Sir, - We very much welcome the ambitious three-year plan just announced by the Heritage Council and would urge both the public and private sector to appreciate the importance of this pro-active development. The funds necessary to support it must be forthcoming.
Our Celtic Tiger will face early extinction if we fail to utilise our current financial security to redress the inadequacies of our past performance with regard to our environmental, cultural and social needs.
We particularly welcome the fact that the Heritage Council three-year plan enables it to "look at the totality of the landscape". Landscape Alliance Ireland has urged such a holistic approach to our urban and rural landscape for some years now. We believe that only such an integrated approach can ensure that our landscape does not become a clone of a homogenised, bland, international landscape, with only occasional flashes of local identity. The Heritage Council proposals for appropriate policies with regard to our heritage, both cultural and natural, will, we believe, have to embrace an integrated landscape policy.
LAI have prepared a concise and coherent case for Landscape Policy to serve as a template for such policy, applicable to Ireland, Europe and elsewhere. This document is currently open to consultation and will be sent to any organisation or individual who wishes to participate in the consultation process. Contact us for a copy of the policy document.
It is our intention to formally present the Landscape Policy Document, incorporating all submissions received to Government and the European Commission later this year. This process should help to shortcircuit the procedure leading to a national and European Landscape Policy. - Yours, etc., Terry O'Regan, Landscape Alliance Ireland
Old Abbey Gardens,
Waterfall,
Cork.