Labour Councillor Pio Smith has asked Louth County Council to consider creating a wildflower meadow on the slopes surrounding Millmount.
Speaking at the January meeting of the Drogheda Borough District on Monday,
Councillor Smith admitted that the idea was not originally his but came from local artist Richard Moore and Council official Grainne Tuomey.
He agreed though it was a good idea that, if implemented, would create considerable visual impact as well as improve the biodiversity of the area.
The Director of Services responsible for Placemaking and Physical Development, Catherine Duff, told the meeting that the area is already being managed as a biodiversity area which allows it to regenerate naturally.
“Natural regeneration is the best way to create an area rich in biodiversity with native meadow wildflowers” she said.
She added that “…the angle of the slope at Millmount is extremely steep and therefore not safe to enable a maintenance regime that would be required to regulate species.”
At this point several Councillors joked that they had slid down the slope on trays when they were kids.
Getting back to the business in hand, Labour Councillor Fiachra Mac Raghnaill pointed out that the Old Drogheda Society manage to cut the grass around the tower a couple of times a year but would welcome any input from the Council.
Mac Raghnaill reminded his fellow Councillors of the sterling work carried out by a team from The Red Door headed up by Councillor Smith, which has carried some wonderful landscaping work in the Dale area of Drogheda in recent years.
Councillor Smith said that perhaps it would be best to limit the planting of wild flowers initially to a ring around the lower slopes of the mound.
