Bird habitat needs to be replaced after flood works

THE county mayor has highlighted the need to properly replace the habitat at the River Feagle in Clonakilty.

The river has, in recent weeks, been piped and the pipes have been covered over with soil to allow the contractor working on the town’s flood relief scheme unfettered access to the river banks. The soil and the pipes will, however, be removed when the flood protection embankments are finished.

Cllr Chistopher O’Sullivan (FF), a noted twitcher, said the river was a breeding place for grey wagtails and a feeding ground for herons.

‘When the project is finished I would ask the Council to put funding in place to properly replace the habitat because we don’t want to be left with a concrete gully,’ he said.

‘It looks absolutely awful seeing the river being filled in with pipes,’ added the councillor, who also urged the contractor to complete the project as quickly and as sensitively as possible.