`Dynamic' visitor centres proposed for Wicklow

THE creation of "dynamic" visitor centres at various locations in the Wicklow Mountains is proposed in a study on the future of the area published yesterday by the Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht, Mr Higgins.

The study marks the final chapter in the controversy over the proposed interpretative centre at Luggala, the site of which is now to be restored to its original condition.

Building of the centre by the Office of Public Works had already started when the project was stopped by a decision of An Bord Pleanala in February 1995.

A total of £1.8 million had been spent on the development, but the State hopes that some of this money can still be recouped from the EU.

The study published by Mr Higgins yesterday envisages the Wicklow Uplands National Park - which currently comprises about 14,000 hectares in two areas, the Glendalough Valley and the Sally Gap - expanding to more than twice that size.

Carried out for Mr Higgins's Department by consultants RPS Cairns, the "Wicklow Mountains National Park Study" suggests that interpretative centres are no longer in fashion, and not just in Ireland.

The study proposes another type of visitor centre, "a multifunctional and more dynamic type of centre" providing information on not just the National Park itself, but broader heritage issues and other aspects of local interest.

Such centres should be built on the periphery of the National Park itself, ideally "gateway" locations on or close to the main access routes from Dublin to the National Park, it adds.

The study also suggests that landowners affected by the continued expansion of the National Park, which was established in 1990, may have to be compensated.

Where lands are in private hands, conservation strategies can only be implemented following acquisition by the State or by management agreements with the owners.

Management of the park also gets detailed attention. The Wicklow Uplands Committee, set up to advise Wicklow County Council on foot of a previous consultancy report prepared in 1992, has met on only a few occasions and has not taken "any significant initiatives", says yesterday's study.

It proposes the establishment of a Wicklow Uplands Partnership, with the full involvement of local private and public interests, to oversee the park's development.

Its tasks would be to implement a management strategy for the park and to present an annual report to the Government.

Stressing the need for a National Park in the Wicklow Uplands, the study says the area is of great ecological importance.

The study provides a list of basic objectives for the Park namely:

. to conserve nature within the Park;

. to conserve landscape;

. to conserve historic sites and other significant features;

. to promote awareness of the need for conservation;

. to develop a harmonious relationship between the Park and the community;

. to contribute to science through environmental monitoring and research.

The only aspect of the study to be implemented immediately by Mr Higgins concerns the Luggala site. The remainder of the report is being treated as a discussion document and interested parties are invited to submit their views to the Minister between now and May 7th.