees
Fagus sylvatica behind a wall at the eastern edge of the former farm (Fruithill
Cottage).
The western end of the property on the southern side is marked by a poplar Populus
sp and cypress Cupressocyparis leylandii with traveller's joy Clematis vitalba in the
hedge. They occur opposite the former garden of Fruithill Cottage which includes a
planted false locust tree Robinia pseudoacacia as well as sumac Rhus typhina and
laurel Prunus laurocerasus. To the west here the road is bordered by well-grown
hedges of hazel Corylus avellana, ash and spindle Euonymus europeaea with some
blackthorn Prunus spinosa and wild rose Rosa canina on the northern side. Three
good ash trees grow here where there is also greater stitchwort Stellaria holostea and
grey sedge Carex divulsa at the base. At the western end of this section a field border
runs at right angles to the road, the apparent edge of Laurel Lodge.
2.3 Fauna
No animals of interest were seen on this route; the stream on the west (Monure
Stream) is too small for otters and, while fox and badger probably occur, there were
no earths or setts on the proposed alignment. Some rabbits do have burrows on the
northern side of the Numbers Road.
The birds seen were closely related to habitat. A large flock of woodpigeon was
grazing on the turnip crop while a single pheasant was disturbed close to the stream.
A yellowhammer occurred in the hedge on the Numbers Road where blue tit, robin,
blackbird and song thrush were also seen
2.4 Evaluation
The habitats on the proposed alignment have no special value in an ecological sense.
They resemble those on the outskirts of many towns where new building and
agriculture meet and support very common species of plant and animal. The stream to
the west is considerably richer in biodiversity.
The hedges on Numbers Road are relatively species-rich and if a choice has to be
made the southern one should be retained in preference to the northern.
3. APPROPRIATE ASSESSMENT
3.1 Introduction
Appropriate assessment was introduced by the EU Habitats Directive as a way of
determining during the planning process whether a project is likely to have a
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significant effect on one of the Natura 2000 sites so far designated (i.e. the candidate
SAC’s and SPA’s), or their conservation objectives. In this case the site is the River
Barrow and River Nore cSAC (Site Code 2162), a river system of European interest
for the number of rare habitats and species it supports.
Article 6(3) states
Any plan or project not directly connected with or necessary to the management of the
site but likely to have a significant effect thereon, either individually or in
combination with other plans or projects, shall be subject to appropriate assessment
of its implications for the site in view of the site’s conservation objectives….
In the Irish context this has been interpreted as a four stage process. Firstly a
screening exercise (Stage 1) determines if a project could have significant effects on a
Natura site. The project should be screened without the inclusion of special mitigation
measures unless potential impacts can clearly be avoided through design (or redesign). If impacts are identified or the situation is unclear a Natura Impact Statement
(Stage 2) is provided to the planning or regulatory authority which then conducts an
Assessment of the information supplied. Examples of significant effects are loss of
habitat area, fragmentation of the habitat, disturbance to species using the site and
changes in water resources or quality. If such negative effects come to light in the
assessment, alternative solutions are investigated by the proponent (Stage 3) and
modifications made unless the project is deemed to be driven by ‘imperative reasons
of overriding public interest’ in its current form. Stage 4 then deals with
compensatory action.
3.2 Project description
The road is planned as a full width, single carriageway on the same scale as the rest of
the Northern Carlow relief road.
Settlement features will be incorporated in the construction design so that all waters
discharged to the Monure stream from nearby works will be clear of sediment.
All diesel in the works area will be stored in fully bunded tanks and there will be no
fuelling of machinery in the vicinity of the stream.
Road drainage will be towards the south and an oil interceptor or swale (grass-covered
channel) will be incorporated in the final design of the system before discharge to the
Monure Stream.
3.3 Natura site – River Barrow & River Nore cSAC
The site synopsis (see below) lists the qualifying interests of the River Barrow and
River Nore site in terms of the Annex I habitats and Annex II species listed in the EU
Habitats Directive. The habitats are alluvial wet woodlands and petrifying springs
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(both priority habitats), old oak woodlands, floating river vegetation, estuary, tidal
mudflats, Salicornia mudflats, Atlantic salt meadows, Mediterranean salt meadows,
dry heath and eutrophic tall herbs. The species are sea lamprey, river lamprey, brook
lamprey, freshwater pearl mussel, Nore freshwater pearl mussel, freshwater crayfish,
Twaite shad, Atlantic salmon, otter, the snail Vertigo moulinsiana and the plant
Killarney Fern.
The qualifying interests of the SAC have been brought together recently by NPWS
(2011), along with supporting survey information and conservation objectives. These
interests are
1016 Desmoulin's whorl snail Vertigo moulinsiana
1029 Freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera margaritifera
1092 White-clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes
1095 Sea lamprey Petromyzon marinus
1096 Brook lamprey Lampetra planeri
1099 River lamprey Lampetra fluviatilis
1103 Twaite shad Alosa fallax
1106 Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar) (only in fresh water)
1130 Estuaries
1140 Mudflats and sandflats not covered by seawater at low tide
1310 Salicornia and other annuals colonizing mud and sand
1330 Atlantic salt meadows (Glauco-Puccinellietalia maritimae)
1355 Otter Lutra lutra
1410 Mediterranean salt meadows (Juncetalia maritimi)
1421 Killarney fern Trichomanes speciosum
1990 Nore freshwater pearl mussel Margaritifera durrovensis
3260 Water courses of plain to montane levels with the Ranunculion fluitantis and
Callitricho-Batrachion vegetation
4030 European dry heaths
6430 Hydrophilous tall herb fringe communities of plains and of the montane to
alpine levels
7220 * Petrifying springs with tufa formation (Cratoneurion)
91A0 Old sessile oak woods with Ilex and Blechnum in the British Isles
91E0 * Alluvial forests with Alnus glutinosa and Fraxinus excelsior (Alno‐ Padion,
Alnion incanae, Salicion albae)
* indicates priority habitat
19 July 2011 Version 1.0 Page 3 of 39
3.4 Conservation objectives
Each of the above interests has conservation objectives listed in NPWS (2011).
Broadly these may be expressed as follows:
1.
To maintain the Annex I habitats for which the cSAC has been selected at
favourable conservation status
2.
To maintain the Annex II species for which the SAC has been selected at
favourable conservation status.
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The favourable conservation status of a habitat is achieved when:
 its natural range, and area it covers within that range, are stable or
increasing
 the specific structure and functions which are necessary for its longterm
 maintenance exist and are likely to continue to exist for the foreseeable
future
 the conservation status of its typical species is favourable.
The favourable conservation status of a species is achieved when:
 population dynamics data on the species concerned indicate that it is
maintaining itself on a long-term basis as a viable component of its
natural habitats
 the natural range of the species is neither being reduced nor is likely to
be reduced for the foreseeable future
 there is, and will probably continue to be, a sufficiently large habitat to
maintain its populations on a long-term basis.
3.5. Likely effects & mitigation
The proposed site is equidistant (at 500m) between two branches of the cSAC, one
following the main channel and the other the Fushoge River tributary. The only
ecological connection with the designated area however would be through the Monure
Stream to the west of the alignment and this would give a water distance of about
2.8km to the Barrow. The relevant ‘qualifying interests’ in the Barrow at the point of
inflow of the Monure Stream are freshwater crayfish, river and brook lamprey, otter
and Atlantic salmon. All live in the main river and move along it to upstream areas.
There is no evidence that they penetrate up the Monure stream to any extent.
Therefore an impact from the proposals would have to be mediated through the stream
water, i.e. be either suspended solids or chemical/oil inputs. Both risks can be
eliminated by careful design of construction and operation methods. The distance of
the alignment from the stream adds to the security of the stream ecosystem during
construction.
It may be added that there are no particularly sensitive organisms spawning in the
Barrow at the point of inflow. The main channel does not support breeding salmonids
or lampreys (King 2006) and is required by these fish only to migrate to other streams
higher up the catchment.
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4. CONCLUSION
The project will have no significant effect on the River Barrow & River Nore cSAC
or its conservation objectives provided that the mitigation measures are successful.
This applies to the project alone or in combination with others.
On this basis there is no requirement for a Stage 2 assessment (Natura Impact
Statement).
References
Dept of Environment, Heritage and Local Government (2009). Appropriate
assessment of plans and projects in Ireland: guidance for planning authorities.
Dublin.
Fossitt, J.A. 2000 A guide to habitats in Ireland. Heritage Council.
King, J.J. (2006) The status and distribution of lamprey in the River Barrow SAC.
Irish Wildlife Manuals No. 21. National Parks and Wildlife Service, Department of
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dublin, Ireland.
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