Save the Arklow Sandbank
The Issue
The Wicklow and Wexford coastline is home to Ireland’s only large, nearshore, headland-associated sandbank, the Arklow Sandbank.
The Arklow Sandbank is vital for Ireland but it faces extensive ecological collapse that will aggravate the detrimental erosion of Wicklow and Wexford beaches. The Arklow Sandbank brings many forms of value to the state: from sustaining our marine ecosystem, buffering the coast from storm flooding to attracting tourism income.
It is an Annex 1 habitat that supports a rich marine ecosystem of important birds, mammals, fish and shell species including native oysters. It protects and preserves 11 iconic sandy beaches of Wicklow and Wexford from storm erosion. These include; Silver Strand, Magheramore, Magherabeg, Jacks Hole, Brittas Bay, Buckroney, Ennereilly, Clogga, Kilmichael, Kilpatrick and Kilgorman Strand.
Yet, despite its importance, the seas in and around the Arklow Sandbank have never had any environmental protection. We believe it must be safeguarded as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA), the first step towards full Special Protection Area (SPA) status.
In 2004, this sandbank was earmarked by a private developer to test out a 7-turbine offshore wind farm, "Arklow Bank Wind Park 1" (ABWP1). The developer was recklessly awarded a lucrative lease under the outdated Foreshore Act 1933, without an independent environmental impact assessment.
Over time, sand has built-up around the base of these turbines, contributing to the severe accreted erosion visible at Brittas Bay South, Kilgorman, Kilmichael, Kilpatrick & Clogga. This project has demonstrated that construction activity such as dredging has negatively impacted the stability of the Arklow Sandbank and its highly sensitive relationship with the shoreline.
Fast forward twenty years, SSE Renewables (Sure Partners Limited) have applied to An Bord Pleanála to build a supersized wind park with 53 turbines, "Arklow Bank Wind Park 2" (ABWP2), on this headland-associated sandbank only 6-13 km from the shore. SSE’s proposal (ABWP2) would require levelling up to 1,000 acres of seabed to lay cables, along with excavation for fixed-bottom turbines up to 1,000 ft tall. They have applied to do this in the knowledge that it is likely to cause serious, widespread and lasting damage to the Arklow Sandbank and all the beaches and biodiversity it supports.
SSE's latest reports acknowledge that the project could cause changes to the coast and sandbank systems arising from the blockage of waves and tides. Their own risk assessment accepts a reasonable likelihood of disturbing harbour porpoise during construction. Their own sediment modelling admits there is insufficient data to complete a fully quantitative cumulative impact assessment alongside the plan for the proposed neighbouring Codling Wind Park.
In addition, they were asked to consider alternative locations and didn't, thereby breeching Article 6(3) of the EU Habitats Directive. An Coimisiún Pleanála cannot lawfully grant consent on this basis. The Arklow Sankbank site is a legacy site chosen under a developer-led regime. The government acknowledged in the Dáil in May 2023 that the developer-led model carried environmental risks and trade-offs.
The World Wildlife Fund says, “Limiting the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy infrastructure starts with getting their location right. Sound site-selection must be facilitated through ecosystem-based maritime spatial planning.”
We are calling on local authorities, councillors, An Coimisiún Pleanála, the Maritime Regulator and all members of the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce to ACT NOW:
- Decommission the ABWP1 because this windfarm has now reached the end of its useful life. All foundations, scouring materials, and cabling must be removed so the Arklow Sandbank can be restored to its natural state as per the Nature Restoration Act and halt the coastal erosion caused by ABWP1. The absence of a formal Special Area of Conservation designation for the Arklow Sandbank does not remove its Annex I status. EU environmental law, and the CJEU's interpretation of the Habitats Directive specifically, does not permit the degraded state of a protected site to be used as justification for further degradation.
- Apply the robust plan-led ecosystem based approach as mandated by the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (2014/89/EU) on the seas in and around the Arklow Sandbank to assess the impact of damage that construction of a modern large-scale wind park would have on this marine environment. On 29th April 2026 the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Ireland, specifically for failing to protect marine reefs, sandbanks, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin and eight seabird species - the same habitats this wind farm will affect.
Ireland has one of the largest marine territories in Europe. Why are we building giant wind farms in spitting distance from the shore on vulnerable habitats? In Europe the average distance to shore of offshore wind farms under construction in 2020 was 44 km. We must look at alternative locations further out to sea, at least 22km from shore, where renewable energy can safely service the demand of data centres. We can't let the Irish Government knowingly create an environmental disaster, while the EU Commission watches and acts.
Please sign and share this petition to save Wicklow and Wexford’s beautiful beaches from irresponsible industrialisation. Our communities and future generations deserve it.
About Us:
This petition is written and submitted by South East Coastal Protection (SECPA), a voluntary conservation group, concerned about the failure of Irish government to adequately protect and preserve the ecologically rich and important Arklow Sandbank from industrialisation.
3,290
The Issue
The Wicklow and Wexford coastline is home to Ireland’s only large, nearshore, headland-associated sandbank, the Arklow Sandbank.
The Arklow Sandbank is vital for Ireland but it faces extensive ecological collapse that will aggravate the detrimental erosion of Wicklow and Wexford beaches. The Arklow Sandbank brings many forms of value to the state: from sustaining our marine ecosystem, buffering the coast from storm flooding to attracting tourism income.
It is an Annex 1 habitat that supports a rich marine ecosystem of important birds, mammals, fish and shell species including native oysters. It protects and preserves 11 iconic sandy beaches of Wicklow and Wexford from storm erosion. These include; Silver Strand, Magheramore, Magherabeg, Jacks Hole, Brittas Bay, Buckroney, Ennereilly, Clogga, Kilmichael, Kilpatrick and Kilgorman Strand.
Yet, despite its importance, the seas in and around the Arklow Sandbank have never had any environmental protection. We believe it must be safeguarded as a Marine Protected Area (MPA) and recognised as an Important Bird Area (IBA), the first step towards full Special Protection Area (SPA) status.
In 2004, this sandbank was earmarked by a private developer to test out a 7-turbine offshore wind farm, "Arklow Bank Wind Park 1" (ABWP1). The developer was recklessly awarded a lucrative lease under the outdated Foreshore Act 1933, without an independent environmental impact assessment.
Over time, sand has built-up around the base of these turbines, contributing to the severe accreted erosion visible at Brittas Bay South, Kilgorman, Kilmichael, Kilpatrick & Clogga. This project has demonstrated that construction activity such as dredging has negatively impacted the stability of the Arklow Sandbank and its highly sensitive relationship with the shoreline.
Fast forward twenty years, SSE Renewables (Sure Partners Limited) have applied to An Bord Pleanála to build a supersized wind park with 53 turbines, "Arklow Bank Wind Park 2" (ABWP2), on this headland-associated sandbank only 6-13 km from the shore. SSE’s proposal (ABWP2) would require levelling up to 1,000 acres of seabed to lay cables, along with excavation for fixed-bottom turbines up to 1,000 ft tall. They have applied to do this in the knowledge that it is likely to cause serious, widespread and lasting damage to the Arklow Sandbank and all the beaches and biodiversity it supports.
SSE's latest reports acknowledge that the project could cause changes to the coast and sandbank systems arising from the blockage of waves and tides. Their own risk assessment accepts a reasonable likelihood of disturbing harbour porpoise during construction. Their own sediment modelling admits there is insufficient data to complete a fully quantitative cumulative impact assessment alongside the plan for the proposed neighbouring Codling Wind Park.
In addition, they were asked to consider alternative locations and didn't, thereby breeching Article 6(3) of the EU Habitats Directive. An Coimisiún Pleanála cannot lawfully grant consent on this basis. The Arklow Sankbank site is a legacy site chosen under a developer-led regime. The government acknowledged in the Dáil in May 2023 that the developer-led model carried environmental risks and trade-offs.
The World Wildlife Fund says, “Limiting the environmental impacts of offshore renewable energy infrastructure starts with getting their location right. Sound site-selection must be facilitated through ecosystem-based maritime spatial planning.”
We are calling on local authorities, councillors, An Coimisiún Pleanála, the Maritime Regulator and all members of the Offshore Wind Delivery Taskforce to ACT NOW:
- Decommission the ABWP1 because this windfarm has now reached the end of its useful life. All foundations, scouring materials, and cabling must be removed so the Arklow Sandbank can be restored to its natural state as per the Nature Restoration Act and halt the coastal erosion caused by ABWP1. The absence of a formal Special Area of Conservation designation for the Arklow Sandbank does not remove its Annex I status. EU environmental law, and the CJEU's interpretation of the Habitats Directive specifically, does not permit the degraded state of a protected site to be used as justification for further degradation.
- Apply the robust plan-led ecosystem based approach as mandated by the Maritime Spatial Planning Directive (2014/89/EU) on the seas in and around the Arklow Sandbank to assess the impact of damage that construction of a modern large-scale wind park would have on this marine environment. On 29th April 2026 the European Commission opened infringement proceedings against Ireland, specifically for failing to protect marine reefs, sandbanks, harbour porpoise, bottlenose dolphin and eight seabird species - the same habitats this wind farm will affect.
Ireland has one of the largest marine territories in Europe. Why are we building giant wind farms in spitting distance from the shore on vulnerable habitats? In Europe the average distance to shore of offshore wind farms under construction in 2020 was 44 km. We must look at alternative locations further out to sea, at least 22km from shore, where renewable energy can safely service the demand of data centres. We can't let the Irish Government knowingly create an environmental disaster, while the EU Commission watches and acts.
Please sign and share this petition to save Wicklow and Wexford’s beautiful beaches from irresponsible industrialisation. Our communities and future generations deserve it.
About Us:
This petition is written and submitted by South East Coastal Protection (SECPA), a voluntary conservation group, concerned about the failure of Irish government to adequately protect and preserve the ecologically rich and important Arklow Sandbank from industrialisation.
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Petition created on 8 August 2023