Bray Head golf course to blend with landscape, hearing told

Although a significant number of golf clubs exist on Howth Head, they are being developed without excessive damage to the visual amenity of the area, a planning hearing in Bray, Co Wicklow, was told yesterday.

In the second day of the hearing into Wicklow County Council's permission for an 18-hole golf club on Bray Head, a number of experts gave evidence for the developers, Frenchpark Financial Services.

Frenchpark Financial Services is controlled by a local builder, Mr Eddie O'Dwyer, who plans to develop the Bray Head golf course and swap it for Bray Golf Club's existing 53-acre site in Bray town centre, in a move that has been estimated to be worth about £50 million. Mr Paul Keane, of Landart Horticultural Services, compared the development at Bray Head to golf courses on Howth Head, which he said were difficult to distinguish from other land uses from a distance. It had been decided, he said, that the Bray Head course would not have trees planted above certain contour lines, in order to preserve the open nature of the head.

Golf course architect Mr Declan Brannigan said he and another designer, Mr Des Smyth, would create a course that would protect the existing woodland on the site and enhance it if necessary. Development of the course would take six months, with a further six to nine months for the new planting to "grow in". A traffic expert, Mr Michael McNicholas, claimed that the average peak use of the golf club would involve 60 vehicles per hour, which he expected to be concentrated on a Saturday morning and not on weekdays. The proposed entrance on to the Bray-Greystones road was, in his opinion, safe.

The captain of Bray Golf Club, Mr Paddy McLoughlin, told the hearing that it was important to have the clubhouse and access road in the middle of the site, as older members would be able to play nine holes in either direction and finish at the clubhouse. Barrister Mr Eamon Galligan said a small portion of the site had received draft designation as a Special Area of Conservation, but Duchas had "indicated its satisfaction with the proposed development". Mr Galligan also said that a report by the ecologist, Mr Roger Goodwillie, showed that there were no vulnerable species of flora or fauna listed in the red data book.

Councillor Michael Lawlor (FF) said that Bray Urban District Council had unanimously voted to rezone Bray Golf Club's existing lands, and 23 of the 24 members of Wicklow County Council had voted in favour of a material contravention to allow the new golf course to be developed. The golf club proposal was also supported by Mr Tim Healy, of Bray Emmets GAA Club, which is to be provided with grounds on the existing golf club site. Mr Healy said the deal was vital for social and recreational facilities in the town.