A plan to increase, or stabilise, the population of otter, kingfisher, dipper, bats, salmon, brown trout and badger in the Ward River Valley is now part of Phase 1 of the Fingal Biodiversity Action Plan 2023-2030. This plan, which was originally unfunded and effectively shelved, is now one of the first 20 projects prioritised in…
The small room above the arch at Swords Castle, known as the Gatehouse, could be open to the public as part of a second phase of works on the Knights and Squires building. Works to conserve the Knights and Squires building is currently underway and will continue to July. The aim of this phase of…
Plans to address historic dumping sites in the Ward River Valley and additional resources to clean up the Ward River through the town, were committed to by Fingal County Council this week. At an area committee meeting on Thursday, officials from Fingal agreed to work through and prepare a response to a list of 40…
Sites such as the Ward River Valley and pocket forests around the Swords area could get a protected status under new laws being proposed. Community groups, environmental groups, public representatives, and biodiversity officers, will be able to propose areas of ecological value that if a new bill coming before the Oireachtas is passed. The new…
Some remarkable images of what the Ward River Valley as it will look should the proposed three projects were unveiled at a webinar this week. The three projects – the sports hub in Brackenstown, the Walled Garden restoration, and the historic canal rewetting – are all proposed as part of the first phase of projects…
This year the Mayor’s Awards will honour individuals who go to extraordinary lengths for their communities. These are people making a positive contribution to their local community and are inspiring others to do the same. They could be an older person proving that age is not a barrier to giving back to others, somebody who…
Safety fencing has been erected around an area of the Ward River Valley known as the Brick Arch. The historical strucuture which is part of an informal trail through the undeveloped area of the park has been deemed structurally unsafe. The council explained this situation as follows: Fingal County Council will erect safety fencing in…
In a major boost for nature restoration in Swords, Fingal County Council have unveiled plans to fully fund its Biodiversity Strategy meaning two major nature projects in the Ward River Valley and the Broadmeadow Estuary will go ahead. Now a plan will be put in place to protect salmon spawning grounds on the Ward River…
The Swords Tidy Towns group secured the Silver Medal in this years national awards and improved their score by 10 points. This makes five years in a row that the Swords group have achieved the Silver standard with the scores continuing to improve. Commenting on the award Cllr Ian Carey said: “I want to extend…
Councillors last night agreed to preserve the greenbelt zoning between Knocksedan, Ridgewood, and Rivervalley. This come on the back of a community campaign to maintain the greenbelt and prevent it being zoned residential. Following a long debate, as part of the preparation of the next Fingal Development Plan, the motion was withdrawn and it won’t…