Coffey announces funding for environmental assessments at Portlaw Cotton Mill

The long term remediation of former Irish Tanners site at Portlaw Co. Waterford is a step closer now following a commitment from Minister Paudie Coffey, T.D., to support a phased action plan by Waterford City and County Council to assess the environmental condition of the site and inform the investigation of the longer-term options for use of the site and to initiate remediation and reuse of the site.

The remediation of this historic and significant urban site, which was also the location of the famed Portlaw Cotton Mill built by the Malcolmson family, has been a priority for Minister Coffey since he first entered politics in 1999.

The site has always been a complicated brownfield site due to landfilling on the site during the operational years of Irish Tanners. Minister Coffey, the founding Chairman of the Portlaw Heritage Committee, has always believed that the site has strong potential for regeneration and re-use given its significant historical and industrial heritage – he stated that “the real potential of the site can only be achieved when the contamination and environmental issues are dealt with in a strategic and comprehensive way”

The Minister has committed €200,000 over a 2 year period to support the on-site remediation study which is a critical step forward to bring the site back to beneficial use for the community.

The initial objective is to secure the environmental safety (including physical access, soils, aquatic and atmospheric conditions) of the site by a geo-survey and environmental contamination study to establish the range of contaminants and extent of area impacted within the Tannery/Cotton Mill Site on the adjacent environment including River Clodiagh SAC and public water supply. The study will inform and address the current unregulated environmental condition of site including risks to public health and safety.

Speaking after a visit to the site by staff from the Environmental Protection Agency and the Minister’s own Department, the Minister said that the work now commencing was “long overdue but a critical step in the overall process of remediation process and of bringing the site back into beneficial use. This is a site of major cultural, industrial and historical significance. Portlaw Cotton Mill is an important part of the story not only of Waterford but the story of Ireland. It was a pioneering town in terms of planning, engineering and industrial innovation and pointed the way towards a better future for thousands of people while also serving as a model for other towns in Ireland and the United Kingdom. It has much to teach us still and demands to be preserved and cherished as part of where we have come from and who we are.”

The next phase in the project will see Waterford County Council engage experts to carry out the various technical and scientific assessments required to present a holistic picture of the specific conditions on site with regard to waste, water, pollutants etc. The reports from this assessment will be considered by the County Council along with the Department and the Environmental Protection Agency with a view to making specific recommendations for options for full remediation of the site.