Surfing News - Crab Island: It's Not Done

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Viewed 71367 times since 12th Apr 2011

DARK times ahead for Crab Island and Doolin Point, one of Ireland's most perfect waves, unless action is taken now.

Despite opposition and a previous campaign Clare County Council have granted planning permission for a pier development which will in the report's own words "significantly impact" the waves approaching Crab Island.

However all is not lost. A 'Foreshore Lease' is required for the work to take place which must be ok'd by one: Mr. Phil Hogan T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government. You can write him a letter HERE.

You can only write a physical letter and it must arrive before April 21st so please get on it. Generally tangible letters are much more effective than an email you can file away unseen in some anonymous inbox.

Please also join the Facebook group HERE.

Don't let Crab Island get wiped-out like Rick.

This article has been given an average rating of 3.88 from 172 votes.

Ed Magicseaweed

Comments

Archived Comments

	bestwelshsurfer387 days ago	-7 Rating
	no one cares mate-its not world class its rubbish

	gallyman402 days ago	+2 Rating
	I got a letter from the environment, heritage and local govt today stating that they have received my letter & note its contents.I hope they receive thousands of letters, but fear they may receive only a few. As stated in the article the letters have to be received by 21st April, so if you haven't written yet, please do so today. Thanks to all fighting this.

	krusher74404 days ago	Unrated
	I still really don't understand, the new construction would be in deep water behind the island where the jetty is now, I have surfed crab island a few times and can't see how this new construction would affect the wave? Why do non of these articles show diagrams of how they expect the wave to be affected?

	rogg404 days ago	+2 Rating
	The problem is that the proposed site of the pier is not tucked away in the lagoon by the old slip and pier, it's pretty much on the end of the point - way out past the edge of the car park/grass area. We have suggested to CCC that if they extended the existing pier that would be acceptable to us - it would be about 100m further in and probably would do no harm.Wave energy comes in, reflects of the pier and straight back out - some of it will stray straight across the take of at crab, and a lot if it will go straight through the point wave. If you go to the facebook page above there's all the technical information linked from there - including the wave model plots which CCC commissioned, and the report from their consultants. It's all there in black and white (well, the plots are colour, but you know what i mean......)

	krusher74403 days ago	Unrated
	Ok thanks for that, I have looked at the pictures of where the new pier is and still don't think it will affect it (I'm still on the side of not giving it the chance to though) There is a huge pier like that much closer to Easky left and that's not messing anything up, so hopefully if it does go ahead it will have 0 impact.

	kidderlidder405 days ago	+5 Rating
	For anyone who hasn't been to the area around Doolin, it really is special. Crab Island is a fantastic wave, even considering the rather well known monster wave visible in the distance across the bay. And the area in general looks like you could surf a different slab every day for a couple of years without travelling more than 20 miles. I love the place. All the best.

	bigdaddy29412405 days ago	-13 Rating
	Overrated!!!!

	Tbayers405 days ago	+1 Rating
	You obviously dont live in Ireland, if you did you would drive the length of the country if theres a hint of the place working, its world class!!

	TomRoche404 days ago	+3 Rating
	Garanteed that theres spots in Ireland better than every other place in PR,if not the world,only with a alot of rubber needed...

	peej406 days ago	+7 Rating
	Wrote my letter yesterday and will post it today. They may build a pier but are surely missing the boat!

	willjones95406 days ago	+3 Rating
	love the picture:)

	sqirl406 days ago	+3 Rating
	we need a catchy slogan for protest posters and maybe a general anti development theme....cmon people post your best slogans and themes below

	Frizzaldo402 days ago	+3 Rating
	We want crabs not (pier) erections!

	bench-lord407 days ago	+4 Rating
	Sorry to hear about your dilema,we have the same sort of problem here awith BROAD BENCH on the south coast of England.We have got a lot of help from Surfers Against Sewage who are now dealing with their p.o.w. and w.a.r. campaigns,look it up on their site.Dont know if they extend into Ireland but worth an ask,and worth joining too!!

	Sneakybadger 407 days ago	+3 Rating
	I miss Southbourne... (Destroyed by dredging to make the beach better for fat feckin tourists)

	gallyman407 days ago	+2 Rating
	I've just written & posted my letter of objection. Now, if you wanna actually surf this wave (not just mind surf it) write your letter & post it today. The clock is ticking.

	sqirl407 days ago	+1 Rating
	so let me get this straight.....its a coucil project.....that has to be approved by council....planned by council......and then funded by concil......??....so whats all the fuss about?? ......if it is lucky enough to proceed to the construction stage, which I highly doubt will happen based on the current state of the irish economy, it will most likely just fall into the sea due to shoddy planning and construction. The way i see it, is that you lads have the potential for a coucil funded artificial reef?!

	Lahinch Surf Shop406 days ago	+2 Rating
	The funding for this is coming from the EU. A new pier is needed but the design proposed is not the way to go.

	tjo407 days ago	+1 Rating
	yeah! let Tom Curren "discover" it, then it will be an international treasure!!

	sqirl407 days ago	+6 Rating
	does any one else find it suspicious that they made the deadline for letter submission....the day after 420!

	King Brian407 days ago	+3 Rating
	firstly I itend to write the letter, but just wondering how it came to this alread and if all channels were followed. Was the councils decision to grant permission appealed to An Bord Pleanala and if their decision was same as councils. If so was appealing in the high court looked at.

	ncrenegade407 days ago	+3 Rating
	There is no appeal to An Bord Pleanála of a decision relating to Local Authority Own development. High Court proceedings can only be taking on procedural issues relating to the application. High court costs hundreds of thousands and there may not be a concrete case to bring one.

	rogg407 days ago	+1 Rating
	Brian. CCC applied to themselves using a legal mechanism known as a part8 planning application. Its a particular type of application for Local Authorities who are also the Authority deciding on the application. Unfortunately one of it's peculiarities is that there is no right to appeal to An Bord Pleanala (as it you could on a 'private' application). It is possible to take a "Judicial Review" to the high court - approx cost €200k. The judicial review only deals with procedural irregularities in the application, not the actual decision made.

	rogg407 days ago	+3 Rating
	haha crossed post.

	sqirl407 days ago	+5 Rating
	Feck me! How many feckin petitions do we have to sign to save this spot? This is dead easy!! .....all you irish lads have to do is go find a feckin sea sponge....or a wee little star fish thats on the endangered feckin species list and then let the mother feckin WWF bring out the big guns!! ......quit feckin around with petitions and get your arses out there and start looking for some feckin flora & fauna.

	ncrenegade407 days ago	+4 Rating
	We have been working our asses of to save this, it's not all as simple as you put it - believe me Ive been deeply involved for nearly a year.

	Spongerdudette407 days ago	-1 Rating
	But Sqirl has make a good point, surely every little helps :)

	sqirl407 days ago	+4 Rating
	thank you dudette and for a second point.....if the flora fauna stuff doesnt work then try the historical signifcance route. Surely a paddy fisherman caught a record setting trout off that island, right!? ...and to put a pier there would taint the cultural and historic significance of the spot. You lads are tooting the wrong flute! A council isnt going to cave into a bunch of rabble rousing fun seeking self centered surfers.....you get some crotchety old fishermen or some blue haired bettys from the society to preserve historical paddocks to speak against it and you will have a sure fire win!! ...damn i need a beer now! saving surf spots is hell!!

	LeBigKahuna407 days ago	+1 Rating
	in my opinion you've got to make them see it as part of our natural heritage, like the burren or the cliffs of moher. If they cant see the social value (i mean 30 thousand people have viewed this article in the last 2 days, from all over the world!). Maybe theres some legislation along those lines that could help!

	howertings407 days ago	+1 Rating
	NCRenegade: If a surf competition at the spot is organised anytime in the near future I will go there to watch (too old and useless to compete), even though the shore is a bit far away. I'm sure many more would do so too, and while we're all there I'm sure some nice media outlet might be persuaded to publicise the event and plight of the reef. Some mega surf stars attendance wouldn't go astray in helping the cause. Politicians respond to publicity and Mr Hogan is no different.

	Spongerdudette407 days ago	+2 Rating
	Sqirl really has made some very good points about this matter. Your plan of ''attack'' isn't just saying that it would spoil the waves for what they would consider just a handful of surfers, as their answer to that would be that by building the pier further out would bring more trade/tourism etc and thus regenerating the area and bring in valuable income. Unfortunately LeBigKahuna an article that has been viewed over 30,000 times on a surfing website isn't good enough in the eyes of the people who want to build this new pier, as that isn't generating income for them. Also they would say out of the 30,000+ people who have viewed this article on here, how many are actually going to visit this place.....not enough to stop them building. I should think that as far as the council are concerned, the surfers can find somewhere else to enjoy themselves. HOWEVER, I think that it is possible to either beat or at least gain a compromise that would to a certain extent satisfy both surfers and the company/council. You need to go through the plans with a fine toothcomb and pick out the ''weaknesses'' and play on that, as well as looking at wider issues such as nature conservation and environmental issues that would possibly have an impact on the local people lives such volume of traffic, pollution, unsuitable roads, danger to people walking the streets due to increase traffic........everything......every tiny detail that you can possibly you can think of. Just by saying it will spoil surfing for a ''handful'' isn't good enough so you have to play them at their own game. Neither to I think that the idea of a surf competition is good enough as that would only be annually and wouldn't rise nowhere near the income that constant usage of the pier could bring. As for lobbying MP's...well I have doubts about that as well because they are probably in favour if it brings most needed revenue into the area. So contact environmental groups such as The National Trust, The Green Party (or equivalent) and play on environmental issues and sealife habitat if applicable, and then National newspapers who if you word your objections correctly will be against the company/council and hopefully ''protest'' in your favour. This is possible to achieve but you HAVE to think outside of the box by looking at it from the council's point of view and then turn it around to the surfers advantage without them even realising it....it can be done.

	sqirl407 days ago	+3 Rating
	point number 3 ....."how can you even dream of funding this, when the kids still havent received their park on patrick street!....or their new irish history text books" ...add some angry mothers and teary eyed dissapointed kids to the mix and coucil won't be permitting jack shit!

	Sneakybadger 407 days ago	+4 Rating
	sqirl for prime minister!

	sqirl406 days ago	+6 Rating
	in that case i need a cigar! ....an intern! ......a saxophone!.....a logo ripped off from pepsi! .....a catchy slogan!! "doin' it for doolin"....."one crab we cant afford to itch".......

	ncrenegade406 days ago	+2 Rating
	Ok guys, you are talking as if we havn't looked at these things - as the title of the Feature says 'its not done'. The Council granted permission to themselves, we prepared substantial submissions relating to both the impact on environment and surfing, a surf economic report was submitted along with other techincal opinions. They still granted it. This process is ongoing for nearly a year, just that there is a feature on it here doesnt mean thats its a fresh campaign. There is no appeal of the council decision. However they need a foreshore lease from the Department of Enviro. this is where voices can be heard again and we urge everyone to send a letter. We are not 'fecking around with petitions' the media side of this has actually been the least intensive side of our fight, we are making relevant and detailed environemntal grounds of objection again and again and the latest submissions we are working on should open the eyes of the relevant authority. This is now out of the hands of the Council, we have tried negotiating with them - we know a compromise can be made but there was none on their part. The fight continues, we are working hard at all angles and appreciate all support we can get - your support would now be best shown with a letter to the Department of the Environment.

	Spongerdudette406 days ago	+1 Rating
	That's fair enough ncrenegade. Just trying to make suggestions in case anything got overlooked, which can be soooo easily done :)

	Tbayers405 days ago	+3 Rating
	SPongerdutte, you said a comp would not make a difference becasue it would pale in comparision with the ferry usage of new pier. In fact, the new pier will not have ANY effect on the current ferry timetable, it will still only run in the summer months and at the same frequency...

	Spongerdudette405 days ago	+1 Rating
	Ah I see Max Power, I was under the impression that when the new pier was/if built it would be in constant usage all year in some shape or form. So if only for seasonal usage, would this not be a good argument against the pier by saying the cost of building the pier isn't worth the price to the environment etc, etc. Because the way I see it even more cuts will be made to local services by the Council and is it worth it for 4-6 months of the year?

	rogg404 days ago	+1 Rating
	Spongerdudette - the funding comes from central government, and is specifically for the new pier. The County Council can't use it for anything else, so it's really not effected by the current cuts etc.

	Spongerdudette403 days ago	+3 Rating
	Yeah I thought that would be the case Rogg. But in these current financial hard times and Ireland being strapped for cash, it would be a case of ''robbing Peter to pay Paul'' surely. Sooo if Central Government is putting up the money, then they would have to make cuts else where. The allocation of money from the Central Government to the relevant (and maybe all) County councils for local public services would have to be cut. It may not be too noticeable except to those who use the services cut e.g. libraries, financial help for homes for the elderly or support groups. And maybe even a cut in services for such things as emergency services, where maybe one or two police officers/paramedics positions would lost. They'll make the cuts some way, some how don't you worry, coz there's only so much money available!

	Coelacanth403 days ago	+1 Rating
	As I recall from some articles I've read very recently...the local unit of the Irish Coast Guard has endorsed the CCC's current plan, claiming it will enhance their safety and improve the effectiveness of their operations over the present situation. So has the local tourism office...even though the national tourism office is opposed to the plan...Presumably, they're opposed because they've seen at the national level how significant the tourism revenue from surfing has become in Ireland(The next Costa Rica?...Well, it's green anyway!...HEY...THERE'S YOUR SLOGAN!!!)...at a time when other revenues are shrinking...and are afraid this will have a negative effect on that. Supposedly this project also has to be COMPLETED by the end of the year or the CCC loses the 6 million Euros funding for it. They either use that money on this plan/project...or they lose it at year's end. Please correct me about any of this. Besides the ferry operations enhancement rationale...will this increase local revenue by allowing a deepened, more protected harbor to moor private boats/yachts at anchor...or increase the number and/or size of those already there?

	rogg403 days ago	+1 Rating
	coelocanth the the Lifeboat guys reckon it will be easier for them to launch their lifeboat because they won't have to use a slipway that's associated with the pier. they don't realise that when the pier is moved and 80 of the 280 car parking spaces are removed people will park all over the access to the slip (it should be mentioned that the lifeboat guys just received planning permission for a new boat store and office building fromCCC. just coincidental timing i'm sure). If by the local 'tourist board' you're referring to 'Doolin Tourism Group' that's three ferry owners and one B&B guy - not really surprised they're in favour. as to the last question - no. there's no harbour or marina. the area occasionally gets used by people launching dive boats. so there's no benefit to the area other than the ferry passenger number.

	dsurfer407 days ago	+2 Rating
	Cornish - did you even read the article Of course it "looks nice" but it won't stay that way unless we all do something about it.

	TomRoche408 days ago	+27 Rating
	Bring the Ripcurl ProSearch to Crab,show the world what its all about...

	bannerman408 days ago	+2 Rating
	crackin idea tom

	Francois Bouwer407 days ago	+10 Rating
	A local slab suffered the same fate. It used to take waves of up to 15ft plus, but still worked on 3ft. It was a really good barrel. After they built a harbour, the waves got drastically less, and since they extended the harbour, it only works on rare, giant south to south easterly swells. It has only worked decently twice in two years. Another spot that is equally slabby, now gets much less swell, and breaks half the size of what it used to. There is no beachbreak for kids to learn on any more since no swell gets to the beach, and the dunes have been destroyed by giant hotels. I had to learn on points and reefs, and when I first got to the coast, since I lived in Bloemfontein at first, I couldn't really swim. I couldn't even swim straight in a swimming pool. Sadly though I'm not sure if my letter will arrive on time, the South African postal service is slow as heck. You'd be lucky if it arrived on time if it was in South Africa!

	Cornish-Surfer408 days ago	+2 Rating
	looks nice.

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