International gardening experts are warning that plans for a major road development in Co Waterford will have a devastating impact on one of Europe's finer modern gardens.
They say they are "horrified" at the plan to build a dual carriageway close to the 100-acre garden at Mount Congreve estate in Kilmeaden, near Waterford city. The proposed route runs through the 700-acre estate.
The National Roads Authority, however, says a final decision on the route will not be taken until a full evaluation of its impact on the garden has been completed.
The garden, which is to pass to the State 20 years after the death of its owner, Mr Ambrose Congreve (93), has one of the world's larger and more important collections of rare trees and shrubs.
The new road would require the removal of trees which form part of the shelter belt protecting the garden from southerly and south-westerly gales.
The head of the garden, Mr Randal Anderson, says this would cause many of the rare plants to be lost. The garden is relatively young, he says, and will only come into maturity "in the next 100 to 200 years".
A campaign against the proposed development is supported by international experts such as the Swiss-based dendrologist, Sir Peter Smithers.
In a letter to the Minister for the Environment and Local Government, Mr Dempsey, he described Mount Congreve as "arguably the finest modern garden in Europe and possibly anywhere else for that matter". Some of the rare plants would not survive the felling of the shelter belt and this would greatly diminish the garden's importance.
In a letter of support, Ms Jennifer Trehane, the UK-based former vice-president of the International Camellia Society, said she was "horrified" to hear of the proposed development.
"It would be absolutely devastating if the existing shelter belt was in any way reduced or removed," she said. "Many of the varieties would produce undersized flowers or none at all. All blooms would be quickly scorched brown by the wind."
Representatives of the estate have held discussions with the NRA, but a spokesman for the estate claimed road engineers did not understand the potential effect of the development on the garden's micro-climate.
This was strongly disputed yesterday by the chief executive of the roads authority, Mr Michael Tobin, who said a climatologist and arborist were engaged in carrying out scientific studies on the impact of the proposal.
He said a public consultation process would take place before the Minister made a decision on the route. The NRA expects to make its final recommendation by the end of next month.
An environmental impact study would be published and compulsory purchase orders issued. If there were any objections to the scheme, a public inquiry would take place, probably before the end of the year.
Construction of the road, which will give Waterford its highly-desired second bridge over the Suir and allow traffic on the N25 Cork-Rosslare route to bypass the city, is due to begin next year and be completed by 2005.