elphin local area plan 2009 - 2015 - Roscommon County Council

Chapter 6: Built and Natural Heritage
Objective 63
Objective 64
Objective 65
Objective 66
Objective 67
Objective 68
Objective 69
Objective 70
Objective 71
Objective 72
Seek the improvement of key sites within the proposed ACA in order to protect the built
heritage and enhance the appearance of the village. Use the Local Authority Conservation
Grant Scheme and other schemes to assist in this.
View as unfavourable, development which is likely to adversely affect the character of
the proposed ACA.
Encourage new development within the proposed ACA to fit sensitively within the
existing built fabric and to use the highest-quality materials.
Traditional features such as original windows, doors, fanlights, renders, roof coverings
and rainwater goods, where appropriate, shall be retained.
Conserve and protect features of the built environment such as stone walls, pillars, piers,
stiles, gates, railings, holy wells, mass rocks, post-boxes and memorials.
Conserve and protect historic street furniture, such as stone kerbing, milestones,
benchmarks, streetlights, manhole covers and ventilation pipes.
Facilitate and co-operate with voluntary groups and tidy towns committees in establishing
and maintaining the urban landscape.
Develop a Heritage Trail in Elphin which includes sites such as the Elphin Windmill and
Cathedral.
Seek archaeological excavation and testing, and/or preservation and preservation in situ,
wherever archaeological heritage is affected, or likely to be affected, by a proposed
development.
Safeguard the setting of significant sites and monuments, as well as those yet unknown.
6.3 NATURAL HERITAGE
There are no designated natural heritage sites within the Elphin plan. However native flora and fauna,
field boundaries, trees and rivers within the plan area all contribute to the natural heritage of Elphin.
The Irish government signed up to the Convention on Biological Diversity, one of the goals of which is
the conservation of biodiversity. The Department of Arts, Heritage, Gaeltacht and the Islands published its
National Biodiversity Action Plan in 2002. Roadside and townland boundary hedgerows contain a greater
diversity of native shrub species than other hedges, due to their earlier establishment in the landscape. The
National Biodiversity Plan recognises that hedgerows are a “prominent feature of the Irish countryside and
provide important habitats for a wide variety of species” and states that the overall goal for countryside
management should be no net loss of the hedgerow resource.
The biodiversity of Roscommon includes an extensive variety of habitats and species, habitats include
waterways, peatlands, turloughs. Species include, for example, the freshwater endemic fish, and the
pollan. Many of Elphin’s gardens; are surrounded by a mixture of agricultural land, isolated flat bog-land,
ponds, old hedgerows, and undeveloped land for example. These are connected by a network of
hedgerows, lanes, footpaths, trees, and streams. These are created by a huge variety of habitats and host a
rich variety of animals and plants. Thoughtful management of the landscape, gardens and farms will
enable some species to survive here where they have disappeared from other parts of the country.
Elphin Local Area Plan 2009-2015 Page 56