A NEW stretch of national primary road will have to be built at a cost of €150 million in Co Kerry because of "bad planning", the president of An Taisce, Eanna Ní Lamhna, has charged.
On a visit to the county she became embroiled in sharp exchanges with local councillors about the role of An Taisce both locally and nationally.
Ms Ní Lamhna said councillors decided to override planners and force through permission for lines of one-off houses along the N22 between Farranfore and Killarney
The result was that the road could not be widened to cater for increased traffic and a new one has to be built at huge cost to the people of Kerry, she said.
Ms Ní Lamhna was defending her organisation against attacks by the mayor of Kerry, Michael Healy-Rae, during a visit to the county. He said An Taisce was "a secretive . . . interfering" organisation when it came to the planning process and was too active in Kerry on planning matters.
Mr Healy-Rae said An Taisce interfered in the planning process when it came to young people wanting to build homes on family-owned land and it should stick to "real" environmental work such as its green-flag campaigns.
However, Ms Ní Lamhna said planning was at the heart of the environment issues .
She said it was "a bit rich for Michael Healy-Rae to give out about An Taisce" when until very recently county councillors in Kerry were only too happy to vote through Section 4s (Now Section 140s) against planners' advice.
"An Taisce is set up to protect the environment. As it happens one of the biggest things that has damaged the environment is the huge amount of badly planned houses. Take for instance the road between Tralee and Killarney . . .
"There's houses on it from one end to the other. Most of these were not put in by the planners. They were put in by Section 4s voted through by the councillors," she said.
A senior Kerry County Council engineer confirmed yesterday that widening the existing 27 kms section of the N22 between Farranfore and Killarney to accommodate greater traffic had to be ruled out on safety and other considerations because of the number of houses lining this part of the road between Tralee and Killarney.
The capacity of the road had been reduced by the number of dwellings. Widening would "not have been feasible" as there would have been too many alterations to front gardens and so on.
A parallel road would have been needed to accommodate the existing houses, senior executive engineer Paul Curry said.
The estimated cost of "in excess of €150 million" included land purchase. A completely new route has been selected. The road is at the preliminary design stage. Because of lack of funding for national roads outside the major corridors it would be at least 2010 before the compulsory land purchase was completed, Mr Curry said.
Mr Healy-Rae has defended the councillors' motions that led to the problem and said he was proud to have given the people on the main road a roof over their heads.
"Any Section 4 that either my father [the TD and former councillor Jackie Healy-Rae] or my brother Danny [a Kerry county councillor] or myself ever put in ourselves or supported we're very proud of and glad if there's a roof over somebody's head today that they mightn't have had otherwise. I'll make no apology for that to Eanna or anyone else."
The people living on the Tralee Road would not appreciate Ms Ní Lamhna coming down to Kerry and telling them "their houses shouldn't be there at all", he said.
He was speaking during a debate on Radio Kerry with Ms Ní Lamhna who was on a visit to Kerry to talk about the work of An Taisce.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 27 February 2008
Plan for 'Dart underground' in Dublin unveiled
IARNRÓD ÉIREANN'S planned underground link between Dublin Docklands and Heuston Station in Dublin would have almost twice the capacity of Metro North, featuring stations at the back and front gates of Dáil Éireann, according to details released by the company yesterday.
In a presentation to the Institution of Engineers in Dublin last night, Iarnród Éireann revealed its "Dart underground" would feature 20 trains per direction per hour delivering a capacity of 70,000 passenger journeys per hour - significantly more than the capacity of Metro North, which envisages 36,000 to 40,000 people per hour.
The company refused to say how much the project would cost yesterday, but when first mooted in 2003 it was costed at €1.3 billion. Sources indicated that it would now be in the region of €2 billion. As such it compares to the construction cost of Metro North. The 5.2km line would link up all rail modes, surface level Dart, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and metro through five stations at Docklands, Pearse St, St Stephen's Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station.
Docklands Station is to be located north of the Liffey with an entrance at Spencer Dock's central square, while the Pearse underground station will have new entrances from the existing station and a new Trinity College development to the east.
Current engineering works at Pearse Station are taking into account the prospect of the new underground line. But work cannot begin on it until a railway order is applied for and granted.
The planned line, running at right angles to the existing railway, will also have an entrance at Merrion Square, adjacent to the back gate to Leinster House.
Adjacent to the front gate of Leinster House on Kildare Street there is to be an entrance to the St Stephen's Green underground station, which is to be the major hub for Dublin's commuter network, sharing a concourse with Metro North and connecting to the Luas. Station entrances will be from the Luas terminus, Grafton Street, St Stephen's Green north, and Kildare Street.
Christchurch underground station would see the area served by rail for the first time, with entrances from Winetavern Street and the centre of the Civic Offices complex. Heuston underground station will be accessed directly from the main front concourse of Heuston Station.
Asked about the twin entrances beside Leinster House, an Iarnród Éireann spokesman said the company "wanted Dart underground to be available to all".
The company said it hopes to apply for a railway order next year and the project is to be completed by 2015. The Dart underground line is to be developed as a twin-bore tunnel at about 30 metres deep, utilising five tunnel boring machines cutting through a predominantly limestone geology.
According to Iarnród Éireann, the interconnector offers the potential for a dramatic change in its services, with commuter capacity rising from the current 33 million per year to about 100 million journeys a year.
Commenting on the project yesterday, chairman of CIÉ Dr John Lynch said it would be "the single most important piece of infrastructure in the State to ensure a modal shift from private to public transport, and free future generations from the gridlock which cripples the greater Dublin area today."
Dr Lynch described the plan as "a central part of the Government's Transport 21 10-year transport investment plan", while Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said it was "one of the most critical elements of Transport 21".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a presentation to the Institution of Engineers in Dublin last night, Iarnród Éireann revealed its "Dart underground" would feature 20 trains per direction per hour delivering a capacity of 70,000 passenger journeys per hour - significantly more than the capacity of Metro North, which envisages 36,000 to 40,000 people per hour.
The company refused to say how much the project would cost yesterday, but when first mooted in 2003 it was costed at €1.3 billion. Sources indicated that it would now be in the region of €2 billion. As such it compares to the construction cost of Metro North. The 5.2km line would link up all rail modes, surface level Dart, Commuter, Intercity, Luas and metro through five stations at Docklands, Pearse St, St Stephen's Green, Christchurch and Heuston Station.
Docklands Station is to be located north of the Liffey with an entrance at Spencer Dock's central square, while the Pearse underground station will have new entrances from the existing station and a new Trinity College development to the east.
Current engineering works at Pearse Station are taking into account the prospect of the new underground line. But work cannot begin on it until a railway order is applied for and granted.
The planned line, running at right angles to the existing railway, will also have an entrance at Merrion Square, adjacent to the back gate to Leinster House.
Adjacent to the front gate of Leinster House on Kildare Street there is to be an entrance to the St Stephen's Green underground station, which is to be the major hub for Dublin's commuter network, sharing a concourse with Metro North and connecting to the Luas. Station entrances will be from the Luas terminus, Grafton Street, St Stephen's Green north, and Kildare Street.
Christchurch underground station would see the area served by rail for the first time, with entrances from Winetavern Street and the centre of the Civic Offices complex. Heuston underground station will be accessed directly from the main front concourse of Heuston Station.
Asked about the twin entrances beside Leinster House, an Iarnród Éireann spokesman said the company "wanted Dart underground to be available to all".
The company said it hopes to apply for a railway order next year and the project is to be completed by 2015. The Dart underground line is to be developed as a twin-bore tunnel at about 30 metres deep, utilising five tunnel boring machines cutting through a predominantly limestone geology.
According to Iarnród Éireann, the interconnector offers the potential for a dramatic change in its services, with commuter capacity rising from the current 33 million per year to about 100 million journeys a year.
Commenting on the project yesterday, chairman of CIÉ Dr John Lynch said it would be "the single most important piece of infrastructure in the State to ensure a modal shift from private to public transport, and free future generations from the gridlock which cripples the greater Dublin area today."
Dr Lynch described the plan as "a central part of the Government's Transport 21 10-year transport investment plan", while Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey said it was "one of the most critical elements of Transport 21".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council rejects controversial apartments for Sandymount
A CONTROVERSIAL four-storey social and affordable development in the south Dublin village of Sandymount has been rejected by Dublin City Council.
The council ruled that the 15-unit apartment block was a traffic hazard and would endanger public safety.
The application for the scheme at the rear of the Winfield car showrooms on Church Avenue was lodged by developer Seán Dunne.
Mr Dunne is awaiting planning permission for a mixed-use development with a 37-storey tower at the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in nearby Ballsbridge.
Mr Dunne had undertaken to provide up to 80 social and affordable homes within the Dublin southeast region depending on the number of apartments that would be eventually approved for the hotel sites.
The planning application sought permission for his first scheme of social and affordable homes on the site of a vacant, detached bungalow and a former community hall.
Objections to the development were lodged by deputies Lucinda Creighton (Fine Gael) and Chris Andrews (Fianna Fáil) and councillors John Kenny (Progressive Democrats) and Paddy McCartan (Fine Gael).
The Sandyford and Merrion Residents' Association also opposed the scheme.
Dublin City Council planners said the development, which contained 12 two-bedroom apartments, one three-bedroom unit and two one-bedroom homes, would be a traffic hazard.
Its entrance on to "a heavily trafficked road" with a one-way access ramp could conflict with pedestrian movements.
It also said the development did not contain sufficient private open space for residents.
It would result in sub-standard residential amenities for occupiers of the scheme, the council said, and would breach the standards of the city development plan.
Ms Creighton yesterday welcomed the council's decision.
"I had objected to Seán Dunne's application on the grounds that it would have a detrimental effect on traffic and pedestrians in the area.
"I am delighted to see that Dublin City Council has agreed with me and with the local residents who opposed this development."
Ms Creighton said objectors had been portrayed as being against affordable housing, though Mr Dunne had still not come to any agreement with the council regarding his obligations under Part V for the Ballsbridge site.
"Nowhere in this application was there any indication that it was anything other than another business venture for the applicant," she said.
A spokesman for Mr Dunne's company Mountbrook said it was committed to providing 100 per cent of the Church Avenue site to the city as part of the Jurys/Berkeley Court scheme.
"We will review the reasons for the refusal, and will meet with planners in Dublin City Council to fully understand the reasons outlined," he said.
"We will then review our position."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The council ruled that the 15-unit apartment block was a traffic hazard and would endanger public safety.
The application for the scheme at the rear of the Winfield car showrooms on Church Avenue was lodged by developer Seán Dunne.
Mr Dunne is awaiting planning permission for a mixed-use development with a 37-storey tower at the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in nearby Ballsbridge.
Mr Dunne had undertaken to provide up to 80 social and affordable homes within the Dublin southeast region depending on the number of apartments that would be eventually approved for the hotel sites.
The planning application sought permission for his first scheme of social and affordable homes on the site of a vacant, detached bungalow and a former community hall.
Objections to the development were lodged by deputies Lucinda Creighton (Fine Gael) and Chris Andrews (Fianna Fáil) and councillors John Kenny (Progressive Democrats) and Paddy McCartan (Fine Gael).
The Sandyford and Merrion Residents' Association also opposed the scheme.
Dublin City Council planners said the development, which contained 12 two-bedroom apartments, one three-bedroom unit and two one-bedroom homes, would be a traffic hazard.
Its entrance on to "a heavily trafficked road" with a one-way access ramp could conflict with pedestrian movements.
It also said the development did not contain sufficient private open space for residents.
It would result in sub-standard residential amenities for occupiers of the scheme, the council said, and would breach the standards of the city development plan.
Ms Creighton yesterday welcomed the council's decision.
"I had objected to Seán Dunne's application on the grounds that it would have a detrimental effect on traffic and pedestrians in the area.
"I am delighted to see that Dublin City Council has agreed with me and with the local residents who opposed this development."
Ms Creighton said objectors had been portrayed as being against affordable housing, though Mr Dunne had still not come to any agreement with the council regarding his obligations under Part V for the Ballsbridge site.
"Nowhere in this application was there any indication that it was anything other than another business venture for the applicant," she said.
A spokesman for Mr Dunne's company Mountbrook said it was committed to providing 100 per cent of the Church Avenue site to the city as part of the Jurys/Berkeley Court scheme.
"We will review the reasons for the refusal, and will meet with planners in Dublin City Council to fully understand the reasons outlined," he said.
"We will then review our position."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dunne's D4 social housing is shot down
PROPERTY developer Sean Dunne has been refused planning permission for the construction of 16 social and affordable housing units in south Dublin.
Dublin City Council refused permission for the four-storey building on Church Avenue, in Dublin 4, due to traffic concerns and the lack of open space in the planned project.
The proposal by Mountbrook Homes, Mr Dunne's company, was put forward to fulfil his obligations to provide affordable housing as part of plans to build a 37-storey tower on the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge.
The 16-unit development attracted 18 objections from locals, including Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton and Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews.
Permission was refused by the council as a "traffic hazard" would be created, said the verdict of the application, and because there was an entrance to a busy road and potential problems for pedestrians.
In addition, there was insufficient private open space for those who would live in the proposed complex.
A spokesman said Mountbrook was still "committed to offering 100pc of the site" for social and affordable housing, and would meet the council.
Lucinda Creighton welcomed the decision, saying: "I objected to Mr Dunne's application on the grounds that it would have a detrimental effect on traffic and pedestrians, and I am delighted to see that Dublin City Council has agreed with me, and local residents who opposed this development."
Shane Hickey
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin City Council refused permission for the four-storey building on Church Avenue, in Dublin 4, due to traffic concerns and the lack of open space in the planned project.
The proposal by Mountbrook Homes, Mr Dunne's company, was put forward to fulfil his obligations to provide affordable housing as part of plans to build a 37-storey tower on the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge.
The 16-unit development attracted 18 objections from locals, including Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton and Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews.
Permission was refused by the council as a "traffic hazard" would be created, said the verdict of the application, and because there was an entrance to a busy road and potential problems for pedestrians.
In addition, there was insufficient private open space for those who would live in the proposed complex.
A spokesman said Mountbrook was still "committed to offering 100pc of the site" for social and affordable housing, and would meet the council.
Lucinda Creighton welcomed the decision, saying: "I objected to Mr Dunne's application on the grounds that it would have a detrimental effect on traffic and pedestrians, and I am delighted to see that Dublin City Council has agreed with me, and local residents who opposed this development."
Shane Hickey
www.buckplanning.ie
Planning refusal will ‘compound waste crisis’
THE country’s largest private waste collector claimed yesterday that a decision by Bord Pleanála to turn down its plans for a controversial €20 million superdump would only compound the waste crisis facing the Munster region.
Greenstar had planned to build the superdump at Ballyguyroe, near the village of Kildorrery, in north Cork, which would be capable of handling 140,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The waste was to be imported from all over Munster.
The company had appealed a refusal by Cork County Council on March 26 last. Six months later Bord Pleanála held a three-day oral hearing into the project. Greenstar had already been granted a waste licence for the facility by Environmental Protection Agency.
Greenstar said the landfill had been intended to form a critical part of its integrated waste management infrastructure in the south of the country.
A company spokesman said it wanted to express its “disappointment and surprise” at the board’s reason for refusing planning — which was that it is not satisfied there is a need for an additional landfill capacity to serve the Cork region or the counties. At the oral hearing in Mallow, the county council had argued that there was sufficient capacity in Cork and that it was preparing to open its own superdump near the village of Bottlehill — which would adequately handle the amount of waste generated in the county.
Greenstar again claimed yesterday that the Cork region is in the midst of a landfill capacity crisis.
A company spokesman said as a result, waste is being exported long distances for disposal and there have been recent cases of large-scale illegal dumping. “There is a short to medium term need for 200,000 tonnes per annum landfill capacity in the Cork region alone. In addition, and even taking the proposed landfill facility at Bottlehill into account, the Munster region has a need for 300,000 tonnes per annum of landfill capacity,” said the Greenstar spokesman.
He reiterated claims that the county council’s Bottlehill landfill will only be allowed to accept pre-treated and baled waste, and therefore will not be able to open until a baling facility is developed. He claimed this could take another four to seven years.
Greenstar said the decision only further compounded the landfill capacity crisis in Munster. “The proposed landfill facility at Ballyguyroe is intended to provide a short-term solution to the impending waste crisis in Cork and a secure outlet to meet the long-term residual disposal needs of Munster,” the spokesman said.
An Bord Pleanála said it decided to refuse permission because it was not satisfied that Greenstar had demonstrated the need for additional landfill capacity to serve the Cork region or adjoining counties.
The board decided that the need for the landfill had not been adequately demonstrated, and would be contrary to the national waste policy as set out in the directives Changing Our Ways (1998), Waste Management: Taking Stock and Moving Forward (2004) and the National Strategy for Biodegradable Waste (2004).
These directives all seek to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill in accordance with the principles of the EU Landfill Directive, where landfill disposal is the least favoured option.
Cork County Council said it welcomed the decision, which it said upheld the local authority’s arguments.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Greenstar had planned to build the superdump at Ballyguyroe, near the village of Kildorrery, in north Cork, which would be capable of handling 140,000 tonnes of waste a year.
The waste was to be imported from all over Munster.
The company had appealed a refusal by Cork County Council on March 26 last. Six months later Bord Pleanála held a three-day oral hearing into the project. Greenstar had already been granted a waste licence for the facility by Environmental Protection Agency.
Greenstar said the landfill had been intended to form a critical part of its integrated waste management infrastructure in the south of the country.
A company spokesman said it wanted to express its “disappointment and surprise” at the board’s reason for refusing planning — which was that it is not satisfied there is a need for an additional landfill capacity to serve the Cork region or the counties. At the oral hearing in Mallow, the county council had argued that there was sufficient capacity in Cork and that it was preparing to open its own superdump near the village of Bottlehill — which would adequately handle the amount of waste generated in the county.
Greenstar again claimed yesterday that the Cork region is in the midst of a landfill capacity crisis.
A company spokesman said as a result, waste is being exported long distances for disposal and there have been recent cases of large-scale illegal dumping. “There is a short to medium term need for 200,000 tonnes per annum landfill capacity in the Cork region alone. In addition, and even taking the proposed landfill facility at Bottlehill into account, the Munster region has a need for 300,000 tonnes per annum of landfill capacity,” said the Greenstar spokesman.
He reiterated claims that the county council’s Bottlehill landfill will only be allowed to accept pre-treated and baled waste, and therefore will not be able to open until a baling facility is developed. He claimed this could take another four to seven years.
Greenstar said the decision only further compounded the landfill capacity crisis in Munster. “The proposed landfill facility at Ballyguyroe is intended to provide a short-term solution to the impending waste crisis in Cork and a secure outlet to meet the long-term residual disposal needs of Munster,” the spokesman said.
An Bord Pleanála said it decided to refuse permission because it was not satisfied that Greenstar had demonstrated the need for additional landfill capacity to serve the Cork region or adjoining counties.
The board decided that the need for the landfill had not been adequately demonstrated, and would be contrary to the national waste policy as set out in the directives Changing Our Ways (1998), Waste Management: Taking Stock and Moving Forward (2004) and the National Strategy for Biodegradable Waste (2004).
These directives all seek to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill in accordance with the principles of the EU Landfill Directive, where landfill disposal is the least favoured option.
Cork County Council said it welcomed the decision, which it said upheld the local authority’s arguments.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
City to get its own 'tube' in new plan
It dwarfs the scale and impact of the Port Tunnel.
The €2bn underground Dart through the heart of Dublin city centre will run every three minutes and carry up to 70,000 commuters an hour.
New images showing the scale of what will be one of the biggest ever infrastructure projects in Ireland, due to open in 2015 and comprising two entirely new Dart services, were also released yesterday.
The 5.2km line, an underground tunnel from the Docklands to Heuston station, will increase rail capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million.
Dr John Lynch, Iarnrod Eireann and CIE chairman, yesterday described the Dart underground line as "the missing link, not only in our rail infrastructure, but in our transport infrastructure".
"It will be the most critical project under Transport 21 in enabling people to switch from private transport to public transport, and will transform the capacity of the greater Dublin area rail network."
As part of the exciting plans, the northern line Dart services from Balbriggan and Howth will branch off the existing line after Clontarf Road, going underground at Docklands station, where they will connect with the red Luas line.
The Dart interconnector will continue underground to Pearse Station, before connecting with the green Luas and Metro at St Stephen's Green, and proceeding to Heuston. The Dart will go overground to Adamstown and Hazelhatch in Co Kildare.
A second new Dart line will connect Maynooth -- and a massive M3 park and ride at Pace -- to the existing Bray/Greystones Dart line, stopping at Glasnevin and Drumcondra.
Crucially, the new links join all rail modes -- Dart, commuter rail, intecity, Luas and the proposed Metro. A railway order application is being submitted for the project in 2009.
Timetable for underground link
- 2001: Project included in blueprint for integrated greater Dublin transport.
- 2006: Scheme is approved under the massive €34bn Transport 21 package.
- 2007: Public consultation.
- 2008: Detailed site investigations.
- 2008: Iarnrod Eireann will apply for a Railway Order for the project -- equivalent to planning permission.
- 2009: Public hearing into the underground, followed by an inspector's report. The many parts of the project will then be put out to tender.
- 2010: Construction work will begin involving a twin-bore tunnel at 30 metres depth. Some stations will be mined (Christ Church, St Stephen's Green), with others built using 'Cut and cover' methods (Heuston, Docklands).
- 2015: Underground open.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The €2bn underground Dart through the heart of Dublin city centre will run every three minutes and carry up to 70,000 commuters an hour.
New images showing the scale of what will be one of the biggest ever infrastructure projects in Ireland, due to open in 2015 and comprising two entirely new Dart services, were also released yesterday.
The 5.2km line, an underground tunnel from the Docklands to Heuston station, will increase rail capacity from 33 million passenger journeys annually now to over 100 million.
Dr John Lynch, Iarnrod Eireann and CIE chairman, yesterday described the Dart underground line as "the missing link, not only in our rail infrastructure, but in our transport infrastructure".
"It will be the most critical project under Transport 21 in enabling people to switch from private transport to public transport, and will transform the capacity of the greater Dublin area rail network."
As part of the exciting plans, the northern line Dart services from Balbriggan and Howth will branch off the existing line after Clontarf Road, going underground at Docklands station, where they will connect with the red Luas line.
The Dart interconnector will continue underground to Pearse Station, before connecting with the green Luas and Metro at St Stephen's Green, and proceeding to Heuston. The Dart will go overground to Adamstown and Hazelhatch in Co Kildare.
A second new Dart line will connect Maynooth -- and a massive M3 park and ride at Pace -- to the existing Bray/Greystones Dart line, stopping at Glasnevin and Drumcondra.
Crucially, the new links join all rail modes -- Dart, commuter rail, intecity, Luas and the proposed Metro. A railway order application is being submitted for the project in 2009.
Timetable for underground link
- 2001: Project included in blueprint for integrated greater Dublin transport.
- 2006: Scheme is approved under the massive €34bn Transport 21 package.
- 2007: Public consultation.
- 2008: Detailed site investigations.
- 2008: Iarnrod Eireann will apply for a Railway Order for the project -- equivalent to planning permission.
- 2009: Public hearing into the underground, followed by an inspector's report. The many parts of the project will then be put out to tender.
- 2010: Construction work will begin involving a twin-bore tunnel at 30 metres depth. Some stations will be mined (Christ Church, St Stephen's Green), with others built using 'Cut and cover' methods (Heuston, Docklands).
- 2015: Underground open.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
‘Too many houses’ to blame for €150m bypass
A CLAIM by An Taisce president Eanna Ní Leamhna that a new €150 million bypass must be built between Tralee and Killarney because too many houses have been erected on the existing road was confirmed by Kerry County Council yesterday.
Ms Ní Leamhna, addressing a public meeting in Killarney, said houses had been built from end to end of the busy road.
“These houses have not been put there by planners, but have been voted through by councillors who ignored the advice of their planners and passed Section 4 motions,” she said.
“The result of all that is the road can’t be widened and a new road must be built.”
A council spokesman said engineers had looked at the possibility of widening and upgrading the existing Killarney/Farranfore road, but ruled it out because there were too many houses, exits and entrances.
However, there are big delays in building the long-awaited bypass as money is being diverted by the National Roads Authority to major inter-city routes and roads in the east cast.
Compulsory land purchase may not be completed until 2010 and it could be many years before the 27km Kerry road is completed.
Ms Ní Leamhna clashed with Kerry Mayor Michael Healy-Rae who said he was “very proud and glad” that Section 4 motions moved by himself, his father and his brother had enabled people to live along the Tralee/Killarney road.
Mr Healy-Rae launched a forceful attack on An Taisce, claiming it was a “secretive” organisation which meddled and interfered with young people who wished to build houses on their family farms.
But this was firmly rejected by Ms Ní Leamhna who said An Taisce was an open organisation which anyone was welcome to join.
Questioning the need for all the new houses, she said the last census had shown 25% of all houses in Kerry were empty. She also denied An Taisce interfered in the planning system, saying it was trying to protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association (IRDA), Michael Doyle, announced a day of protest outside Kerry County Council headquarters, in Tralee, to highlight difficulties people have in getting planning permission.
“We want to concentrate the minds of politicians, the county manager and planners on problems experienced by people in rural Kerry,” said Mr Doyle, from Beaufort, Co Kerry.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Ms Ní Leamhna, addressing a public meeting in Killarney, said houses had been built from end to end of the busy road.
“These houses have not been put there by planners, but have been voted through by councillors who ignored the advice of their planners and passed Section 4 motions,” she said.
“The result of all that is the road can’t be widened and a new road must be built.”
A council spokesman said engineers had looked at the possibility of widening and upgrading the existing Killarney/Farranfore road, but ruled it out because there were too many houses, exits and entrances.
However, there are big delays in building the long-awaited bypass as money is being diverted by the National Roads Authority to major inter-city routes and roads in the east cast.
Compulsory land purchase may not be completed until 2010 and it could be many years before the 27km Kerry road is completed.
Ms Ní Leamhna clashed with Kerry Mayor Michael Healy-Rae who said he was “very proud and glad” that Section 4 motions moved by himself, his father and his brother had enabled people to live along the Tralee/Killarney road.
Mr Healy-Rae launched a forceful attack on An Taisce, claiming it was a “secretive” organisation which meddled and interfered with young people who wished to build houses on their family farms.
But this was firmly rejected by Ms Ní Leamhna who said An Taisce was an open organisation which anyone was welcome to join.
Questioning the need for all the new houses, she said the last census had shown 25% of all houses in Kerry were empty. She also denied An Taisce interfered in the planning system, saying it was trying to protect the environment.
Meanwhile, the chairman of the Irish Rural Dwellers’ Association (IRDA), Michael Doyle, announced a day of protest outside Kerry County Council headquarters, in Tralee, to highlight difficulties people have in getting planning permission.
“We want to concentrate the minds of politicians, the county manager and planners on problems experienced by people in rural Kerry,” said Mr Doyle, from Beaufort, Co Kerry.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 25 February 2008
Gormley stresses Burren's uniqueness
THE GOVERNMENT will actively pursue efforts to make the Burren Ireland's next Unesco world heritage site, Minister for the Environment John Gormley is to disclose this evening.
The Green Party leader wants to achieve the status for what he described as the Burren's "unique environment" within the lifetime of the Government.
There are only two world heritage sites in the State - Newgrange in Co Meath and the monastic settlement on Skellig Michael off the coast of Kerry. Both were added to the list in the 1990s.The Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim has been on the list since 1986.
In addition, the monastery at Clonmacnoise in Co Offaly is also at an advanced stage of the process and there are hopes that it can attain world heritage status within 18 months.
In an address to be delivered at the BurrenLife conference in Ennistymon, Co Clare, tonight, Mr Gormley will say that he plans to redouble Ireland's efforts at achieving world heritage status for a number of additional sites in Ireland, with Clonmacnoise and now the Burren at the top of the list.
Both sites were included on a tentative list that was submitted to Unesco in 1992.
A site achieves the status of world heritage site when it has a cultural or natural significance which is "so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity".
There are some 851 sites on the world heritage list in 141 countries. They include monuments and landmarks as diverse at the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, Machu Picchu in Peru, as well as the historic centres of famous cities such as Venice, Prague, Rome and Paris.
The Burren, if accorded the status, would be a "different type of Unesco site", Mr Gormley added. At 50,000 hectares it is a multiple of the size of the other two sites in Ireland.
However, he said: "It allows for dynamic living and working environments like the Burren. There are many examples around the world of such sites, most notably the island of Öland in Sweden."
In the speech, Mr Gormley will accept that Ireland's current tally is too low and also concede that only limited work has been done to remedy that in the past decade.
According to Mr Gormley: "The Burren is the finest example in western Europe of a landscape moulded by the combination of glacial activity and the solution of limestone by water."
Besides its unique landscape and geology, the Burren is also renowned for its botanical and archaeological richness and for its wide variety of bird and animal species.
However, the Minister will warn that efforts to achieve Unesco status could be threatened by over-intensive farming methods. Another slightly unexpected threat has been the boom in garden landscaping in recent years. It has resulted in the removal of large quantities of water-worn limestone pavement.
As a first step, the Department of the Environment is expected to begin work on a draft management plan for the Burren.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Green Party leader wants to achieve the status for what he described as the Burren's "unique environment" within the lifetime of the Government.
There are only two world heritage sites in the State - Newgrange in Co Meath and the monastic settlement on Skellig Michael off the coast of Kerry. Both were added to the list in the 1990s.The Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim has been on the list since 1986.
In addition, the monastery at Clonmacnoise in Co Offaly is also at an advanced stage of the process and there are hopes that it can attain world heritage status within 18 months.
In an address to be delivered at the BurrenLife conference in Ennistymon, Co Clare, tonight, Mr Gormley will say that he plans to redouble Ireland's efforts at achieving world heritage status for a number of additional sites in Ireland, with Clonmacnoise and now the Burren at the top of the list.
Both sites were included on a tentative list that was submitted to Unesco in 1992.
A site achieves the status of world heritage site when it has a cultural or natural significance which is "so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity".
There are some 851 sites on the world heritage list in 141 countries. They include monuments and landmarks as diverse at the Great Wall of China, the Great Barrier Reef, the Sydney Opera House, Machu Picchu in Peru, as well as the historic centres of famous cities such as Venice, Prague, Rome and Paris.
The Burren, if accorded the status, would be a "different type of Unesco site", Mr Gormley added. At 50,000 hectares it is a multiple of the size of the other two sites in Ireland.
However, he said: "It allows for dynamic living and working environments like the Burren. There are many examples around the world of such sites, most notably the island of Öland in Sweden."
In the speech, Mr Gormley will accept that Ireland's current tally is too low and also concede that only limited work has been done to remedy that in the past decade.
According to Mr Gormley: "The Burren is the finest example in western Europe of a landscape moulded by the combination of glacial activity and the solution of limestone by water."
Besides its unique landscape and geology, the Burren is also renowned for its botanical and archaeological richness and for its wide variety of bird and animal species.
However, the Minister will warn that efforts to achieve Unesco status could be threatened by over-intensive farming methods. Another slightly unexpected threat has been the boom in garden landscaping in recent years. It has resulted in the removal of large quantities of water-worn limestone pavement.
As a first step, the Department of the Environment is expected to begin work on a draft management plan for the Burren.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Settlement with DAA precludes Ryanair from challenging plans for Terminal 2
Ryanair Ltd -v- An Bord Pleanála
HIGH COURT
Judgment was given by Mr Justice Clarke on January 11th, 2008.
JUDGMENT
Ryanair are prevented by the terms of a settlement of previous proceedings with the Dublin Airport Authority from challenging the granting of permission by An Bord Pleanála for Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, and so their proceedings against the board should be dismissed.
BACKGROUND
The case concerned a long-running dispute between Ryanair and the Dublin Airport Authority about a second terminal at Dublin airport. An Bord Pleanála had granted planning permission for the terminal, and Ryanair wished to challenge that decision. The DAA sought to have such proceedings struck out on the grounds that Ryanair was precluded from bringing them under an agreement entered into arising out of previous proceedings. The issue was whether or not the proceedings now being brought by Ryanair fell under the terms of that agreement. An Bord Pleanála did not participate in the proceedings.
The settlement referred to resulted from proceedings brought in 2005 by Ryanair against the Taoiseach, the Minister for Transport, the DAA and the Attorney General, following a Government decision that a second terminal should be commissioned and built by the DAA. These arose out of a contention made by Ryanair that the costs associated with the operation of Dublin airport are too great.
In connection with the proposed second terminal, it contended that it would be built on too great a scale and to too high a standard, thus generating higher operating costs which would be passed on through operating airlines to their customers. Ryanair had its own alternative proposals for a second terminal.
Following the Government decision, the DAA appointed consultants Pascall and Watson to review previous planning work on a second terminal, including consulting with the main home-based carriers. The consultants made a series of recommendations in relation to the location, operation and capacity of the proposed new terminal, and their report was accepted by the DAA, which in September announced a plan for a 50,000 square metre passenger terminal, costing between €170 million and €200 million.
The settlement of the 2005 proceedings took place in March 2006, and Ryanair withdrew their challenge to the validity of the Government decision. Under the terms of the settlement, "Ryanair confirms and agrees with the Defendants not to bring any further challenges against or arising out of or connected with the Government's decision of the 18th May 2005 concerning T2 or in respect of any implementation in whole or in part of the Medium-Term Masterplan for infrastructural facilities prepared by Pascall and Watson in September 2005 (including the plan for the new Terminal and associated pier facilities) (Pier E) which the DAA may decide to effect."
A letter from the DAA's solicitors accepted this agreement, seeking confirmation that there were "no further terms or collateral agreements". This was agreed.
Mr Justice Clarke said that he had to decide whether those terms of settlement precluded the challenge which Ryanair now sought to bring to the decision of An Bord Pleanála. He had to consider the construction of agreements, the application of this construction to the facts of this case, and whether the proposed terminal was something entirely different from what had been proposed in 2005, which would mean it fell outside the terms of the agreement.
DECISION
He dealt first with the principles of construction of agreements, which he said had to start with what the document actually stated. The context in which it was entered into could only be used as an aid to construction.
The agreement prevents Ryanair from bringing any challenge "arising out of or connected with" the Government's decision on Terminal Two (T2), which required it to be built by the DAA by 2009. Given that this deadline required planning permission to be obtained quickly, "it seems to me clear, therefore, that a challenge to a planning application for a second terminal is a challenge 'arising out of or connected with' the Government's decision," he said.
"I am, therefore, satisfied that any challenge to a planning application for a second terminal in Dublin airport is precluded by the first part of para. 2 of the settlement agreement."
However, in case he was wrong in that, Mr Justice Clarke went on to consider whether the challenge would also be precluded by the second part of that paragraph, which referred to "the implementation of the Medium-Term Masterplan for infrastructural facilities prepared by Pascall and Watson in September 2005".
This required examining whether or not the present proposals were in fact an implementation of the "Masterplan". The Pascall and Watson plan was quite general, he said. Despite this, Ryanair had signed up to a settlement containing it, and must therefore be bound by its terms, even if the DAA present proposals were somewhat larger than it anticipated.
"It difficult to avoid the conclusion that if Ryanair wished to free itself from being precluded from challenging a T2 proposal which was larger or more costly than what it believed it was signing up to, it should have insisted specific terms being included in the settlement agreement," he said.
The only way it could challenge the proposal was if what was proposed was so different from the parameters of the Pascall and Watson plan as to be something entirely different.
This was not the case, and the consultants' plan specifically suggested that it might "be prudent to oversize the initial build" to allow for later expansion.
Ryanair had also argued that, by permitting it to make observations to the planning authorities, the DAA had not sought implementation of the prohibition on a "challenge" to the development, so it was now estopped from seeking to have the present challenge dismissed.
Mr Justice Clarke said he was inclined to the view that a person making observations in the course of a planning application could not be regarded as challenging the proposed development.
He did not think, therefore, that the DAA was precluded from seeking the dismissal of Ryanair's challenge to An Bord Pleanála's decision, and, for the reasons he outlined earlier, he was satisfied that its proceedings should be dismissed.The full text of the judgment is available on www.courts.ie
Solicitors: A & L Goodbody, Dublin (for the plaintiff); Chief State Solicitor (for the defendant)
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
HIGH COURT
Judgment was given by Mr Justice Clarke on January 11th, 2008.
JUDGMENT
Ryanair are prevented by the terms of a settlement of previous proceedings with the Dublin Airport Authority from challenging the granting of permission by An Bord Pleanála for Terminal 2 at Dublin Airport, and so their proceedings against the board should be dismissed.
BACKGROUND
The case concerned a long-running dispute between Ryanair and the Dublin Airport Authority about a second terminal at Dublin airport. An Bord Pleanála had granted planning permission for the terminal, and Ryanair wished to challenge that decision. The DAA sought to have such proceedings struck out on the grounds that Ryanair was precluded from bringing them under an agreement entered into arising out of previous proceedings. The issue was whether or not the proceedings now being brought by Ryanair fell under the terms of that agreement. An Bord Pleanála did not participate in the proceedings.
The settlement referred to resulted from proceedings brought in 2005 by Ryanair against the Taoiseach, the Minister for Transport, the DAA and the Attorney General, following a Government decision that a second terminal should be commissioned and built by the DAA. These arose out of a contention made by Ryanair that the costs associated with the operation of Dublin airport are too great.
In connection with the proposed second terminal, it contended that it would be built on too great a scale and to too high a standard, thus generating higher operating costs which would be passed on through operating airlines to their customers. Ryanair had its own alternative proposals for a second terminal.
Following the Government decision, the DAA appointed consultants Pascall and Watson to review previous planning work on a second terminal, including consulting with the main home-based carriers. The consultants made a series of recommendations in relation to the location, operation and capacity of the proposed new terminal, and their report was accepted by the DAA, which in September announced a plan for a 50,000 square metre passenger terminal, costing between €170 million and €200 million.
The settlement of the 2005 proceedings took place in March 2006, and Ryanair withdrew their challenge to the validity of the Government decision. Under the terms of the settlement, "Ryanair confirms and agrees with the Defendants not to bring any further challenges against or arising out of or connected with the Government's decision of the 18th May 2005 concerning T2 or in respect of any implementation in whole or in part of the Medium-Term Masterplan for infrastructural facilities prepared by Pascall and Watson in September 2005 (including the plan for the new Terminal and associated pier facilities) (Pier E) which the DAA may decide to effect."
A letter from the DAA's solicitors accepted this agreement, seeking confirmation that there were "no further terms or collateral agreements". This was agreed.
Mr Justice Clarke said that he had to decide whether those terms of settlement precluded the challenge which Ryanair now sought to bring to the decision of An Bord Pleanála. He had to consider the construction of agreements, the application of this construction to the facts of this case, and whether the proposed terminal was something entirely different from what had been proposed in 2005, which would mean it fell outside the terms of the agreement.
DECISION
He dealt first with the principles of construction of agreements, which he said had to start with what the document actually stated. The context in which it was entered into could only be used as an aid to construction.
The agreement prevents Ryanair from bringing any challenge "arising out of or connected with" the Government's decision on Terminal Two (T2), which required it to be built by the DAA by 2009. Given that this deadline required planning permission to be obtained quickly, "it seems to me clear, therefore, that a challenge to a planning application for a second terminal is a challenge 'arising out of or connected with' the Government's decision," he said.
"I am, therefore, satisfied that any challenge to a planning application for a second terminal in Dublin airport is precluded by the first part of para. 2 of the settlement agreement."
However, in case he was wrong in that, Mr Justice Clarke went on to consider whether the challenge would also be precluded by the second part of that paragraph, which referred to "the implementation of the Medium-Term Masterplan for infrastructural facilities prepared by Pascall and Watson in September 2005".
This required examining whether or not the present proposals were in fact an implementation of the "Masterplan". The Pascall and Watson plan was quite general, he said. Despite this, Ryanair had signed up to a settlement containing it, and must therefore be bound by its terms, even if the DAA present proposals were somewhat larger than it anticipated.
"It difficult to avoid the conclusion that if Ryanair wished to free itself from being precluded from challenging a T2 proposal which was larger or more costly than what it believed it was signing up to, it should have insisted specific terms being included in the settlement agreement," he said.
The only way it could challenge the proposal was if what was proposed was so different from the parameters of the Pascall and Watson plan as to be something entirely different.
This was not the case, and the consultants' plan specifically suggested that it might "be prudent to oversize the initial build" to allow for later expansion.
Ryanair had also argued that, by permitting it to make observations to the planning authorities, the DAA had not sought implementation of the prohibition on a "challenge" to the development, so it was now estopped from seeking to have the present challenge dismissed.
Mr Justice Clarke said he was inclined to the view that a person making observations in the course of a planning application could not be regarded as challenging the proposed development.
He did not think, therefore, that the DAA was precluded from seeking the dismissal of Ryanair's challenge to An Bord Pleanála's decision, and, for the reasons he outlined earlier, he was satisfied that its proceedings should be dismissed.The full text of the judgment is available on www.courts.ie
Solicitors: A & L Goodbody, Dublin (for the plaintiff); Chief State Solicitor (for the defendant)
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Satellite aid on school places
The Department of Education is to use new satellite technology to help it ascertain where schools will need to be built in future to meet local needs.
It is predicted that the schoolgoing population will increase by some 100,000 over the coming years, raising the primary school population to well over 500,000.
Last September a lack of school places in north Dublin meant some children could not start school immediately when the new term began.
The department is today advertising in national newspapers for tenders to supply a geographical information system (GIS) which will allow the forward planning section of the Department of Education and Science to use an up-to-date technical solution to help in planning the location of schools in the future.
Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin said the department was identifying the areas where significant additional school accommodation would be needed for 2009 and onwards.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
It is predicted that the schoolgoing population will increase by some 100,000 over the coming years, raising the primary school population to well over 500,000.
Last September a lack of school places in north Dublin meant some children could not start school immediately when the new term began.
The department is today advertising in national newspapers for tenders to supply a geographical information system (GIS) which will allow the forward planning section of the Department of Education and Science to use an up-to-date technical solution to help in planning the location of schools in the future.
Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin said the department was identifying the areas where significant additional school accommodation would be needed for 2009 and onwards.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Killarney views being blocked by high-rise buildings
A GROWING number of high-rise buildings are taking from the beauty of Killarney and blocking off views traditionally enjoyed by local people and visitors, it has been claimed.
Long-serving Killarney town Councillor Michael Courtney, Independent, described some of the modern buildings in the tourist mecca as being “like prison blocks”.
An Taisce also voiced concerns and highlighted the need to conserve the traditional architecture of Killarney, a town started by the local landlord family, the Brownes (Kenmares), in the mid-18th century.
The Killarney Town Development Plan 2009-2015 is being reviewed and dozens of submissions have been made.
An Taisce said high-rise development was not popular as it was not seen as being child-friendly and was out of scale with existing buildings.
An Taisce referred to a multi-storey building, encompassing offices and retail outlets, under construction at Tralee Road roundabout.
It said the building had been the subject of much adverse comment by local people because of its impact on the view.
The development plan should limit the height of buildings in Killarney, An Taisce suggested.
“Depending on location, most buildings should not exceed three to four stories,” it said.
Independent Councillor Michael Gleeson said Killarney was different to many other towns because views were so important.
“People come to Killarney because of the views and the spectacularly beautiful environment. Some of these prospects have been diminished over the past 20 years. At one time people walking down High Street had a wonderful view of Mangerton Mountain, and likewise with people coming into Killarney from the Tralee side.”
Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom Doherty criticised the design and materials used in some new buildings which, he claimed, were ugly and more in keeping with the 1970’s era.
Labour Councillor Sean O’Grady called for a cap on the height of buildings. “Buildings should be no higher than three to three-and-a-half storeys and should be in scale with some of the buildings that have been here for 150 years.”
Meanwhile, An Taisce has offered the services of its heritage officer, Ian Lumley, free of charge to help the council identify significant buildings that should be conserved.
The older streets of Killarney still retained much traditional architecture, and High Street, New Street, Main Street and Plunkett Street should be designated architectural conservation areas (ACAs), according to An Taisce.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Long-serving Killarney town Councillor Michael Courtney, Independent, described some of the modern buildings in the tourist mecca as being “like prison blocks”.
An Taisce also voiced concerns and highlighted the need to conserve the traditional architecture of Killarney, a town started by the local landlord family, the Brownes (Kenmares), in the mid-18th century.
The Killarney Town Development Plan 2009-2015 is being reviewed and dozens of submissions have been made.
An Taisce said high-rise development was not popular as it was not seen as being child-friendly and was out of scale with existing buildings.
An Taisce referred to a multi-storey building, encompassing offices and retail outlets, under construction at Tralee Road roundabout.
It said the building had been the subject of much adverse comment by local people because of its impact on the view.
The development plan should limit the height of buildings in Killarney, An Taisce suggested.
“Depending on location, most buildings should not exceed three to four stories,” it said.
Independent Councillor Michael Gleeson said Killarney was different to many other towns because views were so important.
“People come to Killarney because of the views and the spectacularly beautiful environment. Some of these prospects have been diminished over the past 20 years. At one time people walking down High Street had a wonderful view of Mangerton Mountain, and likewise with people coming into Killarney from the Tralee side.”
Fianna Fáil Councillor Tom Doherty criticised the design and materials used in some new buildings which, he claimed, were ugly and more in keeping with the 1970’s era.
Labour Councillor Sean O’Grady called for a cap on the height of buildings. “Buildings should be no higher than three to three-and-a-half storeys and should be in scale with some of the buildings that have been here for 150 years.”
Meanwhile, An Taisce has offered the services of its heritage officer, Ian Lumley, free of charge to help the council identify significant buildings that should be conserved.
The older streets of Killarney still retained much traditional architecture, and High Street, New Street, Main Street and Plunkett Street should be designated architectural conservation areas (ACAs), according to An Taisce.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Dunne warns of economic crisis without Jurys' site
PROPERTY developer Sean Dunne has warned that foreign investment into Ireland will dry up if he does not receive planning permission for his proposed 1.5bn 37-storey tower at the Jurys hotels site in Ballsbridge, Dublin.
Dunne, who has taken a huge financial gamble by buying the site and desperately needs planning permission, said the city was facing an office accommodation crisis and if "firms cannot find space in the city centre, competing cities in Europe and the rest of the world will be looked to".
The justification for the site is in a document commissioned by Dunne and seen by the Sunday Tribune. The document says the decision on planning permission "has implications for the national economy as a whole". It forms part of Dunne's final bid to persuade planners to back the scheme.
The assessment claims Dunne's project will generate over 4,000 jobs and contribute 313m annually to the local economy. Dunne also claims his project would help recover some of the estimated 6.5bn a year lost from the economy by Irish people sending their money abroad. He said the retail element of his scheme would "enhance the city's attraction and competitiveness as an international shopping destination".
The strident tone of the document underlines how vital it is for Dunne to secure planning permission as quickly as possible. The developer has already borrowed over 750m from the banks for the project, with the Ballsbridge site itself acting as security for several loans from Ulster Bank.
A spokesman for Dunne also confirmed he had yet to arrange financing for construction of the project. However, fellow developer Ray Grehan, who secured permission for a 15-storey tower on a neighbouring site, said this was usual and that he hadn't secured funding for his site either. He said, however, that he was confident of securing the 500m to complete his scheme.
Although publicly Dunne's firm, Mountbrook Homes, remains bullish, some in the property business privately express reservations about whether his plans are achievable. The doubts centre on the fact that it involves the construction of almost 28,000 square metres of office space at a time when supply is outstripping demand.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Dunne, who has taken a huge financial gamble by buying the site and desperately needs planning permission, said the city was facing an office accommodation crisis and if "firms cannot find space in the city centre, competing cities in Europe and the rest of the world will be looked to".
The justification for the site is in a document commissioned by Dunne and seen by the Sunday Tribune. The document says the decision on planning permission "has implications for the national economy as a whole". It forms part of Dunne's final bid to persuade planners to back the scheme.
The assessment claims Dunne's project will generate over 4,000 jobs and contribute 313m annually to the local economy. Dunne also claims his project would help recover some of the estimated 6.5bn a year lost from the economy by Irish people sending their money abroad. He said the retail element of his scheme would "enhance the city's attraction and competitiveness as an international shopping destination".
The strident tone of the document underlines how vital it is for Dunne to secure planning permission as quickly as possible. The developer has already borrowed over 750m from the banks for the project, with the Ballsbridge site itself acting as security for several loans from Ulster Bank.
A spokesman for Dunne also confirmed he had yet to arrange financing for construction of the project. However, fellow developer Ray Grehan, who secured permission for a 15-storey tower on a neighbouring site, said this was usual and that he hadn't secured funding for his site either. He said, however, that he was confident of securing the 500m to complete his scheme.
Although publicly Dunne's firm, Mountbrook Homes, remains bullish, some in the property business privately express reservations about whether his plans are achievable. The doubts centre on the fact that it involves the construction of almost 28,000 square metres of office space at a time when supply is outstripping demand.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 23 February 2008
Extension at Knock airport to go ahead
A €5 million extension to the main terminal building at Knock airport has got the final go-ahead.
The new terminal area in the townland of Kilgarriff west, comprises a departure lounge, retail, security screening, baggage handling area, check-in hall, office accommodation and associated works.
Work on the new terminal is expected to begin in April and be completed by the end of the year. Environmentalist Peter Sweetman had complained that excessive aircraft noise would be created in the area.
He had appealed to An Bord Pleanála a decision by Mayo County Council to grant permission for the 1,500 metre extension which would include a doubling in size of the check-in area as well as new security screening and additional seating at departures.
However, airport chief executive Robert Grealis yesterday welcomed the ruling, saying the increased space was "desperately wanted". "The building's current capacity is 500,000 passengers per annum. We are projecting 700,000 passengers this year so it's a tight squeeze, especially in the summer season."
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The new terminal area in the townland of Kilgarriff west, comprises a departure lounge, retail, security screening, baggage handling area, check-in hall, office accommodation and associated works.
Work on the new terminal is expected to begin in April and be completed by the end of the year. Environmentalist Peter Sweetman had complained that excessive aircraft noise would be created in the area.
He had appealed to An Bord Pleanála a decision by Mayo County Council to grant permission for the 1,500 metre extension which would include a doubling in size of the check-in area as well as new security screening and additional seating at departures.
However, airport chief executive Robert Grealis yesterday welcomed the ruling, saying the increased space was "desperately wanted". "The building's current capacity is 500,000 passengers per annum. We are projecting 700,000 passengers this year so it's a tight squeeze, especially in the summer season."
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Locals angry over €130m Ringaskiddy waste plant proposal
A COMMUNITY group has reacted angrily to an announcement that Indaver Ireland is seeking planning permission for a €130 million incinerator for household and commercial waste.
Indaver said it had decided to bypass Cork County Council's planning office and instead lodge the application with An Bord Pleanála for the project at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
The company has submitted a pre-consultation application for the incinerator, which will burn 100,000 tonnes of waste per annum, to the Strategic Infrastructure Development section of An Bord Pleanála.
Indaver believes the incinerator represents a piece of national infrastructure and the application should therefore be considered by An Bord Pleanála rather than the local authority.
Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment said the Indaver move was designed to bypass local objections.
"It is quite depressing from the community's perspective. We can make a submission to An Bord Pleanála and I presume we will. We are angry about this. Indaver has never sought to seriously engage with the local community," said an alliance spokesman.
The company has already been granted planning permission for a 100,000 ton per year hazardous waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy and intends to build the other incinerator close to this site.
Indaver said it intends to supply local industries with renewable energy, which will be a byproduct of the incineration process.
The company's project director Jackie Keaney said the development of alternative treatment capacity for residual municipal waste has become critical as Ireland approaches its first landfill diversion target in 2010.
"Our proposed development will help implement Irish waste policy to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill. Environmental Protection Agency waste figures indicate that we must divert over 33% of residual waste currently going to landfill by 2010, and over 55% by 2013. EPA reports also warn that municipal waste to landfill is on the increase and we must put in place as soon as possible alternative waste facilities to treat this waste," said Ms Keaney.
She said the combined waste-to-energy facility will produce more than 60 megawatts of steam, which can be used in a combined heat and power plant to generate electricity and steam or hot water.
Indaver believes the location of the facility on the Ringaskiddy peninsula is ideal, because it will be able to provide this steam or hot water to the local Pharmachem industry through a district heating network.
Sean O'Riordan
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Indaver said it had decided to bypass Cork County Council's planning office and instead lodge the application with An Bord Pleanála for the project at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
The company has submitted a pre-consultation application for the incinerator, which will burn 100,000 tonnes of waste per annum, to the Strategic Infrastructure Development section of An Bord Pleanála.
Indaver believes the incinerator represents a piece of national infrastructure and the application should therefore be considered by An Bord Pleanála rather than the local authority.
Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment said the Indaver move was designed to bypass local objections.
"It is quite depressing from the community's perspective. We can make a submission to An Bord Pleanála and I presume we will. We are angry about this. Indaver has never sought to seriously engage with the local community," said an alliance spokesman.
The company has already been granted planning permission for a 100,000 ton per year hazardous waste incinerator in Ringaskiddy and intends to build the other incinerator close to this site.
Indaver said it intends to supply local industries with renewable energy, which will be a byproduct of the incineration process.
The company's project director Jackie Keaney said the development of alternative treatment capacity for residual municipal waste has become critical as Ireland approaches its first landfill diversion target in 2010.
"Our proposed development will help implement Irish waste policy to divert biodegradable municipal waste from landfill. Environmental Protection Agency waste figures indicate that we must divert over 33% of residual waste currently going to landfill by 2010, and over 55% by 2013. EPA reports also warn that municipal waste to landfill is on the increase and we must put in place as soon as possible alternative waste facilities to treat this waste," said Ms Keaney.
She said the combined waste-to-energy facility will produce more than 60 megawatts of steam, which can be used in a combined heat and power plant to generate electricity and steam or hot water.
Indaver believes the location of the facility on the Ringaskiddy peninsula is ideal, because it will be able to provide this steam or hot water to the local Pharmachem industry through a district heating network.
Sean O'Riordan
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Will landowners forfeit money if power lines are put underground?
Minister poses question as independent study announced
LANDOWNERS along the proposed routes of the 400kV EirGrid power lines should indicate if they would be willing to forfeit compensation if the power company decides it could put the cables underground between Batterstown and Tyrone, the Minister for Transport and Meath West TD, Noel Dempsey, said this week.
He was speaking following the announcement by the Minister for Communications and Energy, Eamonn Ryan, that his Department is to commission an independent study on transmission line infrastructure in Ireland, which will address the implications of installing underground cables relative to overhead transmission lines.
Mr Dempsey had requested Mr Ryan to consider such a study, and the communications minister made the announcement last week as the Joint Oireachtas Committee's hearings on the infrastructure were drawing to a close.
Fears over the health implications of the overhead power lines have been the main reason for the opposition to the pylons and lines by communities across the county, as well as in Cavan and Tyrone. Other issues being raised include environmental, heritage, livelihood and land value concerns.
Mr Dempsey said that a major cost of under-grounding cables, in the region of 25 per cent of the eventual figure, was the land cost. "It would be helpful if the campaign groups involved, and individuals involved, would say if they would be willing to allow EirGrid bury the lines under the land without seeking compensation, as this would reduce the cost considerably and maybe make it possible. I make the suggestion because a lot of people opposing the power lines have already suggested to me that they would be willing to go down this route and I want to establish if it is a common feeling," said the minister.
This would need to be done now in order for it to be included as a factor in the study commissioned by Minister Ryan in comparing the costs of cable vers'us power lines.
Mr Dempsey added that he was sensitive to the fact that people would be entitled to compensation, but he said he was attempting to explore all options.
Minister Eamonn Ryan said the study will be conducted on a national basis and will offer professional advice on best international practice for the construction of transmission lines. It will consider the relative performance and implications of underground cables and overhead lines, having regard to technical characteristics, reliability, operation and maintenance factors, environmental impact, possible health issues and cost.
"I am aware of considerable concern in local communities about the impact of overhead lines," Minister Ryan said. "Local groups and deputies from all sides of the House have expressed their desire for an independent study to consider all the issues involved. I am happy to facilitate the furnishing of this information for due diligence and in the interest of the public good."
The study will be commissioned over the coming weeks with a view to its completion and publication in April.
The move has been welcomed by public representatives in Meath, as well as EirGrid, while the North East Pylon Pressure (NEPP) group gave it a "guarded welcome".
Dermot Byrne, Eirgrid chief executive, said: "We in EirGrid welcome this move and, indeed, we note the request right across the political spectrum for such a study. We are happy to assist the study in whatever way we can."
NEPP says that if the study is to have any credibility, the consultants appointed must be of the highest international repute and experience and entirely independent of EirGrid and the Department of Energy.
The group says that EirGrid must make no further decisions in relation to its proposal until the study has been completed and considered by the minister, the Government and the wider public.
The study must treat the existing EirGrid proposal of three possible routes for overground cables in the northeast as no longer relevant and - instead - look at the optimal route for under-grounding with a clean sheet and without pre-conditions, the NEPP said.
It must also take into account the existing criteria already conceded by EirGrid itself for route selection, and in comparing underground cabling with over-ground, the study must look at the many examples worldwide where underground cabling has been used over long distances and in environments similar to the north-east, it added.
Minister Ryan's decision to commission a study was also welcomed by Meath Fianna Fail TDs Johnny Brady and Thomas Byrne, Fine Gael's Shane McEntee and Damien English, and the Meath Green Party secretary and recent Meath East election candidate, Sean 6 Buachalla.
John Donohoe
Meath Chronicle
www.buckplanning.ie
LANDOWNERS along the proposed routes of the 400kV EirGrid power lines should indicate if they would be willing to forfeit compensation if the power company decides it could put the cables underground between Batterstown and Tyrone, the Minister for Transport and Meath West TD, Noel Dempsey, said this week.
He was speaking following the announcement by the Minister for Communications and Energy, Eamonn Ryan, that his Department is to commission an independent study on transmission line infrastructure in Ireland, which will address the implications of installing underground cables relative to overhead transmission lines.
Mr Dempsey had requested Mr Ryan to consider such a study, and the communications minister made the announcement last week as the Joint Oireachtas Committee's hearings on the infrastructure were drawing to a close.
Fears over the health implications of the overhead power lines have been the main reason for the opposition to the pylons and lines by communities across the county, as well as in Cavan and Tyrone. Other issues being raised include environmental, heritage, livelihood and land value concerns.
Mr Dempsey said that a major cost of under-grounding cables, in the region of 25 per cent of the eventual figure, was the land cost. "It would be helpful if the campaign groups involved, and individuals involved, would say if they would be willing to allow EirGrid bury the lines under the land without seeking compensation, as this would reduce the cost considerably and maybe make it possible. I make the suggestion because a lot of people opposing the power lines have already suggested to me that they would be willing to go down this route and I want to establish if it is a common feeling," said the minister.
This would need to be done now in order for it to be included as a factor in the study commissioned by Minister Ryan in comparing the costs of cable vers'us power lines.
Mr Dempsey added that he was sensitive to the fact that people would be entitled to compensation, but he said he was attempting to explore all options.
Minister Eamonn Ryan said the study will be conducted on a national basis and will offer professional advice on best international practice for the construction of transmission lines. It will consider the relative performance and implications of underground cables and overhead lines, having regard to technical characteristics, reliability, operation and maintenance factors, environmental impact, possible health issues and cost.
"I am aware of considerable concern in local communities about the impact of overhead lines," Minister Ryan said. "Local groups and deputies from all sides of the House have expressed their desire for an independent study to consider all the issues involved. I am happy to facilitate the furnishing of this information for due diligence and in the interest of the public good."
The study will be commissioned over the coming weeks with a view to its completion and publication in April.
The move has been welcomed by public representatives in Meath, as well as EirGrid, while the North East Pylon Pressure (NEPP) group gave it a "guarded welcome".
Dermot Byrne, Eirgrid chief executive, said: "We in EirGrid welcome this move and, indeed, we note the request right across the political spectrum for such a study. We are happy to assist the study in whatever way we can."
NEPP says that if the study is to have any credibility, the consultants appointed must be of the highest international repute and experience and entirely independent of EirGrid and the Department of Energy.
The group says that EirGrid must make no further decisions in relation to its proposal until the study has been completed and considered by the minister, the Government and the wider public.
The study must treat the existing EirGrid proposal of three possible routes for overground cables in the northeast as no longer relevant and - instead - look at the optimal route for under-grounding with a clean sheet and without pre-conditions, the NEPP said.
It must also take into account the existing criteria already conceded by EirGrid itself for route selection, and in comparing underground cabling with over-ground, the study must look at the many examples worldwide where underground cabling has been used over long distances and in environments similar to the north-east, it added.
Minister Ryan's decision to commission a study was also welcomed by Meath Fianna Fail TDs Johnny Brady and Thomas Byrne, Fine Gael's Shane McEntee and Damien English, and the Meath Green Party secretary and recent Meath East election candidate, Sean 6 Buachalla.
John Donohoe
Meath Chronicle
www.buckplanning.ie
Marina backers face EUR260,000 bill as project hits choppy waters
MINISTER Eamon 6 Cuiv and Deputy Frank Fahey have joined forces in a last ditch attempt to save the backers of a marina project in Roundstone from having to fork out substantial sums from their own pockets to the banks.
The Roundstone Marina company - comprised largely of local people - took out bank loans totalling over EUR260,000 five years ago in the belief that Government grants would be available to pay the money back.
The people in the Roundstone Marina company are working in a voluntary capacity on the project.
Four business people with strong links to Roundstone - and including the creator of Riverdance, Bill Whelan - gave personal guarantees in respect of the loans.
But the Marina company, and the guarantors, have been caught in the centre of a long running battle between Frank Fahey and officials from the Department of the Marine.
The controversial 34-berth marina project in Roundstone Bay was first mooted when Deputy Fahey was the Cabinet Minister with responsibility for the Marine between 2000 and 2002. The estimated cost was approximately EUR2.5m.
The then-Minister Fahey committed the Department of the Marine to giving strong financial backing to the marina. However, since Fahey left the Ministry departmental officials have raised doubts about the marina project and have raised questions about the wisdom of spending money on it.
The Roundstone Marina company got full planning permission five years ago. They also got all off the foreshore and marine licences that were needed for the project.
But the local company directors had to take out large bank loans to cover the cost of consultancy work and the planning process.
It is understood that a local bank branch has now handed the matter over to its Dublin headquarters and that moves may be afoot to get the money back. But the Marina company does not have the funds to pay up.
This could leave individuals in the Roundstone Marina Company and/or the four guarantors with the responsibility of paying the EUR260,000 out of their own pockets.
According to local sources the situation has reached the point where demands for the money - or Court action - could follow soon.
It is understood that representatives of the Roundstone Marina Company met the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon 6 Cuiv and Deputy Frank Fahey in Ballyconneely during the week to discuss the matter.
Following on that, Deputy Fahey said that the Marina project was now coming under the umbrella of Minister 6 Cufv's Department.
It is not clear as to how a marina project could be handled in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs but there is some talk thai it could involve liaison with the Department of the Marine. It is understood that the matter is to be raised with Finance Minster, Brian Cowen with a view to finding a sum of money to back the project.
But the most immediate priority is to ensure thai the voluntary community group and/or the guarantors who got into the venture in good faith are not hit with a big bill. It is not known yet if the banks will be willing to hold back further - they have been waiting for money for six years - as a result of the new efforts involving Minister O Cufv and Deputy Fahey.
The Roundstone Marina was one of four such projects along the south and west coast that were backed by Frank Fahey when he was at the Cabinet table.
The projects came in for some criticism from people such as former Green leader, Trevor Sargeant, T.D - now a junior Minister in the FF/Green/PD Government.
These criticisms have abated for sometime past. Deputy Fahey has always defended the projects strongly and said they opened up new possibilities in tourism in the wesl of Ireland.
Officials in the Department of the Marine continued to demand more information and asked for different structures in the Roundstone Marina company in recent years.
Deputy Frank Fahey says that all that was required has long since been complied with.
There has been speculation that Fahey - who pushed through projects such as the marina's and Rosaveal Harbour while certain civil servants were unhappy about them - insisted that money would come to west of Ireland projects when he was in the Cabinet. This may have led to tensions between himself and Dublin based civil servants.
"It's a crying shame that local people here in Roundstone who are doing their best for the community should be suffering because of that", said a local community activist who did not want to be named.
Mairtin O Cathain
Connacht Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The Roundstone Marina company - comprised largely of local people - took out bank loans totalling over EUR260,000 five years ago in the belief that Government grants would be available to pay the money back.
The people in the Roundstone Marina company are working in a voluntary capacity on the project.
Four business people with strong links to Roundstone - and including the creator of Riverdance, Bill Whelan - gave personal guarantees in respect of the loans.
But the Marina company, and the guarantors, have been caught in the centre of a long running battle between Frank Fahey and officials from the Department of the Marine.
The controversial 34-berth marina project in Roundstone Bay was first mooted when Deputy Fahey was the Cabinet Minister with responsibility for the Marine between 2000 and 2002. The estimated cost was approximately EUR2.5m.
The then-Minister Fahey committed the Department of the Marine to giving strong financial backing to the marina. However, since Fahey left the Ministry departmental officials have raised doubts about the marina project and have raised questions about the wisdom of spending money on it.
The Roundstone Marina company got full planning permission five years ago. They also got all off the foreshore and marine licences that were needed for the project.
But the local company directors had to take out large bank loans to cover the cost of consultancy work and the planning process.
It is understood that a local bank branch has now handed the matter over to its Dublin headquarters and that moves may be afoot to get the money back. But the Marina company does not have the funds to pay up.
This could leave individuals in the Roundstone Marina Company and/or the four guarantors with the responsibility of paying the EUR260,000 out of their own pockets.
According to local sources the situation has reached the point where demands for the money - or Court action - could follow soon.
It is understood that representatives of the Roundstone Marina Company met the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon 6 Cuiv and Deputy Frank Fahey in Ballyconneely during the week to discuss the matter.
Following on that, Deputy Fahey said that the Marina project was now coming under the umbrella of Minister 6 Cufv's Department.
It is not clear as to how a marina project could be handled in the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs but there is some talk thai it could involve liaison with the Department of the Marine. It is understood that the matter is to be raised with Finance Minster, Brian Cowen with a view to finding a sum of money to back the project.
But the most immediate priority is to ensure thai the voluntary community group and/or the guarantors who got into the venture in good faith are not hit with a big bill. It is not known yet if the banks will be willing to hold back further - they have been waiting for money for six years - as a result of the new efforts involving Minister O Cufv and Deputy Fahey.
The Roundstone Marina was one of four such projects along the south and west coast that were backed by Frank Fahey when he was at the Cabinet table.
The projects came in for some criticism from people such as former Green leader, Trevor Sargeant, T.D - now a junior Minister in the FF/Green/PD Government.
These criticisms have abated for sometime past. Deputy Fahey has always defended the projects strongly and said they opened up new possibilities in tourism in the wesl of Ireland.
Officials in the Department of the Marine continued to demand more information and asked for different structures in the Roundstone Marina company in recent years.
Deputy Frank Fahey says that all that was required has long since been complied with.
There has been speculation that Fahey - who pushed through projects such as the marina's and Rosaveal Harbour while certain civil servants were unhappy about them - insisted that money would come to west of Ireland projects when he was in the Cabinet. This may have led to tensions between himself and Dublin based civil servants.
"It's a crying shame that local people here in Roundstone who are doing their best for the community should be suffering because of that", said a local community activist who did not want to be named.
Mairtin O Cathain
Connacht Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Pylons protestors hear loud and clear in Trim
COLOURFUL, CO-ORDINATED and clearly distinguishable stood a whopping 1,500 protestors at Trim Castle last Friday as they voiced their opposition to EirGrid. Dressed in bright yellow ponchos and waving protest placards and colourful red balloons, crowds of concerned families gathered against EirGrid's proposed 58 kilometres of high power lines through the North East.
The massive entourage of protestors from the North East Pylons Pressure (NEPP) group gathered outside the spring seminar of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland (AMAI), which was attended by several hundred councillors from all over Ireland.
The delegation met the keynote speaker at the conference, Maire Hoctor TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health, to outline their case. Ms Hoctor was standing in for Minister John Gormley, who had pulled out of the conference, at which he had been due to be the keynote speaker.
NEPP chairman Francis Lally said: "We will remain united until we have achieved our aim - the complete undergrounding of EirGrid's high power cables in the north-east.
"More than 26 schools and over 20 GAA clubs are in the line of just one of the possible routes for the overhead power lines and this cannot be allowed to happen."
A spokesman for Trim gardai said: "It was a well-organised protest which passed off very peacefully, with no disruption to traffic." Speaking at the protest rally, NEPP campaign coordinator Aimee Treacy said: "Our protest is a show of solidarity amongst the residents of the neighbouring counties of Meath Monaghan and Cavan.
"If EirGrid's proposed line is not put underground, it will mean many other towns, villages and lands in the rest of the country may face a similar fate.
"EirGrid is committed to a further 600 kilometres of cables and pylons anywhere from Donegal to Wexford and we must stop this happening," she said.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, a delegation from NEPP will brief the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in Leinster House.
The NEPP group will also make a submission to the international consultants appointed by the Government to report the case on overhead lines versus underground cabling.
Meath Weekender
www.buckplanning.ie
The massive entourage of protestors from the North East Pylons Pressure (NEPP) group gathered outside the spring seminar of the Association of Municipal Authorities of Ireland (AMAI), which was attended by several hundred councillors from all over Ireland.
The delegation met the keynote speaker at the conference, Maire Hoctor TD, Minister of State at the Department of Health, to outline their case. Ms Hoctor was standing in for Minister John Gormley, who had pulled out of the conference, at which he had been due to be the keynote speaker.
NEPP chairman Francis Lally said: "We will remain united until we have achieved our aim - the complete undergrounding of EirGrid's high power cables in the north-east.
"More than 26 schools and over 20 GAA clubs are in the line of just one of the possible routes for the overhead power lines and this cannot be allowed to happen."
A spokesman for Trim gardai said: "It was a well-organised protest which passed off very peacefully, with no disruption to traffic." Speaking at the protest rally, NEPP campaign coordinator Aimee Treacy said: "Our protest is a show of solidarity amongst the residents of the neighbouring counties of Meath Monaghan and Cavan.
"If EirGrid's proposed line is not put underground, it will mean many other towns, villages and lands in the rest of the country may face a similar fate.
"EirGrid is committed to a further 600 kilometres of cables and pylons anywhere from Donegal to Wexford and we must stop this happening," she said.
Tomorrow, Wednesday, a delegation from NEPP will brief the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Communications, Energy and Natural Resources in Leinster House.
The NEPP group will also make a submission to the international consultants appointed by the Government to report the case on overhead lines versus underground cabling.
Meath Weekender
www.buckplanning.ie
Sky's the limit in D4
TIMING is everything and, for Ray Grehan, Seán Dunne, Jerry O'Reilly, and David Courtney, this is especially true in Ballsbridge, where there are billions at stake for the wealthy property developers.
Last month, Dublin City Council unveiled its plan for the future of Dublin, entitled Maximising the City's Potential: A Strategy for Intensification and Height, in which various areas in the capital have been earmarked for high rise development. Bizarrely, considering the type of development plans currently being processed for Ballsbridge, the D4 area was not included for any high-rise designation.
Thus, if the Council's plan - which is on display until March 7 - is indeed adopted, Ballsbridge should be free of any high-rise.
However, happily for Ray Grehan, his application for a 15-storey building on the site of the former vet college on Shelbourne Road was dealt with this week under the current Dublin Development Plan, with Council planners greenlighting the Grehan tower (‘Number One Ballsbridge'). The story is the same for the Dunner's €1bn plan to "bring Knightsbridge to Ballsbridge", complete with 37-storey signature tower. He must be delighted to see Grehan getting the all-clear, given that it is more than likely that both schemes will be developed in tandem. Grehan paid out €171m for his 2.2-acre site, which works out at €57m an acre, while just down the road, Jerry O'Reilly and David Courtney broke all records when they lashed out €95m an acre for the six-storey Faculty Building, which sits on just half an acre. This has already been the subject of a rejected planning application and the boys will need to move fast if they are to get a new plan approved ahead of the adoption of the new high-rise plan for the city.
Phoenix
www.buckplanning.ie
Last month, Dublin City Council unveiled its plan for the future of Dublin, entitled Maximising the City's Potential: A Strategy for Intensification and Height, in which various areas in the capital have been earmarked for high rise development. Bizarrely, considering the type of development plans currently being processed for Ballsbridge, the D4 area was not included for any high-rise designation.
Thus, if the Council's plan - which is on display until March 7 - is indeed adopted, Ballsbridge should be free of any high-rise.
However, happily for Ray Grehan, his application for a 15-storey building on the site of the former vet college on Shelbourne Road was dealt with this week under the current Dublin Development Plan, with Council planners greenlighting the Grehan tower (‘Number One Ballsbridge'). The story is the same for the Dunner's €1bn plan to "bring Knightsbridge to Ballsbridge", complete with 37-storey signature tower. He must be delighted to see Grehan getting the all-clear, given that it is more than likely that both schemes will be developed in tandem. Grehan paid out €171m for his 2.2-acre site, which works out at €57m an acre, while just down the road, Jerry O'Reilly and David Courtney broke all records when they lashed out €95m an acre for the six-storey Faculty Building, which sits on just half an acre. This has already been the subject of a rejected planning application and the boys will need to move fast if they are to get a new plan approved ahead of the adoption of the new high-rise plan for the city.
Phoenix
www.buckplanning.ie
Leisure plan for Victorian baths site makes a splash
A NEW world class pier and beach lagoon for the old Dun Laoghaire baths site was unveiled yesterday as an alternative to controversial high rise apartments.
The plan was outlined at a special briefing meeting yesterday for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors.
Consultants Royal Haskoning and Murray & Associates made a presentation of the main findings and recommendations in their feasibility study on the East Pier to Sandycove Coastal Amenity Project.
Two different concept schemes were presented to councillors who wanted to examine the feasibility of a major world-class environmental/amenity improvement scheme at the location, which includes the Dun Laoghaire Baths site.
They were required to make provision for the proposed Sutton to Sandycove (S2S) walkway project.
A key recommendation made by the council is that the project should not have any high-rise or residential element, but that it should seek to complement the coastline and offer a modern local tourist attraction in the area.
Any proposed scheme must provide adequate sea defences to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion on the site in order to protect any proposed development
The alternative schemes recommended by the consultants and viewed by councillors yesterday include one featuring:
• A new lagoon in Dun Laoghaire.
• A lagoon beach constructed adjacent to the East Pier with a linking pedestrian bridge.
• An aquatic play area on the old baths site with a civic space and a building with a restaurant, providing for alternative therapies.
• An underground car park with up to 500 spaces.
• New upper and lower walkways along entire sea frontage with plaza and viewing areas.
• The Sutton to Sandycove project along the entire route.
• Limited land reclamation along Newtownsmith to facilitate civic amenities including the 'Festival of World Cultures'.
• A newly landscaped Sandycove Park with water sports buildings.
• Improved facilities for Sandycove Harbour.
The alternative plan includes:
• New promenade and sandy beach over the East Pier to Newtownsmith section.
• Construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m off shore.
• An upper and lower walkway, which will provide walks along the frontage and access to the beachfront.
• Accommodation of the S2S project along the entire route.
• An increase in surface car parking at Newtownsmith.
• Limited land reclamation along Newtownsmith to facilitate civic amenities, including the 'Festival of World Cultures'.
• Newly landscaped Sandycove Park with water sports buildings.
Both concepts will be presented to the public next week.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The plan was outlined at a special briefing meeting yesterday for Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors.
Consultants Royal Haskoning and Murray & Associates made a presentation of the main findings and recommendations in their feasibility study on the East Pier to Sandycove Coastal Amenity Project.
Two different concept schemes were presented to councillors who wanted to examine the feasibility of a major world-class environmental/amenity improvement scheme at the location, which includes the Dun Laoghaire Baths site.
They were required to make provision for the proposed Sutton to Sandycove (S2S) walkway project.
A key recommendation made by the council is that the project should not have any high-rise or residential element, but that it should seek to complement the coastline and offer a modern local tourist attraction in the area.
Any proposed scheme must provide adequate sea defences to mitigate the effects of coastal erosion on the site in order to protect any proposed development
The alternative schemes recommended by the consultants and viewed by councillors yesterday include one featuring:
• A new lagoon in Dun Laoghaire.
• A lagoon beach constructed adjacent to the East Pier with a linking pedestrian bridge.
• An aquatic play area on the old baths site with a civic space and a building with a restaurant, providing for alternative therapies.
• An underground car park with up to 500 spaces.
• New upper and lower walkways along entire sea frontage with plaza and viewing areas.
• The Sutton to Sandycove project along the entire route.
• Limited land reclamation along Newtownsmith to facilitate civic amenities including the 'Festival of World Cultures'.
• A newly landscaped Sandycove Park with water sports buildings.
• Improved facilities for Sandycove Harbour.
The alternative plan includes:
• New promenade and sandy beach over the East Pier to Newtownsmith section.
• Construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m off shore.
• An upper and lower walkway, which will provide walks along the frontage and access to the beachfront.
• Accommodation of the S2S project along the entire route.
• An increase in surface car parking at Newtownsmith.
• Limited land reclamation along Newtownsmith to facilitate civic amenities, including the 'Festival of World Cultures'.
• Newly landscaped Sandycove Park with water sports buildings.
Both concepts will be presented to the public next week.
Treacy Hogan
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Cohen to play Kilmainham. And Iggy will pop in too
Leonard Cohen is set to play an outdoor seated show in Dublin in June. The venue for Cohen's first Irish show in two decades is believed to be the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham.
Last week, POD Concerts applied to Dublin City Council for planning permission to hold live shows at this location between June 13th and 20th, with "up to 12,000 people" expected to attend.
POD Concerts held the Some Days Never End festival, featuring Kíla, The Frames, Pet Shop Boys and others, at the same venue last autumn.
On The Record understands that Iggy Pop will also be headlining a show at the venue on June 16th with support from The Kills and Stiff Little Fingers.
When contacted by The Ticket to confirm details of acts scheduled to be playing this series of shows at the Royal Hospital, a spokesman for POD Concerts declined to comment.
Cohen's last Irish concerts were in June 1988, when he played two shows at Dublin's National Stadium. The influential 73-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter is due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10th in New York.
Cohen is expected to announce a full US, Canadian and European tour, his first in 15 years, in the coming weeks.
He has already been confirmed as one of the headliners for this summer's Glastonbury Festival and is also expected to play a run of shows at London's O2 Arena.
Cohen is believed to be working on a new album, the follow-up to 2004's Dear Heather, which may be released later this year.
Last June, in an interview with HARP magazine, Cohen admitted he had "an itch" to tour again.
"I haven't been out since '93. The years went by and I thought 'I'll never go out again.' But every so often you do have that itch. The actual concerts are always compelling. If you've got good musicians, and you're playing, and people know the songs, and they want to hear them live, it is a wonderful thing. And so I'm drawn to that."
Soundtracks on the Lee
There's a sizeable musical element to this year's Cork French Film Festival (Reel News has more details).
This includes Cine- Concerts with Dublin ensemble 3epkano providing a score for a screening of Jean Epstein's The Fall of the House Of Usher (Triskel, March 3rd) and Somadrone supplying the soundtrack for Chris Marker's La Jetée (Triskel, March 6th).
The festival's closing party (Triskel, March 7th) will feature live sets from the excellent Cap Pas Cap and the Matalking duo, with local record shop owner Jim Plugd on the decks. More information from www.corkfrenchfilm festival.com
Getting out of the boy band ghetto
Believe it or not, there is musical life after a spell in a boy band.
Mark Sheehan and Danny O'Donoghue are former members of My Town, the Irish boy band who signed a huge record deal in the 1990s and released a debut album co-produced by Teddy Riley, but who failed to set the world alight.
Sheehan and O'Donoghue, along with Glen Power, are now The Script, a band signed to RCA Records who are receiving a lot of attention thanks to their We Cry track, with BBC Radio 1 and music industry magazine Record of the Day tipping the band for bigger things.
The Script are currently touring Britain supporting The Hoosiers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Last week, POD Concerts applied to Dublin City Council for planning permission to hold live shows at this location between June 13th and 20th, with "up to 12,000 people" expected to attend.
POD Concerts held the Some Days Never End festival, featuring Kíla, The Frames, Pet Shop Boys and others, at the same venue last autumn.
On The Record understands that Iggy Pop will also be headlining a show at the venue on June 16th with support from The Kills and Stiff Little Fingers.
When contacted by The Ticket to confirm details of acts scheduled to be playing this series of shows at the Royal Hospital, a spokesman for POD Concerts declined to comment.
Cohen's last Irish concerts were in June 1988, when he played two shows at Dublin's National Stadium. The influential 73-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter is due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on March 10th in New York.
Cohen is expected to announce a full US, Canadian and European tour, his first in 15 years, in the coming weeks.
He has already been confirmed as one of the headliners for this summer's Glastonbury Festival and is also expected to play a run of shows at London's O2 Arena.
Cohen is believed to be working on a new album, the follow-up to 2004's Dear Heather, which may be released later this year.
Last June, in an interview with HARP magazine, Cohen admitted he had "an itch" to tour again.
"I haven't been out since '93. The years went by and I thought 'I'll never go out again.' But every so often you do have that itch. The actual concerts are always compelling. If you've got good musicians, and you're playing, and people know the songs, and they want to hear them live, it is a wonderful thing. And so I'm drawn to that."
Soundtracks on the Lee
There's a sizeable musical element to this year's Cork French Film Festival (Reel News has more details).
This includes Cine- Concerts with Dublin ensemble 3epkano providing a score for a screening of Jean Epstein's The Fall of the House Of Usher (Triskel, March 3rd) and Somadrone supplying the soundtrack for Chris Marker's La Jetée (Triskel, March 6th).
The festival's closing party (Triskel, March 7th) will feature live sets from the excellent Cap Pas Cap and the Matalking duo, with local record shop owner Jim Plugd on the decks. More information from www.corkfrenchfilm festival.com
Getting out of the boy band ghetto
Believe it or not, there is musical life after a spell in a boy band.
Mark Sheehan and Danny O'Donoghue are former members of My Town, the Irish boy band who signed a huge record deal in the 1990s and released a debut album co-produced by Teddy Riley, but who failed to set the world alight.
Sheehan and O'Donoghue, along with Glen Power, are now The Script, a band signed to RCA Records who are receiving a lot of attention thanks to their We Cry track, with BBC Radio 1 and music industry magazine Record of the Day tipping the band for bigger things.
The Script are currently touring Britain supporting The Hoosiers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Villagers to fight development plan
Residents of a tiny Donegal village on the border with Derry say they will fight proposals to build a new commuter town there.
Plans are to be lodged with Donegal County Council shortly for 500 residential units as well as a hotel and school grounds in the centre of Killea.
Belfast-based McAllister Holdings has confirmed it is preparing a master plan to develop a new "village centre" on a 47-acre site which is part of Toland's potato factory. Killea is a small village 7km southwest of Derry city on the Letterkenny road.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans are to be lodged with Donegal County Council shortly for 500 residential units as well as a hotel and school grounds in the centre of Killea.
Belfast-based McAllister Holdings has confirmed it is preparing a master plan to develop a new "village centre" on a 47-acre site which is part of Toland's potato factory. Killea is a small village 7km southwest of Derry city on the Letterkenny road.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Locals contest rezoning of Spiddal woodland
Connemara community activists have urged Galway county councillors to review their rezoning of an area of woodland formerly owned by the late Lord Killanin on Spiddal demesne.
The rezoning, approved by Connemara councillors last year, will have "significant adverse impacts on the mature broadleaf woodland" and on the flora and fauna of the Owenboliska (Abhann Boluisce) river, according to independent consultants who conducted an environmental study for Galway County Council.
The material alteration to the draft local area plan for the Galway Gaeltacht was approved late last year by local authority representatives, following backing by Connemara councillors. However, the final Gaeltacht plan - including amendments - still has to be agreed and is listed for discussion at next Monday's local authority meeting.
The council had advised against the rezoning, and had committed to a study of the area, given that both Spiddal House and its "curtilage" are listed as protected structures.
Public access to part of the woodland had been permitted by previous owners, via a walkway along Abhann Boluisce, and the council recently constructed a footbridge across the river close to the shoreline which was facilitated by the current owner.
Lord Killanin's lands and former family home just west of Spiddal village have passed through several hands since their sale during the lifetime of the former International Olympic Committee president.
Michael Morris, the third Lord Killanin, died in 1999 at the age of 84 and was buried in Galway.
He had spent his childhood on Spiddal demesne. On his return to Ireland after military service in the second World War, he rebuilt the house he had inherited from his uncle.
Two of his sons still have homes in the area, and it is understood that planning approval had previously been granted for a house for another family member within the shoreline wood.
Comhairle Pobail an Spideil, the Spiddal community council, says it has no problem with one house being built in the woodland for the current owner's family, if this is the issue involved in the current rezoning.
However, Seán Ó Coistealbha, the council's spokesman, says it has appealed for retention of the zoning as amenity.
Donncha Ó hEallaithe, a Connemara community activist, supports taking this action and says that no material alteration should be approved prior to completion of the proposed county council study.
The current owner of the land was unavailable for comment.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The rezoning, approved by Connemara councillors last year, will have "significant adverse impacts on the mature broadleaf woodland" and on the flora and fauna of the Owenboliska (Abhann Boluisce) river, according to independent consultants who conducted an environmental study for Galway County Council.
The material alteration to the draft local area plan for the Galway Gaeltacht was approved late last year by local authority representatives, following backing by Connemara councillors. However, the final Gaeltacht plan - including amendments - still has to be agreed and is listed for discussion at next Monday's local authority meeting.
The council had advised against the rezoning, and had committed to a study of the area, given that both Spiddal House and its "curtilage" are listed as protected structures.
Public access to part of the woodland had been permitted by previous owners, via a walkway along Abhann Boluisce, and the council recently constructed a footbridge across the river close to the shoreline which was facilitated by the current owner.
Lord Killanin's lands and former family home just west of Spiddal village have passed through several hands since their sale during the lifetime of the former International Olympic Committee president.
Michael Morris, the third Lord Killanin, died in 1999 at the age of 84 and was buried in Galway.
He had spent his childhood on Spiddal demesne. On his return to Ireland after military service in the second World War, he rebuilt the house he had inherited from his uncle.
Two of his sons still have homes in the area, and it is understood that planning approval had previously been granted for a house for another family member within the shoreline wood.
Comhairle Pobail an Spideil, the Spiddal community council, says it has no problem with one house being built in the woodland for the current owner's family, if this is the issue involved in the current rezoning.
However, Seán Ó Coistealbha, the council's spokesman, says it has appealed for retention of the zoning as amenity.
Donncha Ó hEallaithe, a Connemara community activist, supports taking this action and says that no material alteration should be approved prior to completion of the proposed county council study.
The current owner of the land was unavailable for comment.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Two rival designs for development of Dún Laoghaire unveiled
A multimillion-euro plan to transform Dún Laoghaire's coastline into a "world-class" tourist attraction was unveiled yesterday.
Two designs for the site along the East Pier to Sandycove were presented to councillors at a private local authority meeting.
"Concept A", which would cost €129 million, envisages a lagoon beach and a pedestrian bridge adjacent to the East Pier. An aquatic play area is intended for the old public baths site, alongside a civic space comprising a restaurant and spa. An underground car park with up to 500 spaces would be provided for visitors.
"Concept B" would cost €92 million and involves provision of a new promenade and sandy beach from the East Pier to the Newtownsmith section. The works entail construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m (820ft) out to sea. A new water sports centre in a revamped Sandycove Park would feature.
Either concept would be a massive undertaking and necessitate reclaiming one and a half acres of land from the sea. Councillors decided both should be presented for public consultation.
Public interest is sure to focus on the future use of the derelict public baths - a controversial project in 2005 was the catalyst for the latest designs.
Local conservation groups mobilised against a public-private, high-rise apartment proposal for the site. A petition of 15,000 signatures and several street demonstrations successfully called for the plan to be dropped.
In June 2006, the council adopted a framework for the baths site, setting out a publicly owned amenity that excludes high-rise residential development.
Royal Haskoning Engineers, an international maritime civil engineering group, was asked to produce a feasibility study and preliminary design for the coast from the East Pier to Sandycove, including the public baths.
Management at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council now faces the challenge of raising finance for the project.
Both design concepts accommodate the proposed Sutton to Sandycove promenade and cycleway. It is thought this will be beneficial when a likely appeal for EU funding is made.
"The public said before they didn't want a private or residential development of the site and we listened," said Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell O'Connor. "Our big job now is to find the money for the imaginative and inventive plans."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Two designs for the site along the East Pier to Sandycove were presented to councillors at a private local authority meeting.
"Concept A", which would cost €129 million, envisages a lagoon beach and a pedestrian bridge adjacent to the East Pier. An aquatic play area is intended for the old public baths site, alongside a civic space comprising a restaurant and spa. An underground car park with up to 500 spaces would be provided for visitors.
"Concept B" would cost €92 million and involves provision of a new promenade and sandy beach from the East Pier to the Newtownsmith section. The works entail construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m (820ft) out to sea. A new water sports centre in a revamped Sandycove Park would feature.
Either concept would be a massive undertaking and necessitate reclaiming one and a half acres of land from the sea. Councillors decided both should be presented for public consultation.
Public interest is sure to focus on the future use of the derelict public baths - a controversial project in 2005 was the catalyst for the latest designs.
Local conservation groups mobilised against a public-private, high-rise apartment proposal for the site. A petition of 15,000 signatures and several street demonstrations successfully called for the plan to be dropped.
In June 2006, the council adopted a framework for the baths site, setting out a publicly owned amenity that excludes high-rise residential development.
Royal Haskoning Engineers, an international maritime civil engineering group, was asked to produce a feasibility study and preliminary design for the coast from the East Pier to Sandycove, including the public baths.
Management at Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council now faces the challenge of raising finance for the project.
Both design concepts accommodate the proposed Sutton to Sandycove promenade and cycleway. It is thought this will be beneficial when a likely appeal for EU funding is made.
"The public said before they didn't want a private or residential development of the site and we listened," said Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell O'Connor. "Our big job now is to find the money for the imaginative and inventive plans."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Personal data put online by councils
Sensitive personal and financial information, such as bank statements, social welfare information and pay slips submitted by individuals seeking planning permission, have been put online by local authorities. Olivia Kelly and Mark Hennessy report.
Local authorities across the State have been publishing planning files on the internet, with the sanction of the Department of the Environment, for several years. This information could be accessed directly through a council's website, but also by typing an applicant's name into an internet search engine.
Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney yesterday criticised the Government for failing to protect citizens' personal information.
While many of these files just contain information about the development applied for and the name and address of the applicant or their agents, thousands of files contain personal information which anyone with internet access can view and retain.
This information is typically attached to applications made by individuals for one-off rural housing, where applicants have been required to show a long-standing link to the local community and a need for housing within that community.
Applicants have submitted receipts of social welfare payments and letters from parish priests detailing their personal circumstances and family history in order to support applications. Among the other information available to view online are details of bank accounts, including account numbers and balances, credit card bills, pay slips, Revenue information, including PPS numbers, and medical reports.
These planning files are not only available online while the application is "live", ie until the planning authority has made a decision whether or not to grant permission, but remain on the council's website in perpetuity.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it began receiving complaints in relation to planning applications being posted online in mid-2006 after a number of people were contacted by companies who had secured their details online.
"People were being exposed to direct marketing from building societies or DIY firms who had got information from planning applications that they were building a house," assistant commissioner Tony Delaney said.
The commissioner's concerns were brought to the Department of Environment which agreed to develop new regulations and issue new guidelines to local authorities.
"The new guidelines state that pay slips, bank statements, or any extraneous personal data which are not relevant to the application should not be accepted as evidence.
"There is also a box on the application that people must tick if they want to receive direct marketing," Mr Delaney said.
Local authorities have also been instructed to block the information from the searches of websites such as Google, Mr Delaney said.
The new guidelines came into force last year. However, they do not apply to applications made before this date and personal information remains online unless an applicant specifically requests its removal.
Fingal County Council, which has been placing information online for around five years said it has up to 10,000 files online and it would not have the resources to review them.
The council said it was changing its application forms to ensure people were aware that the information received would be published online.
However, Mr Coveney said the Government should ensure that such sensitive personal data is not stored online.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Local authorities across the State have been publishing planning files on the internet, with the sanction of the Department of the Environment, for several years. This information could be accessed directly through a council's website, but also by typing an applicant's name into an internet search engine.
Fine Gael TD Simon Coveney yesterday criticised the Government for failing to protect citizens' personal information.
While many of these files just contain information about the development applied for and the name and address of the applicant or their agents, thousands of files contain personal information which anyone with internet access can view and retain.
This information is typically attached to applications made by individuals for one-off rural housing, where applicants have been required to show a long-standing link to the local community and a need for housing within that community.
Applicants have submitted receipts of social welfare payments and letters from parish priests detailing their personal circumstances and family history in order to support applications. Among the other information available to view online are details of bank accounts, including account numbers and balances, credit card bills, pay slips, Revenue information, including PPS numbers, and medical reports.
These planning files are not only available online while the application is "live", ie until the planning authority has made a decision whether or not to grant permission, but remain on the council's website in perpetuity.
The Office of the Data Protection Commissioner said it began receiving complaints in relation to planning applications being posted online in mid-2006 after a number of people were contacted by companies who had secured their details online.
"People were being exposed to direct marketing from building societies or DIY firms who had got information from planning applications that they were building a house," assistant commissioner Tony Delaney said.
The commissioner's concerns were brought to the Department of Environment which agreed to develop new regulations and issue new guidelines to local authorities.
"The new guidelines state that pay slips, bank statements, or any extraneous personal data which are not relevant to the application should not be accepted as evidence.
"There is also a box on the application that people must tick if they want to receive direct marketing," Mr Delaney said.
Local authorities have also been instructed to block the information from the searches of websites such as Google, Mr Delaney said.
The new guidelines came into force last year. However, they do not apply to applications made before this date and personal information remains online unless an applicant specifically requests its removal.
Fingal County Council, which has been placing information online for around five years said it has up to 10,000 files online and it would not have the resources to review them.
The council said it was changing its application forms to ensure people were aware that the information received would be published online.
However, Mr Coveney said the Government should ensure that such sensitive personal data is not stored online.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council to discipline official over land sale
Cork County Council has begun disciplinary proceedings against a council official following an inquiry into a controversial land sale in north Cork in which the council negotiated to buy land for €11.6 million that had earlier been on sale for €8 million.
The council yesterday confirmed it had completed an internal inquiry into its planned purchase of 20 acres of land zoned for housing at Deerpark, off the Limerick Road in Charleville, north Cork, for €11.6 million in April 2006.
In a statement it said: "A disciplinary process has now commenced into the conduct of an official and a statement is being prepared for An Garda Síochána. It is anticipated that the disciplinary process will take in the order of three months to complete."
The council decided in May 2006 not to proceed with the purchase, leading the vendors, Brian Cremin and Denis O'Reilly, to sue the council. A settlement was reached in the commercial court of the High Court, under which the council bought the land for €9.75 million rather than the purchase price of €11.6 million.
Yesterday the council confirmed its internal inquiry has continued since the court settlement and "a comprehensive and in-depth investigation" had been completed.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The council yesterday confirmed it had completed an internal inquiry into its planned purchase of 20 acres of land zoned for housing at Deerpark, off the Limerick Road in Charleville, north Cork, for €11.6 million in April 2006.
In a statement it said: "A disciplinary process has now commenced into the conduct of an official and a statement is being prepared for An Garda Síochána. It is anticipated that the disciplinary process will take in the order of three months to complete."
The council decided in May 2006 not to proceed with the purchase, leading the vendors, Brian Cremin and Denis O'Reilly, to sue the council. A settlement was reached in the commercial court of the High Court, under which the council bought the land for €9.75 million rather than the purchase price of €11.6 million.
Yesterday the council confirmed its internal inquiry has continued since the court settlement and "a comprehensive and in-depth investigation" had been completed.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Plan for Dún Laoghaire baths gets guarded welcome
Proposals to redevelop Dún Laoghaire baths as part of a €129 million scheme to provide new beach and aquatic facilities at Sandycove were given a guarded welcome by local councillors and the campaign group Save Our Seafront.
Save Our Seafront, which in recent years opposed public- private partnership plans to redevelop the baths, said it did not see why the redevelopment scheme for the baths had been linked to a separate plan to establish a Sandycove to Sutton promenade around Dublin Bay, which it said appeared to have inflated the overall costs.
Save Our Seafront spokesman Richard Boyd Barrett said however that the scheme represented a "180 degree turnabout" on previous plans to redevelop the baths with the inclusion of a multi-storey apartment block.
Consultants Royal Haskoning and Murray & Associates yesterday presented councillors with the main findings and recommendations in their feasibility study on the "East Pier to Sandycove coastal amenity project".
Two different concept schemes were drawn up for the purpose of discussion, with agreement that both concepts would be put on public display.
Concept A is known as the "Dún Laoghaire lagoon" and involves a lagoon beach constructed adjacent to the East Pier, with an "aquatic play area" on the old baths site, among other facilities. Concept B would involve the creation of a new artificial beach at Newtownsmith beach and the construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m offshore. Both concepts incorporate parts of the Sutton to Sandycove promenade.
Mr Boyd Barrett told The Irish Times that while Save Our Seafront welcomed the public facilities, the group had a number of significant questions about the development and was disappointed not to have been given copies of the plans. He claimed that plans had been deliberately kept from the group to "stage manage the launch".
However, Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne, who chaired the council's baths subcommittee which briefed the consultants, said the proposals were only conceptual and public comment was actively being sought. Ms Dillon Byrne said she had also opposed the previous public-private partnership proposals for the baths as the council had wished to keep the coastal side of the coast road free from development.
The problem with Dún Laoghaire baths had been that they were "in the shade for most of the day, unlike Blackrock baths. But at least the concept put forward now seems to have the swimming areas where they would get direct sunshine". Referring to the baths' dilapidated condition, she said it was clear that something needed to be done.
But she insisted that public access rather than commercial gain would have to be the over-riding criteria and she called for people to make positive suggestions for public use of the site. "Unfortunately, we have people who are usually against everything while being in favour of nothing," she added.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Save Our Seafront, which in recent years opposed public- private partnership plans to redevelop the baths, said it did not see why the redevelopment scheme for the baths had been linked to a separate plan to establish a Sandycove to Sutton promenade around Dublin Bay, which it said appeared to have inflated the overall costs.
Save Our Seafront spokesman Richard Boyd Barrett said however that the scheme represented a "180 degree turnabout" on previous plans to redevelop the baths with the inclusion of a multi-storey apartment block.
Consultants Royal Haskoning and Murray & Associates yesterday presented councillors with the main findings and recommendations in their feasibility study on the "East Pier to Sandycove coastal amenity project".
Two different concept schemes were drawn up for the purpose of discussion, with agreement that both concepts would be put on public display.
Concept A is known as the "Dún Laoghaire lagoon" and involves a lagoon beach constructed adjacent to the East Pier, with an "aquatic play area" on the old baths site, among other facilities. Concept B would involve the creation of a new artificial beach at Newtownsmith beach and the construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m offshore. Both concepts incorporate parts of the Sutton to Sandycove promenade.
Mr Boyd Barrett told The Irish Times that while Save Our Seafront welcomed the public facilities, the group had a number of significant questions about the development and was disappointed not to have been given copies of the plans. He claimed that plans had been deliberately kept from the group to "stage manage the launch".
However, Cllr Jane Dillon Byrne, who chaired the council's baths subcommittee which briefed the consultants, said the proposals were only conceptual and public comment was actively being sought. Ms Dillon Byrne said she had also opposed the previous public-private partnership proposals for the baths as the council had wished to keep the coastal side of the coast road free from development.
The problem with Dún Laoghaire baths had been that they were "in the shade for most of the day, unlike Blackrock baths. But at least the concept put forward now seems to have the swimming areas where they would get direct sunshine". Referring to the baths' dilapidated condition, she said it was clear that something needed to be done.
But she insisted that public access rather than commercial gain would have to be the over-riding criteria and she called for people to make positive suggestions for public use of the site. "Unfortunately, we have people who are usually against everything while being in favour of nothing," she added.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 18 February 2008
Attempt to force council to act over house fails
A local authority cannot be compelled to take action under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in relation to a house in a derelict condition
Title: Hussey & anor -v- Dublin City Council
HIGH COURT
Judgment was given by Mr Justice O'Higgins on January 14th, 2008.
JUDGMENT
A local authority cannot be compelled to take action under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in relation to a house in a derelict condition, even if it could become dangerous in the future and cause significant problems for neighbouring properties.
BACKGROUND
The case was taken by some of the owners of Nos 17 and 21 Northumberland Road, Dublin, to force Dublin City Council to take action under Section 10 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 regarding the condition of No 19 Northumberland Road, which lies between Nos 17 and 21.
All three houses are listed, though this was not a major feature of the case.
Section 10 of the Act states that it shall be the duty of a local authority to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of statutory powers, to ensure that land in its area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. This is defined as any land which detracts to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood.
The dispute arose out of the failure of the owners of No 19 Northumberland Road to maintain the premises.
The house is the subject of an unresolved legal dispute between members of the King family. It became vacant when its then occupant, Cecil King, died in 2003. In October of that year it was damaged by fire caused by trespassers.
It continued to deteriorate and there were a number of attempts to break into it.
The applicants first drew the attention of the city council to the state of the house in 2001, asking it to intervene, particularly in the light of the architectural heritage of the three protected houses. Further correspondence took place in 2005, during which one of the applicants indicated that proceedings would be instituted if nothing was done.
The council's dangerous buildings department visited the house, and as a result the King family replaced four windows destroyed in the fire. However, the applicants maintained that the respondent did not appreciate the urgency or seriousness of the situation, and was not doing anything further.
It was not disputed that the house was "dilapidated, run down, neglected and in very poor condition internally and in urgent need of refurbishment". It was also conceded by the council that it was in a "derelict condition", but not that it was a "derelict site" within the meaning of Section 3 of the Act.
An affidavit from an engineer for the applicants stated that wet and dry rot were extremely active throughout the building; that it was attacked by insects such as weevil and woodworm and that it was vitally important not only for the well-being of the building in question, but of the adjacent building, No 17, that urgent control measures be put in place to stop water getting in.
Expert witnesses for the applicants and the respondents disagreed on whether the building was dangerous.
Mr Justice O'Higgins said the issue was whether it was the responsibility of the council to prevent the ingress of water and the spread of rot.
DECISION
"I consider that the duties imposed by S. 10 of the Derelict Sites Act are expressed in clear and unambiguous terms and the question for determination by the court is whether the respondent has been shown to have neglected to perform that duty, and whether the court should compel it to do so by order of mandamus," he said.
He said that inspections had been carried out on 10 occasions from 2005; that notices were served under S. 8 (2) of the Act, notifying the proprietors of intention to visit the affected property; that four windows had been replaced as a result, following which the council maintained the building had been rendered non-derelict; it had also been examined by the Dangerous Building section of the city council and propping works were carried out.
The Act refers to "land in the neighbourhood," he said, and "it would be unduly strained and artificial to describe the presence of damp and ingress of water and future danger of spread of rot as matters detracting or likely to detract from the amenity character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood".
There was nothing in the Act to suggest that it intended to impose a duty on the council to exercise the duties of the owners of the premises.
The Act allowed the council to serve notice on the person appearing to be the owner of premises calling on them to take action to remedy the situation. Only if they failed to do so could the local authority take action itself, he said.
Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 the council had powers in relation to dangerous buildings. If a building was dangerous the court could order the council to serve notice on the owner or occupier, but it would be wrong for the court to act on the presumption that there would be non-compliance with that notice.
He said that if the premises continued to be totally neglected it probably will at some future date become dangerous, but it would be inappropriate to grant a mandatory injunction on the assumption that the respondent, who is already monitoring the situation and who had already taken action, would not do so in the future.
"The building, although in a rundown and seriously neglected condition, is not a 'derelict site' within the meaning of S. 3 of the Derelict Sites Act. It is not open to me to find that it is a dangerous building. It follows that the respondents are not in default of any of their obligations under S. 10 of the Act. This application must, therefore, fail," he concluded.
The full judgment is available on www.courts.ie
Solicitors: Hussey Fraser, Northumberland Road, Dublin (for the applicants)
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Title: Hussey & anor -v- Dublin City Council
HIGH COURT
Judgment was given by Mr Justice O'Higgins on January 14th, 2008.
JUDGMENT
A local authority cannot be compelled to take action under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 in relation to a house in a derelict condition, even if it could become dangerous in the future and cause significant problems for neighbouring properties.
BACKGROUND
The case was taken by some of the owners of Nos 17 and 21 Northumberland Road, Dublin, to force Dublin City Council to take action under Section 10 of the Derelict Sites Act 1990 regarding the condition of No 19 Northumberland Road, which lies between Nos 17 and 21.
All three houses are listed, though this was not a major feature of the case.
Section 10 of the Act states that it shall be the duty of a local authority to take all reasonable steps, including the exercise of statutory powers, to ensure that land in its area does not become, or continue to be, a derelict site. This is defined as any land which detracts to a material degree from the amenity, character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood.
The dispute arose out of the failure of the owners of No 19 Northumberland Road to maintain the premises.
The house is the subject of an unresolved legal dispute between members of the King family. It became vacant when its then occupant, Cecil King, died in 2003. In October of that year it was damaged by fire caused by trespassers.
It continued to deteriorate and there were a number of attempts to break into it.
The applicants first drew the attention of the city council to the state of the house in 2001, asking it to intervene, particularly in the light of the architectural heritage of the three protected houses. Further correspondence took place in 2005, during which one of the applicants indicated that proceedings would be instituted if nothing was done.
The council's dangerous buildings department visited the house, and as a result the King family replaced four windows destroyed in the fire. However, the applicants maintained that the respondent did not appreciate the urgency or seriousness of the situation, and was not doing anything further.
It was not disputed that the house was "dilapidated, run down, neglected and in very poor condition internally and in urgent need of refurbishment". It was also conceded by the council that it was in a "derelict condition", but not that it was a "derelict site" within the meaning of Section 3 of the Act.
An affidavit from an engineer for the applicants stated that wet and dry rot were extremely active throughout the building; that it was attacked by insects such as weevil and woodworm and that it was vitally important not only for the well-being of the building in question, but of the adjacent building, No 17, that urgent control measures be put in place to stop water getting in.
Expert witnesses for the applicants and the respondents disagreed on whether the building was dangerous.
Mr Justice O'Higgins said the issue was whether it was the responsibility of the council to prevent the ingress of water and the spread of rot.
DECISION
"I consider that the duties imposed by S. 10 of the Derelict Sites Act are expressed in clear and unambiguous terms and the question for determination by the court is whether the respondent has been shown to have neglected to perform that duty, and whether the court should compel it to do so by order of mandamus," he said.
He said that inspections had been carried out on 10 occasions from 2005; that notices were served under S. 8 (2) of the Act, notifying the proprietors of intention to visit the affected property; that four windows had been replaced as a result, following which the council maintained the building had been rendered non-derelict; it had also been examined by the Dangerous Building section of the city council and propping works were carried out.
The Act refers to "land in the neighbourhood," he said, and "it would be unduly strained and artificial to describe the presence of damp and ingress of water and future danger of spread of rot as matters detracting or likely to detract from the amenity character or appearance of land in the neighbourhood".
There was nothing in the Act to suggest that it intended to impose a duty on the council to exercise the duties of the owners of the premises.
The Act allowed the council to serve notice on the person appearing to be the owner of premises calling on them to take action to remedy the situation. Only if they failed to do so could the local authority take action itself, he said.
Under the Local Government (Sanitary Services) Act 1964 the council had powers in relation to dangerous buildings. If a building was dangerous the court could order the council to serve notice on the owner or occupier, but it would be wrong for the court to act on the presumption that there would be non-compliance with that notice.
He said that if the premises continued to be totally neglected it probably will at some future date become dangerous, but it would be inappropriate to grant a mandatory injunction on the assumption that the respondent, who is already monitoring the situation and who had already taken action, would not do so in the future.
"The building, although in a rundown and seriously neglected condition, is not a 'derelict site' within the meaning of S. 3 of the Derelict Sites Act. It is not open to me to find that it is a dangerous building. It follows that the respondents are not in default of any of their obligations under S. 10 of the Act. This application must, therefore, fail," he concluded.
The full judgment is available on www.courts.ie
Solicitors: Hussey Fraser, Northumberland Road, Dublin (for the applicants)
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Lansdowne on schedule as locals get first glimpse
The €365 million redevelopment of Lansdowne Road stadium is on schedule to be completed by April 2010, according to the developers.
The public was given a first glimpse of progress on Saturday when busloads of local Dublin 4 residents were shown around the site.
Work on the 50,000-seat stadium began in May last year. It was originally envisaged that it would be completed by the end of 2009, but that was delayed because of difficulties in getting planning permission.
The main contractor, Sisk, has been given a completion date of April 2010, after the end of the RBS Six Nations tournament and at a time when there will be no major World Cup qualification games.
Project director Michael Greene said: "We're well on target, but it's a very tight programme. By finishing in April 2010, we won't be under major pressure to get something on very quickly in the stadium. You have to have warm-up events and make sure that everything is running properly."
The foundations and first floor of both the new east and west stands have been completed. By late March all the foundations on the stadium footprint will be finished. This week work will start on the grand stairs, which the stadium developers hope will become an iconic feature of the new stadium. It will be built over the rail corridor for the Dart and will take fans to podium level in the new west stand by stairs and by escalator.
An underground car park for 300 cars, which includes 200 disabled places, will be completed by June this year. It will be used as a temporary car park for workers on site, and a new back pitch will be built on top of it. The current number of 360 workers is set to rise to 1,000 later this year when the steelwork begins.
Sections of the east and west stands will be up to roof level by July, when the roof steel will be put on. It is envisaged that the horseshoe outline of the stadium will be apparent as early as September this year. "The finish shape will be on the horizon. You'll see the shape from the structural steel," Mr Greene said.
The roof will be the last part of the superstructure to be completed. Most of 2009 will be devoted to the internal fittings. The pitch will be laid in August 2009 and will be ready in March 2010.
Residents, many of whom bitterly opposed the project, were largely supportive of the development on Saturday, though some complained of late-night working and the presence of rats.
Local area councillor Dermot Lacey, who is on the project management committee, said: "It has impacted on local residents more than we thought it would. Personally, I would like to see a little bit less night-time working, though, in fairness, the stadium company has tried to respond to issues as they occur." Stadium spokesman Roddy Guiney said the IRFU and FAI were satisfied the development was on budget.
The number of companies being considered for naming rights to the stadium has been whittled down from 18 to eight, and the winning bidder will be announced by the end of the year.
The rights will cost €60 million and will last for 15 years. "The level of interest has been very positive and reflects the fact that there won't be an opportunity like this around for a long time to come," said Pádraig Slattery of Slattery PR which is handling the naming rights along with the London-based company Wasserman Media Group.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The public was given a first glimpse of progress on Saturday when busloads of local Dublin 4 residents were shown around the site.
Work on the 50,000-seat stadium began in May last year. It was originally envisaged that it would be completed by the end of 2009, but that was delayed because of difficulties in getting planning permission.
The main contractor, Sisk, has been given a completion date of April 2010, after the end of the RBS Six Nations tournament and at a time when there will be no major World Cup qualification games.
Project director Michael Greene said: "We're well on target, but it's a very tight programme. By finishing in April 2010, we won't be under major pressure to get something on very quickly in the stadium. You have to have warm-up events and make sure that everything is running properly."
The foundations and first floor of both the new east and west stands have been completed. By late March all the foundations on the stadium footprint will be finished. This week work will start on the grand stairs, which the stadium developers hope will become an iconic feature of the new stadium. It will be built over the rail corridor for the Dart and will take fans to podium level in the new west stand by stairs and by escalator.
An underground car park for 300 cars, which includes 200 disabled places, will be completed by June this year. It will be used as a temporary car park for workers on site, and a new back pitch will be built on top of it. The current number of 360 workers is set to rise to 1,000 later this year when the steelwork begins.
Sections of the east and west stands will be up to roof level by July, when the roof steel will be put on. It is envisaged that the horseshoe outline of the stadium will be apparent as early as September this year. "The finish shape will be on the horizon. You'll see the shape from the structural steel," Mr Greene said.
The roof will be the last part of the superstructure to be completed. Most of 2009 will be devoted to the internal fittings. The pitch will be laid in August 2009 and will be ready in March 2010.
Residents, many of whom bitterly opposed the project, were largely supportive of the development on Saturday, though some complained of late-night working and the presence of rats.
Local area councillor Dermot Lacey, who is on the project management committee, said: "It has impacted on local residents more than we thought it would. Personally, I would like to see a little bit less night-time working, though, in fairness, the stadium company has tried to respond to issues as they occur." Stadium spokesman Roddy Guiney said the IRFU and FAI were satisfied the development was on budget.
The number of companies being considered for naming rights to the stadium has been whittled down from 18 to eight, and the winning bidder will be announced by the end of the year.
The rights will cost €60 million and will last for 15 years. "The level of interest has been very positive and reflects the fact that there won't be an opportunity like this around for a long time to come," said Pádraig Slattery of Slattery PR which is handling the naming rights along with the London-based company Wasserman Media Group.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
PLANS to build social and affordable apartments in an exclusive area of Dublin 4 have hit a major stumbling block following cross-party objections fro
Two of the four TDs for Dublin South East have denied they object to social and affordable housing in Sandymount after they opposed plans by developer Sean Dunne for the provision of 15 apartments in the area.
Fianna Fáil's Chris Andrews and Fine Gael's Lucinda Creighton both said they had no objection in principle to having more social and affordable homes in Sandymount, but were concerned about the height of a proposed four-storey development
A planning application for the four-storey infill scheme at the rear of the Winfield car showrooms on Church Avenue has been lodged by developer Sean Dunne, who is awaiting planning permission for a mixed-use development with a 37-storey tower at the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge.
Mr Dunne has undertaken to provide up to 80 social and affordable homes within the Dublin southeast region, depending on the number of apartments eventually approved for the hotel sites.
The planning application seeks permission for his first scheme of social and affordable homes on the site of a vacant, detached bungalow and a former community hall on the south side of Church Avenue.
Twelve of the apartments will be two-bedroom homes, there will be one three-bedroom unit, a one-bedroom home with a study and another apartment with a single bedroom.
The proposed three-storey block with one storey set back will have a basement car park and a landscaped open space at ground-floor level, including a children's play area.
Objections to the development have been lodged by not only Mr Andrews and Ms Creighton but also by councillors John Kenny (PD) and Paddy McCartan (Fine Gael). The Sandyford and Merrion Residents' Association is also opposing the apartment scheme.
Mr Andrews said not only was he not opposed to the provision of social and affordable homes in Sandymount but he would welcome more of these units in the area. He was more concerned about "the tightness of the space" on the Church Avenue site and local residents had a right to express their concern. "There are very few planning applications that are not altered in some way."
Mr Andrews's letter of objection to the planning application said the proposed scheme was out of scale with existing buildings in the area, would "diminish residential amenities" and would set a bad precedent for the conservation of urban villages.
Asked whether she was opposed to the plan to develop social and affordable housing in Sandymount, Ms Creighton said "absolutely not" . Families in Sandymount would prefer to see their children getting a home locally rather than having to move out to places such as Clondalkin.
She said some families living beside the Sandymount site were concerned about their homes being overlooked and wanted the proposed development reduced in height.
Ms Creighton's written objection claimed that the apartment block would "overlook and overshadow" the houses and gardens of neighbouring properties "and will have a visual impact on the residents". The extra traffic would put further pressure on the already overloaded network.
The residents' association said the development was out of character with the surroundings in terms of height, density, scale, design and materials used. It would also exacerbate traffic problems. In other areas of Dublin the surrounding properties in Church Avenue and Tritonville Road would be considered worthy of preservation by reason of their architectural surroundings.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Fianna Fáil's Chris Andrews and Fine Gael's Lucinda Creighton both said they had no objection in principle to having more social and affordable homes in Sandymount, but were concerned about the height of a proposed four-storey development
A planning application for the four-storey infill scheme at the rear of the Winfield car showrooms on Church Avenue has been lodged by developer Sean Dunne, who is awaiting planning permission for a mixed-use development with a 37-storey tower at the Jurys/Berkeley Court site in Ballsbridge.
Mr Dunne has undertaken to provide up to 80 social and affordable homes within the Dublin southeast region, depending on the number of apartments eventually approved for the hotel sites.
The planning application seeks permission for his first scheme of social and affordable homes on the site of a vacant, detached bungalow and a former community hall on the south side of Church Avenue.
Twelve of the apartments will be two-bedroom homes, there will be one three-bedroom unit, a one-bedroom home with a study and another apartment with a single bedroom.
The proposed three-storey block with one storey set back will have a basement car park and a landscaped open space at ground-floor level, including a children's play area.
Objections to the development have been lodged by not only Mr Andrews and Ms Creighton but also by councillors John Kenny (PD) and Paddy McCartan (Fine Gael). The Sandyford and Merrion Residents' Association is also opposing the apartment scheme.
Mr Andrews said not only was he not opposed to the provision of social and affordable homes in Sandymount but he would welcome more of these units in the area. He was more concerned about "the tightness of the space" on the Church Avenue site and local residents had a right to express their concern. "There are very few planning applications that are not altered in some way."
Mr Andrews's letter of objection to the planning application said the proposed scheme was out of scale with existing buildings in the area, would "diminish residential amenities" and would set a bad precedent for the conservation of urban villages.
Asked whether she was opposed to the plan to develop social and affordable housing in Sandymount, Ms Creighton said "absolutely not" . Families in Sandymount would prefer to see their children getting a home locally rather than having to move out to places such as Clondalkin.
She said some families living beside the Sandymount site were concerned about their homes being overlooked and wanted the proposed development reduced in height.
Ms Creighton's written objection claimed that the apartment block would "overlook and overshadow" the houses and gardens of neighbouring properties "and will have a visual impact on the residents". The extra traffic would put further pressure on the already overloaded network.
The residents' association said the development was out of character with the surroundings in terms of height, density, scale, design and materials used. It would also exacerbate traffic problems. In other areas of Dublin the surrounding properties in Church Avenue and Tritonville Road would be considered worthy of preservation by reason of their architectural surroundings.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Objectors throw doubt on Dunne's affordable housing plan
PLANS to build social and affordable apartments in an exclusive area of Dublin 4 have hit a major stumbling block following cross-party objections from two TDs and two local councillors.
Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton and Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews have both sent letters to Dublin City planners opposing the development, as have Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McCartan and Progressive Democrat Councillor John Kenny.
Developer Sean Dunne had hoped to build the 16 apartments on Church Avenue in Sandymount in order to fulfil his obligations to provide affordable housing as part of the redevelopment of the Jurys Berkeley Court site in nearby Ballsbridge.
The politicians' objections, coupled with those of the Sandymount and Merrion Residents' Association and 12
individual local residents, could yet imperil the plan to provide much-needed homes for young families from the Ringsend area looking to get their first foothold on the property ladder.
Ms Creighton's objection to the modern four-storey apartment block, on the grounds that it "would not be in the interests of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area", is especially surprising, given her recent comments on the property market in this newspaper.
In an interview for the Sunday Independent's Paper Prophet column on January 6, Ms Creighton -- who earns a basic TD's salary of €108,500 -- complained of not being able to "secure a mortgage", claiming that the "property market [in Dublin] is simply out of my league" because of the "spiralling house prices".
Ms Creighton's opposite number in Dublin South East, Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews, objected to the social and affordable homes on five separate grounds.
In his email sent to Dublin City planners on January 30, Mr Andrews complains that the development would be out of scale with the existing area, had been objected to by local residents, and would set a bad precedent for the conservation of urban villages.
Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McCartan complains the apartments are not designed for families, with only one three-bedroom apartment proposed for the development.
According to the planning files obtained by the Sunday Independent, PD councillor John Kenny took time out during his lunch hour at Brown Brothers Harriman Investment Bank to lodge his objection to the development at Church Avenue. In a letter sent from his work email address at 1:56pm on January 31, Mr Kenny objects to the development on four grounds, claiming it goes against the provisions of the current Dublin City Development Plan.
One of Mr Kenny's principal arguments is that the proposed apartment development "does not protect the historic nature of the [Sandymount and Irishtown] area".
Besides his proposals for social and affordable housing on Church Avenue, Sean Dunne has so far pledged another two sites in the Dublin docklands area to Dublin City Council for the same purpose.
The inclusion of social and affordable accommodation on the site of the former Jurys Berkeley Court lands in Ballsbridge is understood to be unfeasible, given the likelihood of significant management and concierge fees that will be levied on the apartments built there.
RONALD QUINLAN
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Fine Gael TD Lucinda Creighton and Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews have both sent letters to Dublin City planners opposing the development, as have Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McCartan and Progressive Democrat Councillor John Kenny.
Developer Sean Dunne had hoped to build the 16 apartments on Church Avenue in Sandymount in order to fulfil his obligations to provide affordable housing as part of the redevelopment of the Jurys Berkeley Court site in nearby Ballsbridge.
The politicians' objections, coupled with those of the Sandymount and Merrion Residents' Association and 12
individual local residents, could yet imperil the plan to provide much-needed homes for young families from the Ringsend area looking to get their first foothold on the property ladder.
Ms Creighton's objection to the modern four-storey apartment block, on the grounds that it "would not be in the interests of the proper planning and sustainable development of the area", is especially surprising, given her recent comments on the property market in this newspaper.
In an interview for the Sunday Independent's Paper Prophet column on January 6, Ms Creighton -- who earns a basic TD's salary of €108,500 -- complained of not being able to "secure a mortgage", claiming that the "property market [in Dublin] is simply out of my league" because of the "spiralling house prices".
Ms Creighton's opposite number in Dublin South East, Fianna Fail TD Chris Andrews, objected to the social and affordable homes on five separate grounds.
In his email sent to Dublin City planners on January 30, Mr Andrews complains that the development would be out of scale with the existing area, had been objected to by local residents, and would set a bad precedent for the conservation of urban villages.
Fine Gael Councillor Paddy McCartan complains the apartments are not designed for families, with only one three-bedroom apartment proposed for the development.
According to the planning files obtained by the Sunday Independent, PD councillor John Kenny took time out during his lunch hour at Brown Brothers Harriman Investment Bank to lodge his objection to the development at Church Avenue. In a letter sent from his work email address at 1:56pm on January 31, Mr Kenny objects to the development on four grounds, claiming it goes against the provisions of the current Dublin City Development Plan.
One of Mr Kenny's principal arguments is that the proposed apartment development "does not protect the historic nature of the [Sandymount and Irishtown] area".
Besides his proposals for social and affordable housing on Church Avenue, Sean Dunne has so far pledged another two sites in the Dublin docklands area to Dublin City Council for the same purpose.
The inclusion of social and affordable accommodation on the site of the former Jurys Berkeley Court lands in Ballsbridge is understood to be unfeasible, given the likelihood of significant management and concierge fees that will be levied on the apartments built there.
RONALD QUINLAN
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Metro stations get the green light in fast-track decision
Work on the Metro from Dublin city centre to the airport is to start, even though a builder has not been picked.
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has received Cabinet approval for the necessary Exchequer funding to be used to fast-track construction of stations at the new Mater Hospital and at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport.
The RPA will now go ahead and build the station boxes at the Mater and Dublin Airport.
If they waited for the successful bidder to build these stations, it would cause significant disruption at both the Mater and the airport, as construction on the new hospital and new terminal would be already underway. By giving the green light to the RPA now to get construction underway, disruption will be minimised at both locations.
The Irish Independent has learned that the RPA is to invite the four international consortia that have pre-qualified to tender for the Metro North project to engage in a technical workshop in advance of inviting them to formally bid for the project.
It is understood that the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) will have to delay lodging its Railway Order Application to An Bord Pleanála by up to three months, because the design for Metro North is not sufficiently detailed for the purposes of a planning application.
The RPA had planned to lodge the application to the Board early this year under new legislation which allows for the 'fast-tracking of strategic infrastructure projects, but it could be the summer before the design is complete. This could result in a delay in Metro coming on-stream. Construction work was due to be completed by 2012, but the newapaper has learned from informed sources that it is likely to be 2013 before work is finished.
However, Minister Dempsey secured Government approval for the RPA to begin enabling works on the construction of the station sites at the new Mater Hospital and Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport. The Government has now agreed the financing structure of the project, so that the RPA can proceed with the bidding process.
The Metro will be the largest infrastructure project currently under way in Europe and the Minister said he was pushing to get it delivered as quickly as possible - adding that the Metro was vital as a cost-effective public transport alternative to get people out of their cars. "We can't let cars continue to pour onto our streets. It's unsustainable, it's causing traffic gridlock - costing the economy millions and people precious time" - he added.
The proposed route for Metro North would serve areas where the population is expected to double in the next 20 years.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Transport Minister Noel Dempsey has received Cabinet approval for the necessary Exchequer funding to be used to fast-track construction of stations at the new Mater Hospital and at Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport.
The RPA will now go ahead and build the station boxes at the Mater and Dublin Airport.
If they waited for the successful bidder to build these stations, it would cause significant disruption at both the Mater and the airport, as construction on the new hospital and new terminal would be already underway. By giving the green light to the RPA now to get construction underway, disruption will be minimised at both locations.
The Irish Independent has learned that the RPA is to invite the four international consortia that have pre-qualified to tender for the Metro North project to engage in a technical workshop in advance of inviting them to formally bid for the project.
It is understood that the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) will have to delay lodging its Railway Order Application to An Bord Pleanála by up to three months, because the design for Metro North is not sufficiently detailed for the purposes of a planning application.
The RPA had planned to lodge the application to the Board early this year under new legislation which allows for the 'fast-tracking of strategic infrastructure projects, but it could be the summer before the design is complete. This could result in a delay in Metro coming on-stream. Construction work was due to be completed by 2012, but the newapaper has learned from informed sources that it is likely to be 2013 before work is finished.
However, Minister Dempsey secured Government approval for the RPA to begin enabling works on the construction of the station sites at the new Mater Hospital and Terminal 2 in Dublin Airport. The Government has now agreed the financing structure of the project, so that the RPA can proceed with the bidding process.
The Metro will be the largest infrastructure project currently under way in Europe and the Minister said he was pushing to get it delivered as quickly as possible - adding that the Metro was vital as a cost-effective public transport alternative to get people out of their cars. "We can't let cars continue to pour onto our streets. It's unsustainable, it's causing traffic gridlock - costing the economy millions and people precious time" - he added.
The proposed route for Metro North would serve areas where the population is expected to double in the next 20 years.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Environment impact studies probed
Ireland's failure to insist on environmental impact assessments before major development projects are carried out, will be scrutinised by the European Court of Justice (ECJ).
The European Commission brought an action against Ireland in May 2006, claiming that the government had failed to comply with its obligations under the 1985 Impact Assessment Directive. The Commission complained that Ireland did not require checks to be carried out before major projects begin and allows environmental impact assessments to be carried out after work has already started.
The Commission stated that the system in Ireland - which allows developers to seek retention permission for unauthorised developments - undermined the preventive objectives of the directive.
The European Commission alleged that 'particular deficiencies' in relation to environmental impact assessments for a wind farm at Derrybrien, Co Galway, amounted to 'a manifest breach of the directive'.
www.buckplanning.ie
The European Commission brought an action against Ireland in May 2006, claiming that the government had failed to comply with its obligations under the 1985 Impact Assessment Directive. The Commission complained that Ireland did not require checks to be carried out before major projects begin and allows environmental impact assessments to be carried out after work has already started.
The Commission stated that the system in Ireland - which allows developers to seek retention permission for unauthorised developments - undermined the preventive objectives of the directive.
The European Commission alleged that 'particular deficiencies' in relation to environmental impact assessments for a wind farm at Derrybrien, Co Galway, amounted to 'a manifest breach of the directive'.
www.buckplanning.ie
Urban planners told 'to think skinny'
Towns and cities need to be radically redesigned to help tackle the obesity epidemic, scientists were told yesterday.
Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force, a London-based think-tank, called for a revolution in urban planning to encourage people to use cars less and public transport more.
He told a conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston that it was naive to expect people to lose weight by making better choices about diet and exercise when their surroundings encouraged inactivity.
Urban designers had created an "obesogenic environment" by planning public spaces around the car. Transport systems that made it easier to drive than to walk, cycle or take public transport were the worst contributors to obesity.
He also blamed the rise of desk-bound office work and sedentary leisure activities such as watching television, surfing the internet and playing computer games. Lifts and escalators, and even labour-saving devices such as electric toothbrushes and can-openers added to the problem.
"Blaming individuals for their personal vulnerability to weight gain is no longer acceptable in a world where the majority is already overweight and obesity is rising everywhere," said Professor James.
"It is naive of ill-informed politicians and food industry executives to place the onus on individuals making 'healthier choices'."
The Times, London
www.buckplanning.ie
Professor Philip James, chairman of the International Obesity Task Force, a London-based think-tank, called for a revolution in urban planning to encourage people to use cars less and public transport more.
He told a conference of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Boston that it was naive to expect people to lose weight by making better choices about diet and exercise when their surroundings encouraged inactivity.
Urban designers had created an "obesogenic environment" by planning public spaces around the car. Transport systems that made it easier to drive than to walk, cycle or take public transport were the worst contributors to obesity.
He also blamed the rise of desk-bound office work and sedentary leisure activities such as watching television, surfing the internet and playing computer games. Lifts and escalators, and even labour-saving devices such as electric toothbrushes and can-openers added to the problem.
"Blaming individuals for their personal vulnerability to weight gain is no longer acceptable in a world where the majority is already overweight and obesity is rising everywhere," said Professor James.
"It is naive of ill-informed politicians and food industry executives to place the onus on individuals making 'healthier choices'."
The Times, London
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 17 February 2008
Around 600 jobs to go at Arnotts and Boyers
Over half the workers at the Arnotts stores on Henry St and Boyers on North Earl St in Dublin city centre are to lose their jobs, Mandate trade union said this afternoon.
Talks are being organised to discuss the plan to make around 580 workers at the two stores redundant in order to make way for the construction of the new €750-million Northern Quarter development.
It's a sad day for a lot of Arnotts' and Boyers' loyal staff who've given years of loyal service to the company and its customers.
Mandate assistant general secretary, Linda Tanham
Redundancies had been expected and last month an unconfirmed figure of 400 was reported. The scale of today's figure was not expected and Mandate assistant general secretary, Linda Tanham said most of the redundancies will be compulsory.
"It's a sad day for a lot of Arnotts' and Boyers' loyal staff who've given years of loyal service to the company and its customers. The development of the Northern Quarter is coming at a huge cost to these workers and their families," Ms Tanham said.
In a separate development, An Bord Pleanala has deferred it decision on the planning application due to volume of work and has not set a new date for its adjudication.
An Bord Pleanala said the deadline had been put back due to the volume of work, with a new date not yet fixed.
"I don't see that decision being made this week and I don't see it being made next week under any circumstances. I don't see anything happening for the next five to seven working days," a spokesman said.
Labour TD for Dublin Central Joe Cotello said the company should put a stay on the redundancy plan pending the outcome of the board's deliberations.
He said the stores were "historic and landmark retailers" drawing many of its staff from the north inner city. "The loss of so many jobs in one fell swoop will have a devastating effect on employment in an area where unemployment is traditionally very high," Mr Costello said.
The redundancies do not include those working the concession stands at Arnotts, and the overall figure is likely to top 600.
Boyers will close at the end of June and reopen in August as Arnotts at Home dealing mainly in furniture. Arnotts Henry Street store will close at the end of August when construction of the Northern Quarter is due to begin.
Over 900 people are employed at Arnotts and those retained are due to transfer to the nearby Debenhams store in the Jervis Street Centre, which will be re-branded following its purchase by Arnotts last year.
A spokesperson for the company was not available at the time of writing.
The Northern Quarter is due to take three years to complete, opening in 2011 with a larger store employing 1,000 people.
The 650,000-sq ft development is to be built on a 5.5-acre site between Middle Abbey St and Henry St. It is due to comprise of 47 shops; 17 cafes, restaurants and bars; a 149-bedroom four-star hotel and 175 apartments.
An Bord Pleanála this week deferred it decision on the planning application due to volume of work and has not set a new date for its adjudication.
"I don't see anything happening for the next five to seven working days," a spokesman said.
Eight parties have appealed planning permission for quarter, including An Post, An Taisce and the Rail Procurement Agency.
Fine Gael Enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar was also dismayed at the scale of the job losses.
"This is a terrible blow for the staff and for Dublin as a whole. Although job losses had been expected for some time, no-one expected that the lay-offs would be this significant," he said.
Those laid off be given preference when the company starts hiring again on their current terms and conditions, he added.
Ireland.com
www.buckplanning.ie
Talks are being organised to discuss the plan to make around 580 workers at the two stores redundant in order to make way for the construction of the new €750-million Northern Quarter development.
It's a sad day for a lot of Arnotts' and Boyers' loyal staff who've given years of loyal service to the company and its customers.
Mandate assistant general secretary, Linda Tanham
Redundancies had been expected and last month an unconfirmed figure of 400 was reported. The scale of today's figure was not expected and Mandate assistant general secretary, Linda Tanham said most of the redundancies will be compulsory.
"It's a sad day for a lot of Arnotts' and Boyers' loyal staff who've given years of loyal service to the company and its customers. The development of the Northern Quarter is coming at a huge cost to these workers and their families," Ms Tanham said.
In a separate development, An Bord Pleanala has deferred it decision on the planning application due to volume of work and has not set a new date for its adjudication.
An Bord Pleanala said the deadline had been put back due to the volume of work, with a new date not yet fixed.
"I don't see that decision being made this week and I don't see it being made next week under any circumstances. I don't see anything happening for the next five to seven working days," a spokesman said.
Labour TD for Dublin Central Joe Cotello said the company should put a stay on the redundancy plan pending the outcome of the board's deliberations.
He said the stores were "historic and landmark retailers" drawing many of its staff from the north inner city. "The loss of so many jobs in one fell swoop will have a devastating effect on employment in an area where unemployment is traditionally very high," Mr Costello said.
The redundancies do not include those working the concession stands at Arnotts, and the overall figure is likely to top 600.
Boyers will close at the end of June and reopen in August as Arnotts at Home dealing mainly in furniture. Arnotts Henry Street store will close at the end of August when construction of the Northern Quarter is due to begin.
Over 900 people are employed at Arnotts and those retained are due to transfer to the nearby Debenhams store in the Jervis Street Centre, which will be re-branded following its purchase by Arnotts last year.
A spokesperson for the company was not available at the time of writing.
The Northern Quarter is due to take three years to complete, opening in 2011 with a larger store employing 1,000 people.
The 650,000-sq ft development is to be built on a 5.5-acre site between Middle Abbey St and Henry St. It is due to comprise of 47 shops; 17 cafes, restaurants and bars; a 149-bedroom four-star hotel and 175 apartments.
An Bord Pleanála this week deferred it decision on the planning application due to volume of work and has not set a new date for its adjudication.
"I don't see anything happening for the next five to seven working days," a spokesman said.
Eight parties have appealed planning permission for quarter, including An Post, An Taisce and the Rail Procurement Agency.
Fine Gael Enterprise spokesman Leo Varadkar was also dismayed at the scale of the job losses.
"This is a terrible blow for the staff and for Dublin as a whole. Although job losses had been expected for some time, no-one expected that the lay-offs would be this significant," he said.
Those laid off be given preference when the company starts hiring again on their current terms and conditions, he added.
Ireland.com
www.buckplanning.ie
Shell E&P seeks to amend Corrib plan
Shell E&P Ireland is seeking planning amendments to its Corrib gas refinery, which is under construction in north Mayo.
An extensive application to Mayo County Council relates to "minor modifications", a spokesman for the Corrib gas partners said yesterday. These include fire safety additions, such as escape stairs at the waste water treatment plant.
A statement by the partners - Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil and Marathon - said they relate to design changes for the administration, maintenance and laboratory buildings complex, the waste water treatment building, control building, east-west access road and methanol still.
"Modifications such as these are in keeping with best design concepts to continuously seek to find the best refinement of the overall plan prior to completion of construction." Details are available through Mayo County Council and Shell's public information office in Belmullet.
Employment on constructing the refinery at Bellanaboy is approaching its peak, currently standing at about 600 people, a spokesman said. The refinery was awarded its integrated pollution prevention control licence by the Environmental Protection Agency last year. However, An Bord Pleanála has given no definitive ruling yet on whether a proposed modified onshore pipeline route is eligible to be submitted for approval under the Strategic Infrastructure Act. RPS consultants, for Shell E&P Ireland, are still working on a final modified route.
The original onshore pipeline route was not subject to planning approval, and consents were signed off by former marine minister Frank Fahey, resulting in local opposition which led to the jailing of the "Rossport Five" for 94 days in 2005.
PJ Rudden of RPS told The Irish Times yesterday that public consultation on modified routes had been completed, but environment assessments were still being carried out. Last September, RPS published a shortlist of three "corridors" for a modified route. All three routes, including the most direct corridor down Sruwaddaccon Bay, are within designated environmentally sensitive areas under the EU habitats directive.
However, RPS said it believed that approval could still be secured if it could be proven "controlled construction techniques" could "minimise environmental impact".
At that stage, the consultants predicted that a final route would be selected by the end of the year, for submission to An Bord Pleanála if the board accepted it under the new fast-tracking legislation. The three "preferred" corridors follow part of the original high-pressure pipeline route, but aim to "increase the distance between the pipeline and the nearest dwelling". Government mediator Peter Cassells had recommended modifying the original route "in the vicinity of Rossport" in his report last year.
He had noted that route ran just 70 metres from the nearest normally occupied house.
Representatives of the Erris community opposed to the onshore pipeline participated in a protest in Dublin yesterday that aimed to highlight what the Shell to Sea campaign has described as the "sweetheart" deal between the Government, Shell, Statoil and Marathon.
"The deal left Corrib gas entirely in the control of private multinationals and Ireland owning nothing. The estimated value of the gas is at least €50 billion," Shell to Sea said.
RPS said work is due to start shortly on restoring a special area of conservation at the Glengad pipeline landfall, following unauthorised work there during the route studies.
Lorna Siggins
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An extensive application to Mayo County Council relates to "minor modifications", a spokesman for the Corrib gas partners said yesterday. These include fire safety additions, such as escape stairs at the waste water treatment plant.
A statement by the partners - Shell E&P Ireland, Statoil and Marathon - said they relate to design changes for the administration, maintenance and laboratory buildings complex, the waste water treatment building, control building, east-west access road and methanol still.
"Modifications such as these are in keeping with best design concepts to continuously seek to find the best refinement of the overall plan prior to completion of construction." Details are available through Mayo County Council and Shell's public information office in Belmullet.
Employment on constructing the refinery at Bellanaboy is approaching its peak, currently standing at about 600 people, a spokesman said. The refinery was awarded its integrated pollution prevention control licence by the Environmental Protection Agency last year. However, An Bord Pleanála has given no definitive ruling yet on whether a proposed modified onshore pipeline route is eligible to be submitted for approval under the Strategic Infrastructure Act. RPS consultants, for Shell E&P Ireland, are still working on a final modified route.
The original onshore pipeline route was not subject to planning approval, and consents were signed off by former marine minister Frank Fahey, resulting in local opposition which led to the jailing of the "Rossport Five" for 94 days in 2005.
PJ Rudden of RPS told The Irish Times yesterday that public consultation on modified routes had been completed, but environment assessments were still being carried out. Last September, RPS published a shortlist of three "corridors" for a modified route. All three routes, including the most direct corridor down Sruwaddaccon Bay, are within designated environmentally sensitive areas under the EU habitats directive.
However, RPS said it believed that approval could still be secured if it could be proven "controlled construction techniques" could "minimise environmental impact".
At that stage, the consultants predicted that a final route would be selected by the end of the year, for submission to An Bord Pleanála if the board accepted it under the new fast-tracking legislation. The three "preferred" corridors follow part of the original high-pressure pipeline route, but aim to "increase the distance between the pipeline and the nearest dwelling". Government mediator Peter Cassells had recommended modifying the original route "in the vicinity of Rossport" in his report last year.
He had noted that route ran just 70 metres from the nearest normally occupied house.
Representatives of the Erris community opposed to the onshore pipeline participated in a protest in Dublin yesterday that aimed to highlight what the Shell to Sea campaign has described as the "sweetheart" deal between the Government, Shell, Statoil and Marathon.
"The deal left Corrib gas entirely in the control of private multinationals and Ireland owning nothing. The estimated value of the gas is at least €50 billion," Shell to Sea said.
RPS said work is due to start shortly on restoring a special area of conservation at the Glengad pipeline landfall, following unauthorised work there during the route studies.
Lorna Siggins
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wind farm plans should look to EU
ENERGY Minister Eamon Ryan has announced substantial price supports for offshore wind farm developers which he says will bring us into line with incentives in other EU countries such as Germany.
While supporting the minister's drive for alternative energy, can we hope that before he hands over huge sums of taxpayers' money, he will follow the lead of Germany and other EU countries and legislate to protect our marine environment in the face of the unprecedented industrialisation of our seas which offshore wind farms represent?
Germany and the Netherlands have banned offshore wind farms within 22km of their shores in order to protect the wildlife and scenic amenity of the coastline.
Spain and France have refused to permit any offshore wind farms prior to the introduction of new legislation designed to protect their coastline and tourist industry.
The only EU countries to, so far, build any sizeable offshore wind farms are UK and Denmark where around 700 megawatts of offshore windpower, 80pc of the world's total, has been installed.
Both countries have introduced new legislation to ensure that development is properly controlled.
In addition, those countries have carried out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of their coastlines, in accordance with the EU Directive to pick the most suitable places for offshore wind farm development, taking into account bird life, marine life, other marine users, coastal scenery, and so on.
Contrast this with the situation in Ireland.
Here, no marine planning exists. Instead developers are being allowed to pick out the most profitable locations in Irish waters for massive proposed developments
The EU SEA directive is being ignored and no independent assessment has been made of the cumulative impact of development on our economy, coastal scenery and wildlife.
No new legislation has been introduced. Instead offshore wind farm development is controlled by the Foreshore Act drawn up in 1933 before large scale industrial development at sea was envisaged.
This undemocratic legislation, designed primarily to regulate the removal of sand from the seabed, confers unlimited powers on the Minister for the Marine to award foreshore leases for construction off our coasts without the statutory involvement of local authorities and with no right of appeal.
This legislation has allowed two successive ministers, Frank Fahey and Noel Dempsey, to permit two of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world, 11 km off the scenic coast of Wicklow.
The resulting vast industrial complex, totalling 1620 megawatts (double the total amount of offshore wind power installed worldwide) will consist of 420 massive turbines each as high as a 35-storey building, dominating the entire coastline from Bray Head to Wexford.
Is the Wicklow coastline any less precious than the coastlines of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark?
Are our birds and marine life not entitled to the same protection? Before Mr Ryan awards any EU level subsidies to offshore wind farm developers, we call on him to honour his party's pre-election commitment to reform the Foreshore Act 1933 and introduce EU levels of protection for our marine environment and coastal scenery.
HELEN GELLETLIE, VALERIE FREEMAN, ANN C FITZGERALD, COASTAL CONCERN ALLIANCE, SALLYNOGGIN, Co. Dublin
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
While supporting the minister's drive for alternative energy, can we hope that before he hands over huge sums of taxpayers' money, he will follow the lead of Germany and other EU countries and legislate to protect our marine environment in the face of the unprecedented industrialisation of our seas which offshore wind farms represent?
Germany and the Netherlands have banned offshore wind farms within 22km of their shores in order to protect the wildlife and scenic amenity of the coastline.
Spain and France have refused to permit any offshore wind farms prior to the introduction of new legislation designed to protect their coastline and tourist industry.
The only EU countries to, so far, build any sizeable offshore wind farms are UK and Denmark where around 700 megawatts of offshore windpower, 80pc of the world's total, has been installed.
Both countries have introduced new legislation to ensure that development is properly controlled.
In addition, those countries have carried out a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of their coastlines, in accordance with the EU Directive to pick the most suitable places for offshore wind farm development, taking into account bird life, marine life, other marine users, coastal scenery, and so on.
Contrast this with the situation in Ireland.
Here, no marine planning exists. Instead developers are being allowed to pick out the most profitable locations in Irish waters for massive proposed developments
The EU SEA directive is being ignored and no independent assessment has been made of the cumulative impact of development on our economy, coastal scenery and wildlife.
No new legislation has been introduced. Instead offshore wind farm development is controlled by the Foreshore Act drawn up in 1933 before large scale industrial development at sea was envisaged.
This undemocratic legislation, designed primarily to regulate the removal of sand from the seabed, confers unlimited powers on the Minister for the Marine to award foreshore leases for construction off our coasts without the statutory involvement of local authorities and with no right of appeal.
This legislation has allowed two successive ministers, Frank Fahey and Noel Dempsey, to permit two of the biggest offshore wind farms in the world, 11 km off the scenic coast of Wicklow.
The resulting vast industrial complex, totalling 1620 megawatts (double the total amount of offshore wind power installed worldwide) will consist of 420 massive turbines each as high as a 35-storey building, dominating the entire coastline from Bray Head to Wexford.
Is the Wicklow coastline any less precious than the coastlines of Germany, the Netherlands and Denmark?
Are our birds and marine life not entitled to the same protection? Before Mr Ryan awards any EU level subsidies to offshore wind farm developers, we call on him to honour his party's pre-election commitment to reform the Foreshore Act 1933 and introduce EU levels of protection for our marine environment and coastal scenery.
HELEN GELLETLIE, VALERIE FREEMAN, ANN C FITZGERALD, COASTAL CONCERN ALLIANCE, SALLYNOGGIN, Co. Dublin
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Coolmore group accused of vindictive campaign
A business consortium hoping to build a €100 million waste treatment plant in south Tipperary has accused John Magnier's Coolmore group of conducting "a personalised and vindictive campaign" against its previous proposal to build an incinerator.
Martin Byrne, head of Avglade, told a Bord Pleanála hearing in Clonmel yesterday the company had withdrawn plans to build the incinerator and the Coolmore group had agreed to discontinue High Court proceedings.
Avglade had received planning permission for the incinerator from South Tipperary County Council despite objections from Coolmore, owner of the country's leading stud farm and Ballydoyle stables. Avglade had been running a rendering facility near Ballydoyle, but wanted to build the incinerator because of new EU rules on disposal of animal waste products. Mr Byrne said at a meeting in December 2002 that no money was exchanged and it was made clear (by Coolmore) that Avglade could return to the business of rendering.
The company claims it developed a new, more environmentally friendly proposal for a "bio-energy plant", which is now also being opposed by Coolmore.
Avglade is involved in a joint venture with Bioverda and Dawn Meats called Green Organics Energy Ltd to build the plant.
There were sharp exchanges at the hearing between top trainer Aidan O'Brien and Rory Brady, the former attorney general, for Green Organics Energy. Mr O'Brien said "for us [ at Ballydoyle] this is a life or death situation" and if the new plant was built, "we're out of business". He said "the racehorse is the most sensitive creature in the world" and "any facility of this size is not compatible with our operations".
He repeatedly told Mr Brady he didn't understand the issues because "you don't train horses".
Mr Brady claimed that even if there were "no vapours and no smells and no discharges" from the proposed facility, Mr O'Brien would still be opposed to it.
Michael Parsons
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Martin Byrne, head of Avglade, told a Bord Pleanála hearing in Clonmel yesterday the company had withdrawn plans to build the incinerator and the Coolmore group had agreed to discontinue High Court proceedings.
Avglade had received planning permission for the incinerator from South Tipperary County Council despite objections from Coolmore, owner of the country's leading stud farm and Ballydoyle stables. Avglade had been running a rendering facility near Ballydoyle, but wanted to build the incinerator because of new EU rules on disposal of animal waste products. Mr Byrne said at a meeting in December 2002 that no money was exchanged and it was made clear (by Coolmore) that Avglade could return to the business of rendering.
The company claims it developed a new, more environmentally friendly proposal for a "bio-energy plant", which is now also being opposed by Coolmore.
Avglade is involved in a joint venture with Bioverda and Dawn Meats called Green Organics Energy Ltd to build the plant.
There were sharp exchanges at the hearing between top trainer Aidan O'Brien and Rory Brady, the former attorney general, for Green Organics Energy. Mr O'Brien said "for us [ at Ballydoyle] this is a life or death situation" and if the new plant was built, "we're out of business". He said "the racehorse is the most sensitive creature in the world" and "any facility of this size is not compatible with our operations".
He repeatedly told Mr Brady he didn't understand the issues because "you don't train horses".
Mr Brady claimed that even if there were "no vapours and no smells and no discharges" from the proposed facility, Mr O'Brien would still be opposed to it.
Michael Parsons
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Taxpayer to foot €83m bill over 'cock-up'
THE Department of the Environment has acknowledged that no one was fired or sanctioned after a "monumental cock-up" of a simple sewage scheme in Limerick left taxpayers with an €83 million bill.
Department secretary general Geraldine Tallon yesterday confirmed to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that "no heads had rolled" after Uniform Construction Ltd was wrongfully fired from the €9.5m sewerage scheme.
The final bill to the taxpayer is expected to be in excess of €83m after years of legal wrangling and the employment of another company to finish the job.
Ms Tallon also admitted the department ignored the advice of the Attorney General when it advised Limerick City Council to fight the case in the High Court, despite having been told during an arbitration hearing that the contract was wrongfully terminated.
The original €9.5m contract for the 2.6km of sewer work was awarded to Uniform Construction in 1999 but the company told the city council soon after that it had come across "unforeseen ground conditions" while tunnelling.
But the council decided the company was to blame for significant problems with the work, such as roads collapsing. Its contract was terminated in 2001.
The company and council fought the case out at conciliation and arbitration hearings, where it was ruled the contract was wrongfully terminated.
However, Limerick City Council refused to pay the company the costs and damages it demanded.
Furthermore, the decision to stand its ground was backed by the department which supported an appeal to the High Court despite advice against doing so by the Attorney General.
Arbitrators ultimately decided to award the company €32m. With legal costs as well as a further €27m for a different company to do the sewer work, the final bill is set to cost the taxpayer €83m.
Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell told the PAC yesterday that cases of terminating similar contracts were "very rare".
His report also noted that former Environment Minister Noel Dempsey had been first informed of the debacle as early as September 2001.
But stunned committee members queried how the simple sewerage job had cost so much. TD Niall Collins asked: "Has anyone been held responsible for this monumental cock-up? The figures are exorbitant."
Ms Tallon replied: "There's no escaping the disappointment the high cost the exchequer has had to pay for this."
When pressed, she also admitted: "No, heads haven't rolled."
Solicitors McCann FitzGerald advised Limerick City Council on the company's termination and an independent review of the decisions taken is under way, said the department chief.
Fine Gael TD Jim O'Keefe asked why alarm bells had not sounded when the case first came before the department's attention.
The PAC's chairman, Bernard Allen, said members intended investigating all reports on the decisions that had been taken by the council and department.
Juno McEnroe
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Department secretary general Geraldine Tallon yesterday confirmed to the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) that "no heads had rolled" after Uniform Construction Ltd was wrongfully fired from the €9.5m sewerage scheme.
The final bill to the taxpayer is expected to be in excess of €83m after years of legal wrangling and the employment of another company to finish the job.
Ms Tallon also admitted the department ignored the advice of the Attorney General when it advised Limerick City Council to fight the case in the High Court, despite having been told during an arbitration hearing that the contract was wrongfully terminated.
The original €9.5m contract for the 2.6km of sewer work was awarded to Uniform Construction in 1999 but the company told the city council soon after that it had come across "unforeseen ground conditions" while tunnelling.
But the council decided the company was to blame for significant problems with the work, such as roads collapsing. Its contract was terminated in 2001.
The company and council fought the case out at conciliation and arbitration hearings, where it was ruled the contract was wrongfully terminated.
However, Limerick City Council refused to pay the company the costs and damages it demanded.
Furthermore, the decision to stand its ground was backed by the department which supported an appeal to the High Court despite advice against doing so by the Attorney General.
Arbitrators ultimately decided to award the company €32m. With legal costs as well as a further €27m for a different company to do the sewer work, the final bill is set to cost the taxpayer €83m.
Comptroller and Auditor General John Purcell told the PAC yesterday that cases of terminating similar contracts were "very rare".
His report also noted that former Environment Minister Noel Dempsey had been first informed of the debacle as early as September 2001.
But stunned committee members queried how the simple sewerage job had cost so much. TD Niall Collins asked: "Has anyone been held responsible for this monumental cock-up? The figures are exorbitant."
Ms Tallon replied: "There's no escaping the disappointment the high cost the exchequer has had to pay for this."
When pressed, she also admitted: "No, heads haven't rolled."
Solicitors McCann FitzGerald advised Limerick City Council on the company's termination and an independent review of the decisions taken is under way, said the department chief.
Fine Gael TD Jim O'Keefe asked why alarm bells had not sounded when the case first came before the department's attention.
The PAC's chairman, Bernard Allen, said members intended investigating all reports on the decisions that had been taken by the council and department.
Juno McEnroe
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Dublin unveils plan to protect biodiversity
A major strategy to protect animal, plant and insect species - and the areas where they are found - in the capital has been drawn up by Dublin City Council.
It hopes the Dublin City Biodiversity Action Plan 2008-2012 will give citizens a greater appreciation of, and respect for, the city's flora and fauna.
The five-year initiative to enhance the natural environment is the first produced for an Irish city and is being co-ordinated by the council's full-time biodiversity officer Mairead Stack.
The action plan was launched last night by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Paddy Bourke, who said "over a million people enjoy biodiversity in Dublin every day, simply by spending time in their own gardens, walking in their local park, woodland or along the seafront and watching wildfowl swimming in the local pond".
The project has involved extensive consultation among the council's planning, parks, engineering, drainage and architecture departments and provides for conservation and educational measures to "ensure the survival of the natural world" in the city following extensive building development in recent years.
Habitats and species, such as wetlands, semi-natural grasslands, urban trees, hedgerows, endangered plants, red squirrels, otters, bats, birds, butterflies, salmon/trout species, water beetles, dragon flies, moths and bees, will be given special status by the council when it comes to assessing the risk to them from future planning developments.
According to the council, thousands of foxes live in the city, with an average density of one family per sq km, although some areas have four to five times this density. The policy also outlines the need for an integrated management plan for Dublin Bay to take heed of its international ecological status, habitats and bird life.
The plan also aims to identify and protect biodiversity hotspots and create a series of wildlife "corridors", with additional shrubs and trees, throughout the city to allow animals move freely around the built-up environment.
Council officials want communities to take a more active part in enhancing their environment by being involved in the likes of a "NeighbourWood" scheme - where residents' associations take care of local wildlife spaces. The council is calling on businesses to help fund projects that will benefit the natural world.
Production of the plan has been funded by the Heritage Council and the council, but costs have not been disclosed.
A 2004 survey of 63 graveyards in the capital showed 26 species of birds, 15 different habitats, and 15 different species of mammals were present, including rodents, foxes, badgers and bats.
The initiative also provides for a tree survey and the development of a tree strategy for the city; the identification and protection of creature resting places; and best practice management of sand and mud flat areas along south and north Dublin Bay.
Other proposals include a programme to manage invasive species such as grey squirrels, a wildlife-friendly garden for public education, a biodiversity educational centre and wildlife gardens in schools.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
It hopes the Dublin City Biodiversity Action Plan 2008-2012 will give citizens a greater appreciation of, and respect for, the city's flora and fauna.
The five-year initiative to enhance the natural environment is the first produced for an Irish city and is being co-ordinated by the council's full-time biodiversity officer Mairead Stack.
The action plan was launched last night by the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Cllr Paddy Bourke, who said "over a million people enjoy biodiversity in Dublin every day, simply by spending time in their own gardens, walking in their local park, woodland or along the seafront and watching wildfowl swimming in the local pond".
The project has involved extensive consultation among the council's planning, parks, engineering, drainage and architecture departments and provides for conservation and educational measures to "ensure the survival of the natural world" in the city following extensive building development in recent years.
Habitats and species, such as wetlands, semi-natural grasslands, urban trees, hedgerows, endangered plants, red squirrels, otters, bats, birds, butterflies, salmon/trout species, water beetles, dragon flies, moths and bees, will be given special status by the council when it comes to assessing the risk to them from future planning developments.
According to the council, thousands of foxes live in the city, with an average density of one family per sq km, although some areas have four to five times this density. The policy also outlines the need for an integrated management plan for Dublin Bay to take heed of its international ecological status, habitats and bird life.
The plan also aims to identify and protect biodiversity hotspots and create a series of wildlife "corridors", with additional shrubs and trees, throughout the city to allow animals move freely around the built-up environment.
Council officials want communities to take a more active part in enhancing their environment by being involved in the likes of a "NeighbourWood" scheme - where residents' associations take care of local wildlife spaces. The council is calling on businesses to help fund projects that will benefit the natural world.
Production of the plan has been funded by the Heritage Council and the council, but costs have not been disclosed.
A 2004 survey of 63 graveyards in the capital showed 26 species of birds, 15 different habitats, and 15 different species of mammals were present, including rodents, foxes, badgers and bats.
The initiative also provides for a tree survey and the development of a tree strategy for the city; the identification and protection of creature resting places; and best practice management of sand and mud flat areas along south and north Dublin Bay.
Other proposals include a programme to manage invasive species such as grey squirrels, a wildlife-friendly garden for public education, a biodiversity educational centre and wildlife gardens in schools.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 February 2008
Gormley levy plan may lead to rise in refuse charges
State levies on rubbish dumped in landfill, which are to rise by a third in the near future are set to increase even further later in the year following moves by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.
The decision to raise the charges has been taken in a bid to cut down on the tonnage of biodegradable waste being dumped, rather than recycled - which must be reduced if heavy European Union fines are to be avoided in two years' time.
However, the measure will lead to a sharp increase in service charges for homeowners if waste companies fail to find alternative uses for such waste, the chief executive of a leading waste company warned last night. Smaller waste companies, which number about 400 and which do not have systems to separate and recycle some of the waste that they collect, will be harder hit than the biggest four, or five waste companies.
Ireland is set to face EU fines of €250 million and more by 2010 if it does not stop 650,000 tonnes of bio-degradable waste from going into landfill. Less than 10 per cent of that reduction has been achieved so far.
In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that bio-degradable waste entering landfill had increased by 9 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes - though Ireland is supposed to send no more than 967,000 tonnes by January 1st, 2010.
Currently, the Department of the Environment imposes a €15-a-tonne levy on landfill, which is to rise to €20 within weeks following Mr Gormley's decision yesterday to increase rates.
However, the Minister told Cabinet colleagues yesterday that he intends to produce legislation shortly that will allow him to increase the charges by even more, The Irish Times understands.
At the same time Mr Gormley gave notice that he will order that every tonne of waste burned by incinerators in the future will be subject to a similar levy - in a move that threatens the financial viability of planned incinerators.
The incinerator levy is based on models used already in Sweden and Denmark, which introduced the charge after they found that incineration was actually cutting down on the amount of waste they were recycling. Ireland's waste figures have increased because of economic activity, difficulties getting planning permission for waste plants, and a lack of tax incentives to encourage burning biodegradable waste as fuel in cement plants, etc.
The economics of finding "green" uses for the waste has been hampered by competition among local authorities, who control 24 of the 28 dumps licensed for household and commercial waste and who have cut prices to get business. Three years ago, Cork County Council charged €270-a-tonne, but its bill has dropped to €125-a-tonne, while the average local authority charge has fallen from €155 to €120 per tonne.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The decision to raise the charges has been taken in a bid to cut down on the tonnage of biodegradable waste being dumped, rather than recycled - which must be reduced if heavy European Union fines are to be avoided in two years' time.
However, the measure will lead to a sharp increase in service charges for homeowners if waste companies fail to find alternative uses for such waste, the chief executive of a leading waste company warned last night. Smaller waste companies, which number about 400 and which do not have systems to separate and recycle some of the waste that they collect, will be harder hit than the biggest four, or five waste companies.
Ireland is set to face EU fines of €250 million and more by 2010 if it does not stop 650,000 tonnes of bio-degradable waste from going into landfill. Less than 10 per cent of that reduction has been achieved so far.
In 2006, the Environmental Protection Agency warned that bio-degradable waste entering landfill had increased by 9 per cent to 1.4 million tonnes - though Ireland is supposed to send no more than 967,000 tonnes by January 1st, 2010.
Currently, the Department of the Environment imposes a €15-a-tonne levy on landfill, which is to rise to €20 within weeks following Mr Gormley's decision yesterday to increase rates.
However, the Minister told Cabinet colleagues yesterday that he intends to produce legislation shortly that will allow him to increase the charges by even more, The Irish Times understands.
At the same time Mr Gormley gave notice that he will order that every tonne of waste burned by incinerators in the future will be subject to a similar levy - in a move that threatens the financial viability of planned incinerators.
The incinerator levy is based on models used already in Sweden and Denmark, which introduced the charge after they found that incineration was actually cutting down on the amount of waste they were recycling. Ireland's waste figures have increased because of economic activity, difficulties getting planning permission for waste plants, and a lack of tax incentives to encourage burning biodegradable waste as fuel in cement plants, etc.
The economics of finding "green" uses for the waste has been hampered by competition among local authorities, who control 24 of the 28 dumps licensed for household and commercial waste and who have cut prices to get business. Three years ago, Cork County Council charged €270-a-tonne, but its bill has dropped to €125-a-tonne, while the average local authority charge has fallen from €155 to €120 per tonne.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 12 February 2008
House knocked and rebuilt over concerns for wildlife
A detached house overlooking Dundalk Bay, which is an EU designated area of special conservation and a Natural Heritage Area, has been demolished and rebuilt on the same site following complaints to Louth County Council by the National Parks and Wildlife Service.
It is alleged by the service that the development had "encroached" on to the bay, which is an important salt marsh and one of the most important sites in the country for winter wildfowl and waders.
The failure of Louth County Council to alert the service to the planning application and therefore allow it to make known any concerns it had in advance of a decision being made, was highlighted in a letter from the Minister for the Environment John Gormley to a local resident.
The split-level 320sq m house at the Loakers, Blackrock, is on a site bounded at the south by McGuigans rock, an outcrop that overlooks the bay and has views east and north over the mudflats and salt marsh towards the Cooley mountains.
It is in close proximity to the foreshore and the high water mark and in a letter to the council last November, after permission was granted, the National Parks and Wildlife Service said part of the salt marsh, "has already been encroached on to by the infilling with imported materials".
Wildlife service conservation ranger Kieran Buckley said staff were "aghast at what we saw. We raised the issue and we are monitoring the situation".
Louth County Council says the demolition of the house, which is now being constructed from sheet piling and cast concrete, was the result of an action taken by its enforcement department.
It says the house was originally "being constructed in the wrong location" and as a result of a survey it commissioned it was "indicated that work had been carried out below the high water mark, which involved the deposition and stockpiling of soil and the construction of vertical sheet piles".
This work was encroaching on a special protection and a Special Area of Conservation. The council says the house is now being constructed "with the dwelling repositioned to the original location granted" [ permission]. One of the conditions is the submission of a suitable landscaping plan.
The letter from the Minister acknowledges that the wildlife service only became aware of the plan to build on the site after local residents brought it to their attention.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
It is alleged by the service that the development had "encroached" on to the bay, which is an important salt marsh and one of the most important sites in the country for winter wildfowl and waders.
The failure of Louth County Council to alert the service to the planning application and therefore allow it to make known any concerns it had in advance of a decision being made, was highlighted in a letter from the Minister for the Environment John Gormley to a local resident.
The split-level 320sq m house at the Loakers, Blackrock, is on a site bounded at the south by McGuigans rock, an outcrop that overlooks the bay and has views east and north over the mudflats and salt marsh towards the Cooley mountains.
It is in close proximity to the foreshore and the high water mark and in a letter to the council last November, after permission was granted, the National Parks and Wildlife Service said part of the salt marsh, "has already been encroached on to by the infilling with imported materials".
Wildlife service conservation ranger Kieran Buckley said staff were "aghast at what we saw. We raised the issue and we are monitoring the situation".
Louth County Council says the demolition of the house, which is now being constructed from sheet piling and cast concrete, was the result of an action taken by its enforcement department.
It says the house was originally "being constructed in the wrong location" and as a result of a survey it commissioned it was "indicated that work had been carried out below the high water mark, which involved the deposition and stockpiling of soil and the construction of vertical sheet piles".
This work was encroaching on a special protection and a Special Area of Conservation. The council says the house is now being constructed "with the dwelling repositioned to the original location granted" [ permission]. One of the conditions is the submission of a suitable landscaping plan.
The letter from the Minister acknowledges that the wildlife service only became aware of the plan to build on the site after local residents brought it to their attention.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New public transport bridge over Liffey agreed
Dublin City Council plans to build a new Luas and public transport bridge across the river Liffey from Marlborough Street to Hawkins Street, even though the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA) has yet to determine the route of the proposed Luas line.
The current city development plan allows for the construction of a footbridge at the site. South-east area councillors yesterday approved a council management proposal to seek a change to the development plan to allow the construction of the new bridge from Eden Quay to Burgh Quay.
The council is proposing to build a bridge to accommodate a southbound Luas line as well as two bus lanes, two cycle lanes and two footpaths, and hopes soon to seek tenders for its design. The council said it was seeking a "low-key design" to fit in with the surrounding architecture.
However, while the council is pressing ahead with its plans for the bridge, the RPA has yet to say whether this will be the route for the new Luas BX line, which will connect the Red and Green Luas lines across the city centre.
The RPA last year did identify its preferred option as a line from St Stephen's Green to College Green, down Westmoreland Street and across O'Connell Bridge, down O'Connell Street and back up Marlborough Street to cross a new bridge; however, it has not confirmed this as the route.
The council said even if the bridge was not chosen for the Luas route, it would build it anyway.
The bridge would ultimately be for public transport; however, councillors were told yesterday that the bridge would serve to ease the inevitable gridlock in the centre when metro and Luas works begin across O'Connell Bridge. During this construction, Westmoreland Street is likely to be closed and the new bridge would temporarily be permitted to carry cross-town traffic.
The proposal will now go before the full council for ratification.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The current city development plan allows for the construction of a footbridge at the site. South-east area councillors yesterday approved a council management proposal to seek a change to the development plan to allow the construction of the new bridge from Eden Quay to Burgh Quay.
The council is proposing to build a bridge to accommodate a southbound Luas line as well as two bus lanes, two cycle lanes and two footpaths, and hopes soon to seek tenders for its design. The council said it was seeking a "low-key design" to fit in with the surrounding architecture.
However, while the council is pressing ahead with its plans for the bridge, the RPA has yet to say whether this will be the route for the new Luas BX line, which will connect the Red and Green Luas lines across the city centre.
The RPA last year did identify its preferred option as a line from St Stephen's Green to College Green, down Westmoreland Street and across O'Connell Bridge, down O'Connell Street and back up Marlborough Street to cross a new bridge; however, it has not confirmed this as the route.
The council said even if the bridge was not chosen for the Luas route, it would build it anyway.
The bridge would ultimately be for public transport; however, councillors were told yesterday that the bridge would serve to ease the inevitable gridlock in the centre when metro and Luas works begin across O'Connell Bridge. During this construction, Westmoreland Street is likely to be closed and the new bridge would temporarily be permitted to carry cross-town traffic.
The proposal will now go before the full council for ratification.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Planning permission for 18 Dublin billboards rejected
An Bord Pleanála has refused permission for 18 advertising panels, which were to be erected as part of the Dublin city bike rental scheme, largely on the grounds that they would endanger public safety.
The signs were part of the deal between Dublin City Council and international advertising company JC Decaux to swap advertising space at locations around the city, estimated to be worth in the region of €1million annually, for 450 bicycles and four public toilets.
The council had granted permission for 96 advertising structures approximately half of which were similar in size to bus shelters at 2.59sq m, while the remainder were "Metropoles"larger panels of 7sq m standing on poles two metres off the ground.
An Taisce and a number of local residents, city councillors and business people appealed 24 of the council's decisions to An Bord Pleanála.
The planning board held a public hearing on the 24 cases last October. The inspector who conducted the hearing recommended that all 24 applications be rejected, however, the board decided to allow six of the signs.
The six permitted structures are in areas of the city with some of the highest pedestrian footfall. All are on the northside with five of the structures in the Henry Street/Liffey Street area and one in Smithfield.
Despite strong objections from Arnotts and others, the board allowed these signs, all of which are bus-shelter size, on the grounds that they did not interfere with pedestrian or traffic safety and the impact on the character of the setting would be "insignificant".
The board, however, refused all of the larger 7sq m structures that came before it.
Similar reasons for refusal were given in most of the 18 cases. The main reason given was that the signs would "distract the attention of motorists and other road users to an undue degree" and would "endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard".
The board also found that the large signs were "overbearing and insensitive" to the character of the surrounding location.
The refusals support the Dublin Transportation Office position, put forward at the oral hearing, that the signs located on busy roads would constitute a traffic hazard.
However, the remaining signs not appealed to the board and the six allowed by the board, can now go ahead.
The council said the 18 refusals will not affect its deal with JC Decaux and the number of bicycles promised will not be reduced. It has yet to announce a date for the introduction of the bike scheme, or the proposed rental cost of a bicycle, but hopes it will be in place this year.
A working group has been set up in the council to determine the location of the 50 bicycle stations in the city.
The Irish Times
Irish Times
The signs were part of the deal between Dublin City Council and international advertising company JC Decaux to swap advertising space at locations around the city, estimated to be worth in the region of €1million annually, for 450 bicycles and four public toilets.
The council had granted permission for 96 advertising structures approximately half of which were similar in size to bus shelters at 2.59sq m, while the remainder were "Metropoles"larger panels of 7sq m standing on poles two metres off the ground.
An Taisce and a number of local residents, city councillors and business people appealed 24 of the council's decisions to An Bord Pleanála.
The planning board held a public hearing on the 24 cases last October. The inspector who conducted the hearing recommended that all 24 applications be rejected, however, the board decided to allow six of the signs.
The six permitted structures are in areas of the city with some of the highest pedestrian footfall. All are on the northside with five of the structures in the Henry Street/Liffey Street area and one in Smithfield.
Despite strong objections from Arnotts and others, the board allowed these signs, all of which are bus-shelter size, on the grounds that they did not interfere with pedestrian or traffic safety and the impact on the character of the setting would be "insignificant".
The board, however, refused all of the larger 7sq m structures that came before it.
Similar reasons for refusal were given in most of the 18 cases. The main reason given was that the signs would "distract the attention of motorists and other road users to an undue degree" and would "endanger public safety by reason of traffic hazard".
The board also found that the large signs were "overbearing and insensitive" to the character of the surrounding location.
The refusals support the Dublin Transportation Office position, put forward at the oral hearing, that the signs located on busy roads would constitute a traffic hazard.
However, the remaining signs not appealed to the board and the six allowed by the board, can now go ahead.
The council said the 18 refusals will not affect its deal with JC Decaux and the number of bicycles promised will not be reduced. It has yet to announce a date for the introduction of the bike scheme, or the proposed rental cost of a bicycle, but hopes it will be in place this year.
A working group has been set up in the council to determine the location of the 50 bicycle stations in the city.
The Irish Times
Irish Times
Changes under new building guidelines
Some of the main changes involve:
- Local authority development plans and local area plans for housing must insist on the phased and co-ordinated provision of physical infrastructure such as roads and drainage, public transport and community facilities.
- No substantial residential development can get green light without an assessment of existing schools capacity or the provision of new school facilities in tandem with the development.
- No substantial residential development can go ahead without either adequate existing public transport provision or new public transport provided in tandem with the development.
- There should be adequate provision at convenient locations for retail, health and other community facilities.
- Minimum densities of 50 properties per hectare should apply within such public transport corridors and must be specified in local area plans.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
- Local authority development plans and local area plans for housing must insist on the phased and co-ordinated provision of physical infrastructure such as roads and drainage, public transport and community facilities.
- No substantial residential development can get green light without an assessment of existing schools capacity or the provision of new school facilities in tandem with the development.
- No substantial residential development can go ahead without either adequate existing public transport provision or new public transport provided in tandem with the development.
- There should be adequate provision at convenient locations for retail, health and other community facilities.
- Minimum densities of 50 properties per hectare should apply within such public transport corridors and must be specified in local area plans.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
A town born without a plan plays catch-up
The population of Ratoath in Co Meath stood at 593 in 1991. By Census 2006, it had mushroomed to 7,249.
These new residents moved into houses on estates that spread out from the tiny village like an octopus's tentacles. There was no obvious plan, save for the one that ensured that a few people made a lot of money.
But now, after years of underdevelopment, Ratoath is finally catching up with the population boom -- although it is perhaps 12 years too late.
There are now enough schools (which were desperately needed -- Ratoath has the highest proportion of children under 14 in the country). A secondary school opened last year; there are three national schools, childcare facilities, sports clubs and a new community centre that includes a theatre.
But that wasn't the case for a long while and there is still one obvious problem with the town -- there can be up to three-mile tailbacks through the suffocated main street.
"Apart from people who use the road locally, there are people from Cavan, Navan, and Meath that use the town as a rat run between the N2 and N3," says local councillor and manager of Rataoth Community Centre, Nick Killian.
"There can be three-mile tailbacks some evenings."
A planned inner relief road, which has been ready for the past five years, has not yet opened due to protests from residents groups. The new M3 would also serve to take some cars from Ratoath Main Street, which is gridlocked even at midday.
The problem is exacerbated by a lack of proper connectivity to Dublin. There is no direct bus route and no train service yet.
For the residents who made the move into one of the many estates, they say they are now happy with the town's facilities, even if transport is still a big problem for them.
"It's nice and quiet," says Lanie Jedrusik. "We could do with a better bus service. The timetable isn't reliable. It can take an hour-and-a-half to get to Dublin, mostly because the bus goes through Ashbourne."
Others say they now have the life they sought when they first moved here.
"We have a better quality of life here," says Geraldine McGuinness, who moved from Finglas three-and-a-half years ago. "It's a lovely village, there are new restaurants now but the traffic is still a big problem.
"We could do with a playground for the smaller kids, too," she adds.
Case study
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
These new residents moved into houses on estates that spread out from the tiny village like an octopus's tentacles. There was no obvious plan, save for the one that ensured that a few people made a lot of money.
But now, after years of underdevelopment, Ratoath is finally catching up with the population boom -- although it is perhaps 12 years too late.
There are now enough schools (which were desperately needed -- Ratoath has the highest proportion of children under 14 in the country). A secondary school opened last year; there are three national schools, childcare facilities, sports clubs and a new community centre that includes a theatre.
But that wasn't the case for a long while and there is still one obvious problem with the town -- there can be up to three-mile tailbacks through the suffocated main street.
"Apart from people who use the road locally, there are people from Cavan, Navan, and Meath that use the town as a rat run between the N2 and N3," says local councillor and manager of Rataoth Community Centre, Nick Killian.
"There can be three-mile tailbacks some evenings."
A planned inner relief road, which has been ready for the past five years, has not yet opened due to protests from residents groups. The new M3 would also serve to take some cars from Ratoath Main Street, which is gridlocked even at midday.
The problem is exacerbated by a lack of proper connectivity to Dublin. There is no direct bus route and no train service yet.
For the residents who made the move into one of the many estates, they say they are now happy with the town's facilities, even if transport is still a big problem for them.
"It's nice and quiet," says Lanie Jedrusik. "We could do with a better bus service. The timetable isn't reliable. It can take an hour-and-a-half to get to Dublin, mostly because the bus goes through Ashbourne."
Others say they now have the life they sought when they first moved here.
"We have a better quality of life here," says Geraldine McGuinness, who moved from Finglas three-and-a-half years ago. "It's a lovely village, there are new restaurants now but the traffic is still a big problem.
"We could do with a playground for the smaller kids, too," she adds.
Case study
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley restricts building of giant estates in rural villages
Developers are being banned from tacking Dublin-style housing estates onto small rural villages unless they first provide extra schools and facilities for proper public transport.
The radical move by Environment Minister John Gormley yesterday puts him on a direct collision course with hundreds of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors who have been backing developer-led housing at the expense of their local communities.
Tough new guidelines, which must be adhered to by local authorities and An Bord Pleanala, demand that builders must install the infrastructure before they build the houses.
It will be also be illegal for councillors and council planners to ride roughshod over the guidelines.
Mr Gormley is taking on developers who have made a fortune at the expense of small rural communities hit by a rapidly increasing population in areas without adequate infrastructure to cope.
He is also reining in councillors who give the green light to unsustainable, inappropriate housing which makes a fortune for developers, but leaves locals picking up the cost in the form of traffic jams, overcrowded schools, poor water quality, and sometimes flooding where houses are built on flood plains.
Furious
Councillors will be furious at Mr Gormley's legal move to curb their planning free-for-all.
Hundreds of small villages around the country have seen an explosion of Dublin-style suburban housing estates without adequate provision for schools, public transport or even adequate roads or lighting and are now playing catch-up.
New families are being forced to commute long distances for work and school on dangerous unsuitable, clogged roads
In an unprecedented move a letter will be sent to every local authority from the Environment Minister ordering them to have regard to the guidelines.
And, in a follow up move, the minister is introducing legislation making it illegal for councillors or council planners to breach the guidelines.
Mr Gormley yesterday launched new draft new planning guidelines on sustainable residential development in urban areas
He also released a best practice urban design manual for local authorities which illustrates how the guidelines can be implemented across the different types of development around the country.
The aim is to provide better quality houses and more sustainable communities.
By 2020, the population of Dublin city is expected to increase by 12pc to almost 1.5 million, Cork city by 25pc to almost 150,000 people, Galway city by 45pc to 105,000 people and Mallow, which is currently a medium-sized town, could double to almost 20,000 people over the period.
Mr Gormley said yesterday that an ever-expanding footprint of our urban areas is not sustainable into the future.
The target was to provide high-density development only in the right locations which are well serviced in terms of public transport and community facilities and also built to the highest possible standards.
The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) last night praised the guidelines, particularly the attempt to secure better co-ordination between the development of new housing and the provision of essential infrastructure, such as schools and other social facilities.
But county councillors dismissed the Minister's plans as "tinkering around the edges" of a system in crisis.
Councillor Tom Kelleher, president of the Association of County and City Councils said local authorities need funding and resources to provide adequate infrastructure.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The radical move by Environment Minister John Gormley yesterday puts him on a direct collision course with hundreds of Fianna Fail and Fine Gael councillors who have been backing developer-led housing at the expense of their local communities.
Tough new guidelines, which must be adhered to by local authorities and An Bord Pleanala, demand that builders must install the infrastructure before they build the houses.
It will be also be illegal for councillors and council planners to ride roughshod over the guidelines.
Mr Gormley is taking on developers who have made a fortune at the expense of small rural communities hit by a rapidly increasing population in areas without adequate infrastructure to cope.
He is also reining in councillors who give the green light to unsustainable, inappropriate housing which makes a fortune for developers, but leaves locals picking up the cost in the form of traffic jams, overcrowded schools, poor water quality, and sometimes flooding where houses are built on flood plains.
Furious
Councillors will be furious at Mr Gormley's legal move to curb their planning free-for-all.
Hundreds of small villages around the country have seen an explosion of Dublin-style suburban housing estates without adequate provision for schools, public transport or even adequate roads or lighting and are now playing catch-up.
New families are being forced to commute long distances for work and school on dangerous unsuitable, clogged roads
In an unprecedented move a letter will be sent to every local authority from the Environment Minister ordering them to have regard to the guidelines.
And, in a follow up move, the minister is introducing legislation making it illegal for councillors or council planners to breach the guidelines.
Mr Gormley yesterday launched new draft new planning guidelines on sustainable residential development in urban areas
He also released a best practice urban design manual for local authorities which illustrates how the guidelines can be implemented across the different types of development around the country.
The aim is to provide better quality houses and more sustainable communities.
By 2020, the population of Dublin city is expected to increase by 12pc to almost 1.5 million, Cork city by 25pc to almost 150,000 people, Galway city by 45pc to 105,000 people and Mallow, which is currently a medium-sized town, could double to almost 20,000 people over the period.
Mr Gormley said yesterday that an ever-expanding footprint of our urban areas is not sustainable into the future.
The target was to provide high-density development only in the right locations which are well serviced in terms of public transport and community facilities and also built to the highest possible standards.
The Irish Planning Institute (IPI) last night praised the guidelines, particularly the attempt to secure better co-ordination between the development of new housing and the provision of essential infrastructure, such as schools and other social facilities.
But county councillors dismissed the Minister's plans as "tinkering around the edges" of a system in crisis.
Councillor Tom Kelleher, president of the Association of County and City Councils said local authorities need funding and resources to provide adequate infrastructure.
Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 10 February 2008
Millions spent but better bus service fails to woo public
DESPITE spending hundreds of millions of euro on quality bus corridors and a new fleet over the last ten years, the number of journeys to work and school by bus increased by just 3,000 during the same period.
Figures released by the Department of Transport last week reveal the number of journeys to work and school made by bus or coach in the greater Dublin area between 1996 and 2006 increased by just two per cent.
Some 156,161 trips to work or to school per day in the Dublin region were taken by bus in 1996. By 2006 the number of these trips had increased to just 159,233.
Dublin Bus has invested millions of euros in a new fleet, and in quality bus corridors, launched new routes and extended many others as well as making its buses more accessible and attractive.
However, the latest figures available from the Central Statistics Office, show that in Dublin during 2006 almost half the population drove to work while just 14 per cent of commuters took the bus.
The Dublin Transportation Office spent €202m on bus corridors and a quality bus network (QBN) in the greater Dublin area between 1993 and 2007 inclusive. Another €55m was spent upgrading the wider network up to the end of last year.
"Bus patronage increases should be considered in the context of overall growth in travel in the last decade, which was an increase of 33 per cent," said a spokesperson for the Dublin Transportation Office.
"Although investment has been made in improving the reliability and consistency of journey times by bus, more remains to be done in terms of improving the overall experience of travelling by bus, and this will undoubtedly require further investment."
Under the Transport 21 plan, Dublin Bus was given the target of increasing passenger-carrying capacity by 60 per cent by 2015, through new and replacement bus acquisition. The plan also set out details for the doubling of the number of quality bus corridors.
"Regarding passenger trends, it would be more reasonable to look at our overall trend in passengers carried," said a spokesperson for Dublin Bus. "Numbers have increased from 134 million in 1998 to 148 million in 2007.
"This growth has been achieved against a background of substantial increase in rail and Luas capacity. We estimate that more than 10 million customers per annum have transferred to these modes of transport."
The figures from the Department of Transport also show that commuter trips by train have more than doubled in the last ten years.
The increase of 115.5 per cent in train trips includes journeys on the Dart and Luas and the increase was significantly buoyed by the arrival of the Luas in 2004.
At the same time the number of journeys to work and to school made by car increased by some 69 per cent in the region over the same period, while trips by vans or lorries increased by 110 per cent.
The figures also suggest that cyclists in the Dublin area are becoming a dying breed as bicycle journeys to work or school have declined by 25 per cent in the last ten years. Walking trips only increased by some 7.8 per cent.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Figures released by the Department of Transport last week reveal the number of journeys to work and school made by bus or coach in the greater Dublin area between 1996 and 2006 increased by just two per cent.
Some 156,161 trips to work or to school per day in the Dublin region were taken by bus in 1996. By 2006 the number of these trips had increased to just 159,233.
Dublin Bus has invested millions of euros in a new fleet, and in quality bus corridors, launched new routes and extended many others as well as making its buses more accessible and attractive.
However, the latest figures available from the Central Statistics Office, show that in Dublin during 2006 almost half the population drove to work while just 14 per cent of commuters took the bus.
The Dublin Transportation Office spent €202m on bus corridors and a quality bus network (QBN) in the greater Dublin area between 1993 and 2007 inclusive. Another €55m was spent upgrading the wider network up to the end of last year.
"Bus patronage increases should be considered in the context of overall growth in travel in the last decade, which was an increase of 33 per cent," said a spokesperson for the Dublin Transportation Office.
"Although investment has been made in improving the reliability and consistency of journey times by bus, more remains to be done in terms of improving the overall experience of travelling by bus, and this will undoubtedly require further investment."
Under the Transport 21 plan, Dublin Bus was given the target of increasing passenger-carrying capacity by 60 per cent by 2015, through new and replacement bus acquisition. The plan also set out details for the doubling of the number of quality bus corridors.
"Regarding passenger trends, it would be more reasonable to look at our overall trend in passengers carried," said a spokesperson for Dublin Bus. "Numbers have increased from 134 million in 1998 to 148 million in 2007.
"This growth has been achieved against a background of substantial increase in rail and Luas capacity. We estimate that more than 10 million customers per annum have transferred to these modes of transport."
The figures from the Department of Transport also show that commuter trips by train have more than doubled in the last ten years.
The increase of 115.5 per cent in train trips includes journeys on the Dart and Luas and the increase was significantly buoyed by the arrival of the Luas in 2004.
At the same time the number of journeys to work and to school made by car increased by some 69 per cent in the region over the same period, while trips by vans or lorries increased by 110 per cent.
The figures also suggest that cyclists in the Dublin area are becoming a dying breed as bicycle journeys to work or school have declined by 25 per cent in the last ten years. Walking trips only increased by some 7.8 per cent.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
New guidelines launched for town and city planning
The Minister for Environment John Gormley has announced new planning guidelines for towns and cities across the country.
The plans aim to make all urban developments more community based, ensuring they have better facilities and transport links.
The population of Dublin, Cork and Galway is expected to rise by between 12-45% by the year 2020.
At the launch of the guidelines Minister Gormley said ‘we will have communities that are well serviced with public transport and crèches. They may be high-density communities but we will have good public spaces which will ensure people enjoy a good quality of life’.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The plans aim to make all urban developments more community based, ensuring they have better facilities and transport links.
The population of Dublin, Cork and Galway is expected to rise by between 12-45% by the year 2020.
At the launch of the guidelines Minister Gormley said ‘we will have communities that are well serviced with public transport and crèches. They may be high-density communities but we will have good public spaces which will ensure people enjoy a good quality of life’.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Wind industry to invest €4bn after subsidies announced
New Government supports to encourage the development of renewable energy announced yesterday were immediately followed by a pledge from the wind industry to invest more than €4 billion in the sector over the next five years, writes Tim O'Brien
Announcing new price supports for electricity generated from biomass, offshore wind and the sea, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, said the supports of up to €220 per megawatt hour (MWh), were in line with what other countries were offering.
But he said in Ireland the supports were combined with some of the finest wind, wave and tidal energy resources in the world, making the island exceptionally rewarding for investors.
Echoing comments by Dr Werner Kruckow, managing director of turbine manufacturer Siemens, Mr Ryan urged the industry to adopt a "sense of urgency" in building wind energy infrastructure, as Ireland would be competing for expertise and machinery with the EU and Russia in the rush to source renewable energies. The industry should, he said, now "think big, and be ambitious" in bringing forward its development plans.
The subsidies announced by the Minister include €220 per MWh for tidal and wave energy from the sea; €120 for energy from biomass (wood and anaerobic digestion) and €140 for off-shore wind energy. The prices are guaranteed for a period of 15 years. Mr Ryan said the changes could secure carbon savings of €170 million per year.
Asked how much the subsidies would eventually cost the taxpayer, Mr Ryan said renewable energy was already subsidising electricity generated from fossil fuels and households were already getting reduced electricity bills as a result.
Mr Ryan also revealed his department was working with colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to expand proposed interconnectors into a sub-sea transmission grid along the Irish Sea.
"This could be part of a new extended offshore grid connecting wind farms from other jurisdictions so that electricity could be produced on a consistent and predictable basis. If we can connect and integrate wind farms from other jurisdictions, electricity will be produced wherever the wind is blowing."
Responding to the Minister's announcement, director of offshore development at Airtricity, Torben Anderson, said five companies in the National Offshore Wind Association had plans for 2,160 MW of offshore wind generated power, in existing lease areas in Irish waters.
The new policy will "unlock the potential of offshore wind energy in Ireland and capacity would be now brought forward immediately, with wind farms initiated in 2008 becoming operational around 2012", Mr Anderson said.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Announcing new price supports for electricity generated from biomass, offshore wind and the sea, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Eamon Ryan, said the supports of up to €220 per megawatt hour (MWh), were in line with what other countries were offering.
But he said in Ireland the supports were combined with some of the finest wind, wave and tidal energy resources in the world, making the island exceptionally rewarding for investors.
Echoing comments by Dr Werner Kruckow, managing director of turbine manufacturer Siemens, Mr Ryan urged the industry to adopt a "sense of urgency" in building wind energy infrastructure, as Ireland would be competing for expertise and machinery with the EU and Russia in the rush to source renewable energies. The industry should, he said, now "think big, and be ambitious" in bringing forward its development plans.
The subsidies announced by the Minister include €220 per MWh for tidal and wave energy from the sea; €120 for energy from biomass (wood and anaerobic digestion) and €140 for off-shore wind energy. The prices are guaranteed for a period of 15 years. Mr Ryan said the changes could secure carbon savings of €170 million per year.
Asked how much the subsidies would eventually cost the taxpayer, Mr Ryan said renewable energy was already subsidising electricity generated from fossil fuels and households were already getting reduced electricity bills as a result.
Mr Ryan also revealed his department was working with colleagues in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales to expand proposed interconnectors into a sub-sea transmission grid along the Irish Sea.
"This could be part of a new extended offshore grid connecting wind farms from other jurisdictions so that electricity could be produced on a consistent and predictable basis. If we can connect and integrate wind farms from other jurisdictions, electricity will be produced wherever the wind is blowing."
Responding to the Minister's announcement, director of offshore development at Airtricity, Torben Anderson, said five companies in the National Offshore Wind Association had plans for 2,160 MW of offshore wind generated power, in existing lease areas in Irish waters.
The new policy will "unlock the potential of offshore wind energy in Ireland and capacity would be now brought forward immediately, with wind farms initiated in 2008 becoming operational around 2012", Mr Anderson said.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
RPA defends capacity of proposed metro trams
Specifications for Dublin's Metro North to be released later this month are to concentrate on 90-metre trams as opposed to the higher capacity heavy rail carriages, the Railway Procurement Agency has confirmed. Tim O'Brien reports.
The confirmation comes amid mounting concern over capacity problems on the existing Luas lines as well as fears that Metro North could suffer similar peak-hour capacity problems within a decade of opening.
The Irish Times has learned the RPA was advised by some of the bidders for the Metro North contract that even if it opts for the narrower 2.4 metre tram system, it should build the tunnel wide enough to later convert to 2.8 metre carriages.
The RPA has also been told that comparable capital cities to Dublin, including Prague, Hamburg, Vienna, Berlin, Lisbon, Munich and Madrid all utilise the higher capacity, wider-bodied carriages in their undergrounds.
Munich, which was the subject of a Department of Transport visit in 2005, uses a "low capacity metro" at 2.8 metres wide, and is capable of carrying in excess of 30,000 people per hour in each direction , some 50 per cent more than the 20,000 capacity of the proposed Dublin underground. Dublin's Dart which can be up to 170 metres long has capacity for 36,000 people per hour per direction. The capacity issue comes as RPA planners face criticism over passengers being left on the platform during the morning rush because trams are full. A Dublin City Business Association spokesman, Tom Coffey, said "to be credible the underground has to have a capacity of about 35,000 people per hour in each direction.
"We can't have a metro which is going to reach capacity six years after it opens. There is no going back to widen a tunnel after it is built and this infrastructure should be designed to last 100 years, as it did in London and elsewhere," he maintained.
The issue also comes as a two-day conference on infrastructure heard details of a Dublin Institute of Technology Futures Academy report which predicted population on the island would rise to seven million people by 2020, with about 1.5 million extra people moving into the Dublin Belfast corridor.
A number of commentators including the head of the National Roads Authority Fred Barry said the population increase - similar in size to the existing population of Dublin - would require another large-scale increase in public transport. Mr Barry said the increase would result in demand for much more rail transport as part of "a successor to Transport 21, a Transport 22, if you like".
However, speaking at the conference the chief executive of the RPA, Frank Allen, said he was "absolutely confident" that the capacity of 20,000 people per hour in each direction was sufficient for Metro North.
He remarked that just "isolated parts" of the London and Paris metros were operating above that capacity and it would be very hard to find other examples in cities in Europe. He said he was "very, very confident" of the capacity of the 90-metre carriages operating at a two minute frequency during peak times.
Mr Allen said the population forecast in the Fingal County Development plan was more pertinent than the all-island forecast. Metro North was, he said, "fully integrated with population projections" and "Fingal is absolutely confident that the capacity is more than is required".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The confirmation comes amid mounting concern over capacity problems on the existing Luas lines as well as fears that Metro North could suffer similar peak-hour capacity problems within a decade of opening.
The Irish Times has learned the RPA was advised by some of the bidders for the Metro North contract that even if it opts for the narrower 2.4 metre tram system, it should build the tunnel wide enough to later convert to 2.8 metre carriages.
The RPA has also been told that comparable capital cities to Dublin, including Prague, Hamburg, Vienna, Berlin, Lisbon, Munich and Madrid all utilise the higher capacity, wider-bodied carriages in their undergrounds.
Munich, which was the subject of a Department of Transport visit in 2005, uses a "low capacity metro" at 2.8 metres wide, and is capable of carrying in excess of 30,000 people per hour in each direction , some 50 per cent more than the 20,000 capacity of the proposed Dublin underground. Dublin's Dart which can be up to 170 metres long has capacity for 36,000 people per hour per direction. The capacity issue comes as RPA planners face criticism over passengers being left on the platform during the morning rush because trams are full. A Dublin City Business Association spokesman, Tom Coffey, said "to be credible the underground has to have a capacity of about 35,000 people per hour in each direction.
"We can't have a metro which is going to reach capacity six years after it opens. There is no going back to widen a tunnel after it is built and this infrastructure should be designed to last 100 years, as it did in London and elsewhere," he maintained.
The issue also comes as a two-day conference on infrastructure heard details of a Dublin Institute of Technology Futures Academy report which predicted population on the island would rise to seven million people by 2020, with about 1.5 million extra people moving into the Dublin Belfast corridor.
A number of commentators including the head of the National Roads Authority Fred Barry said the population increase - similar in size to the existing population of Dublin - would require another large-scale increase in public transport. Mr Barry said the increase would result in demand for much more rail transport as part of "a successor to Transport 21, a Transport 22, if you like".
However, speaking at the conference the chief executive of the RPA, Frank Allen, said he was "absolutely confident" that the capacity of 20,000 people per hour in each direction was sufficient for Metro North.
He remarked that just "isolated parts" of the London and Paris metros were operating above that capacity and it would be very hard to find other examples in cities in Europe. He said he was "very, very confident" of the capacity of the 90-metre carriages operating at a two minute frequency during peak times.
Mr Allen said the population forecast in the Fingal County Development plan was more pertinent than the all-island forecast. Metro North was, he said, "fully integrated with population projections" and "Fingal is absolutely confident that the capacity is more than is required".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Oral hearing denied on golf course plan
An Bord Pleanála has refused to grant an oral hearing for a 78-acre development on a golf course in south Dublin.
The planning authority has told objectors to the development at DúLaoghaire Golf Course that it did not warrant an oral hearing.
The board was due to make a decision on the development by February 21st, however, due to a backlog, it is understood the decision will be delayed.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council gave Cosgrave Brothers permission to develop 856 homes on the southern section of the golf course. The developers plan to build 1,700 residential units on the entire site.
The plans also include a commercial centre at the entrance to the road, with a convenience store, cafe and shops at ground level and about 897sq m (9,655sq ft) of office space on two floors overhead. There are also proposals for a large creche at the centre of the development.
Residents had complained the proposed scheme was excessive and the area did not have the infrastructure to cope. They appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála last October and had hoped an oral hearing would be held to examine the plans.
In a letter to Green Party councillor, Gene Feighery, the board said the development was not a complex one and the appeal could be dealt with adequately through written procedure. It said oral hearings are only held if a development is of national or local significance.
Ms Feighery said the plan was definitely of significance. "It is the largest single development ever to take place in the Greater Dublin Area. It is the equivalent to parachuting the population of the town of Fermoy (3,000) into Dún Laoghaire with all of the infrastructural implications. If that is not a significant local issue, what is?"
The Irish Times
www.buckplaning.ie
The planning authority has told objectors to the development at DúLaoghaire Golf Course that it did not warrant an oral hearing.
The board was due to make a decision on the development by February 21st, however, due to a backlog, it is understood the decision will be delayed.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council gave Cosgrave Brothers permission to develop 856 homes on the southern section of the golf course. The developers plan to build 1,700 residential units on the entire site.
The plans also include a commercial centre at the entrance to the road, with a convenience store, cafe and shops at ground level and about 897sq m (9,655sq ft) of office space on two floors overhead. There are also proposals for a large creche at the centre of the development.
Residents had complained the proposed scheme was excessive and the area did not have the infrastructure to cope. They appealed the decision to An Bord Pleanála last October and had hoped an oral hearing would be held to examine the plans.
In a letter to Green Party councillor, Gene Feighery, the board said the development was not a complex one and the appeal could be dealt with adequately through written procedure. It said oral hearings are only held if a development is of national or local significance.
Ms Feighery said the plan was definitely of significance. "It is the largest single development ever to take place in the Greater Dublin Area. It is the equivalent to parachuting the population of the town of Fermoy (3,000) into Dún Laoghaire with all of the infrastructural implications. If that is not a significant local issue, what is?"
The Irish Times
www.buckplaning.ie
Thursday, 7 February 2008
12-storey tower beside Hopstore approved by council
Developer Frank Flynn has been granted planning permission subject to 30 conditions by Dublin City Council for a controversial high-rise, mixed-use development beside the Guinness brewery in Dublin 8.
The development, at the corner of Bellevue Street and School Street and beside the Guinness Hopstore, will have 81 apartments in four blocks.
Part of the plan by Flynn's development company, Linham Ltd, is for a 12-storey tower on the corner of Bellevue Street and School Street. It also includes an 11-storey tower on School Street, a central nine-storey block and a six-storey block along Bellevue Street and a six-storey building parallel to School Street.
The scheme will involve the demolition of St Catherine's school and part of a shed attached to the Hopstore. Retail space of 2,536sq m (27,297sq ft) and office space of 3,334sq m (35,887sq ft) will also be provided.
An Taisce was among a number of objectors to the scheme. In a letter to the planning authority, it said the developer did not address a ruling by An Bord Pleanála on a previous scheme for the site and that the scheme needs to be revised. The new scheme does not take account of the planning board's comments on tall elements, lack of provision of civic/public space and the relationship of the scheme to the surrounding area.
Last October, An Bord Pleanála rejected a similar mixed-use scheme for 82 apartments, offices and retail space because the height would not respect the character of the surrounding historic residential area.
At the time, it said that the scheme would have a negative impact on the residential amenity of the area, as well as its local landmark, the Guinness Hopstore.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The development, at the corner of Bellevue Street and School Street and beside the Guinness Hopstore, will have 81 apartments in four blocks.
Part of the plan by Flynn's development company, Linham Ltd, is for a 12-storey tower on the corner of Bellevue Street and School Street. It also includes an 11-storey tower on School Street, a central nine-storey block and a six-storey block along Bellevue Street and a six-storey building parallel to School Street.
The scheme will involve the demolition of St Catherine's school and part of a shed attached to the Hopstore. Retail space of 2,536sq m (27,297sq ft) and office space of 3,334sq m (35,887sq ft) will also be provided.
An Taisce was among a number of objectors to the scheme. In a letter to the planning authority, it said the developer did not address a ruling by An Bord Pleanála on a previous scheme for the site and that the scheme needs to be revised. The new scheme does not take account of the planning board's comments on tall elements, lack of provision of civic/public space and the relationship of the scheme to the surrounding area.
Last October, An Bord Pleanála rejected a similar mixed-use scheme for 82 apartments, offices and retail space because the height would not respect the character of the surrounding historic residential area.
At the time, it said that the scheme would have a negative impact on the residential amenity of the area, as well as its local landmark, the Guinness Hopstore.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council not to defend 'green space' decision on order's
Glasthule field Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has said it won't be defending a case being taken against it by the Trustees of the Presentation Brothers Religious Order in Glasthule, Co Dublin.
The trustees initiated judicial review proceedings following the council's decision to adopt a variation which would zone four acres of the order's lands as green space.
A Commercial Court hearing for the action being taken has been set for April 15th.
However, in a letter to local councillors, the County Manager Owen Keegan said that following legal advice he considers it "both appropriate and prudent" not to defend the proceedings and to allow the council's decision to vary the development plan be quashed.
He said the religious order makes a strong case that the procedures adopted by the council are, in the legal sense "infirm".
He added that defending the proceedings would be costly and result in delay and that the court would be "more likely to quash the decision to adopt the variation arising from the difficulties, which have been identified".
A detailed report on the matter is due to be issued by the county council this month.
Cllr Mary Mitchell O'Connor, a school principal in Glasthule, said "Green open space is at a premium in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown county and, if this land is developed, it is lost for ever to future generations.
" I would like to see the Presentation Brothers take into account the community's requirements."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The trustees initiated judicial review proceedings following the council's decision to adopt a variation which would zone four acres of the order's lands as green space.
A Commercial Court hearing for the action being taken has been set for April 15th.
However, in a letter to local councillors, the County Manager Owen Keegan said that following legal advice he considers it "both appropriate and prudent" not to defend the proceedings and to allow the council's decision to vary the development plan be quashed.
He said the religious order makes a strong case that the procedures adopted by the council are, in the legal sense "infirm".
He added that defending the proceedings would be costly and result in delay and that the court would be "more likely to quash the decision to adopt the variation arising from the difficulties, which have been identified".
A detailed report on the matter is due to be issued by the county council this month.
Cllr Mary Mitchell O'Connor, a school principal in Glasthule, said "Green open space is at a premium in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown county and, if this land is developed, it is lost for ever to future generations.
" I would like to see the Presentation Brothers take into account the community's requirements."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wexford Harbour plans cause 'uproar'
Opposition is growing to plans to designate Wexford Harbour as a Special Protection Area (SPA).
An Intention to Designate document for Wexford Harbour and Slobs was recently issued to a large number of landowners and it outlined a huge area for the proposed SPA, stretching to the bridge in Enniscorthy.
"The European Union's birds directive requires member states to protect birds at their breeding, feeding, roosting and wintering areas," said a spokesman for the Department of the Environment.
"It is on foot of the regulations that the Wexford Harbour and Slobs site was proposed for designation as it is considered to be a site of significant ornithological importance," he said.
The site is said to be one of the two most important in the world for Greenland white-fronted geese. It also has internationally important populations of mute swan, light-bellied Brent goose, bar-tailed godwit and black-tailed godwit.
According to the department, there are a large number of "operations likely to alter, damage, destroy or interfere with the integrity of the site", including harvesting marine species, leisure or sporting activities liable to cause disturbance to the birds, reclaiming land for agricultural purposes, the planting of trees and dredging, whether for fishing or other purposes.
Councillor Paddy Nolan said there is "uproar" over the plans among local people. "In the event that this goes ahead it will be the death knell of Wexford Harbour," he said. It would not only end fishing in the harbour, but possibly all swimming and boating activities. He said many farmers' use of their land will also be severely hampered.
A public meeting is to be held next Tuesday, three days before the deadline for objections.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An Intention to Designate document for Wexford Harbour and Slobs was recently issued to a large number of landowners and it outlined a huge area for the proposed SPA, stretching to the bridge in Enniscorthy.
"The European Union's birds directive requires member states to protect birds at their breeding, feeding, roosting and wintering areas," said a spokesman for the Department of the Environment.
"It is on foot of the regulations that the Wexford Harbour and Slobs site was proposed for designation as it is considered to be a site of significant ornithological importance," he said.
The site is said to be one of the two most important in the world for Greenland white-fronted geese. It also has internationally important populations of mute swan, light-bellied Brent goose, bar-tailed godwit and black-tailed godwit.
According to the department, there are a large number of "operations likely to alter, damage, destroy or interfere with the integrity of the site", including harvesting marine species, leisure or sporting activities liable to cause disturbance to the birds, reclaiming land for agricultural purposes, the planting of trees and dredging, whether for fishing or other purposes.
Councillor Paddy Nolan said there is "uproar" over the plans among local people. "In the event that this goes ahead it will be the death knell of Wexford Harbour," he said. It would not only end fishing in the harbour, but possibly all swimming and boating activities. He said many farmers' use of their land will also be severely hampered.
A public meeting is to be held next Tuesday, three days before the deadline for objections.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council to seek court order to demolish house
Meath County Council is expected to seek a court order shortly for the demolition of a large two-storey house near Navan which was built without planning permission.
The council is expected to reactivate earlier legal proceedings for the demolition of the house near Bohermeen. This follows the refusal of An Bord Pleanála to grant retention permission for the unauthorised development.
The house was built by the owner, Michael Murray, a local plumber who owns a plant hire business. At 588sq metres in size, it was about twice as large as the house proposed in the original planning application. Mr Murray declined to comment on the case.
Last November, An Bord Pleanála refused retention permission for the house, which is in a cul-de-sac at Faughanhill. It ruled that the house was out of character for the area and represented an "unduly prominent and incongruous" feature on the landscape. It would also give rise to excessive development in a rural area lacking services and would set an undesirable precedent for further development, the board found.
The board rejected arguments made on behalf of Mr Murray by planning consultant Seán Lucy, who said his client was born and reared in the family home less than half a mile from the house under dispute. He said Mr Murray had applied for planning permission for a house for himself and his family on three occasions on three different sites, but was refused.
Mr Lucy said Mr Murray had built the house "in desperation" because he needed a home for his wife and three children. His client recognised that he was "remiss", but pleaded that this should not prejudice his case.
The An Bord Pleanála inspector found that Mr Murray met the criteria for local needs under the guidelines for sustainable rural housing and ruled there were no traffic issues. However, he claimed permission would place excessive pressure on waste water treatment in an unserviced rural area and so would be prejudicial to public health.
An Taisce (Meath branch) had appealed the application for retention permission, saying it could set a dangerous precedent. Not only had the original planning refusal been ignored, but the house built was considerably larger than the original application, it said. The area has seen a number of planning applications, most of which have been refused.
A council spokesman declined to comment on the case as it was the subject of legal proceedings which were started after the council refused Mr Murray's initial planning application on the site in May 2006.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The council is expected to reactivate earlier legal proceedings for the demolition of the house near Bohermeen. This follows the refusal of An Bord Pleanála to grant retention permission for the unauthorised development.
The house was built by the owner, Michael Murray, a local plumber who owns a plant hire business. At 588sq metres in size, it was about twice as large as the house proposed in the original planning application. Mr Murray declined to comment on the case.
Last November, An Bord Pleanála refused retention permission for the house, which is in a cul-de-sac at Faughanhill. It ruled that the house was out of character for the area and represented an "unduly prominent and incongruous" feature on the landscape. It would also give rise to excessive development in a rural area lacking services and would set an undesirable precedent for further development, the board found.
The board rejected arguments made on behalf of Mr Murray by planning consultant Seán Lucy, who said his client was born and reared in the family home less than half a mile from the house under dispute. He said Mr Murray had applied for planning permission for a house for himself and his family on three occasions on three different sites, but was refused.
Mr Lucy said Mr Murray had built the house "in desperation" because he needed a home for his wife and three children. His client recognised that he was "remiss", but pleaded that this should not prejudice his case.
The An Bord Pleanála inspector found that Mr Murray met the criteria for local needs under the guidelines for sustainable rural housing and ruled there were no traffic issues. However, he claimed permission would place excessive pressure on waste water treatment in an unserviced rural area and so would be prejudicial to public health.
An Taisce (Meath branch) had appealed the application for retention permission, saying it could set a dangerous precedent. Not only had the original planning refusal been ignored, but the house built was considerably larger than the original application, it said. The area has seen a number of planning applications, most of which have been refused.
A council spokesman declined to comment on the case as it was the subject of legal proceedings which were started after the council refused Mr Murray's initial planning application on the site in May 2006.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Incomplete planning applications ‘costing thousands’
PEOPLE in Kerry are “beggared and broke” by engineers and other professionals who submit incomplete planning applications on their behalf, it was claimed yesterday.
Cllr Danny Healy-Rae also accused some professionals of “getting away with murder” in ripping off people making planning applications.
Council officials acknowledged the work of some professionals in the planning process was “substandard”.
Potential new home owners are facing charges of between €2,500 and €3,500 to make a planning application to Kerry Co Council, a meeting of Killarney area councillors was told.
In some cases, professional agents advised clients to re-submit applications even though they had been refused planning permission in the first place for valid reasons, according to Independent councillor Mr Healy-Rae: “They are getting away with murder and leaving people beggared and broke because they don’t do their job properly.
“Some of these agents would be struck off if there were professional standards and they’re charging astronomical money.”
Senior planning engineer Paul Stack said the submission of large numbers of incomplete applications was one of the big issues in planning in Kerry: “Going by the standard of forms, at times we wonder if assessments are done at all.
“At the moment, people who don’t know what they are about are submitting assessments. Anyone submitting an application should have a seven-day FÁS course completed,” he said.
In the first six months of last year, further information had to be requested by planning officials in regard to 31%, or 183, of planning applications in the Killarney area.
The requests for further information were made, in many cases, when the assessment section on the form relating to the site and percolation was not properly completed, as set out in the Environmental Protection Agency manual.
Independent councillor Brendan Cronin said this puts clients to extra, unnecessary expense: “Clients should seriously consider holding off on payments to agents until a final decision is made on an application. I think we’ve been too soft on agents for too long.”
Executive staff member Paul Stack said council was forming a panel of agents and applications would only be accepted from those on the panel.
Advertisements were being placed in the newspapers and interested agents could apply to be placed on the panel.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Cllr Danny Healy-Rae also accused some professionals of “getting away with murder” in ripping off people making planning applications.
Council officials acknowledged the work of some professionals in the planning process was “substandard”.
Potential new home owners are facing charges of between €2,500 and €3,500 to make a planning application to Kerry Co Council, a meeting of Killarney area councillors was told.
In some cases, professional agents advised clients to re-submit applications even though they had been refused planning permission in the first place for valid reasons, according to Independent councillor Mr Healy-Rae: “They are getting away with murder and leaving people beggared and broke because they don’t do their job properly.
“Some of these agents would be struck off if there were professional standards and they’re charging astronomical money.”
Senior planning engineer Paul Stack said the submission of large numbers of incomplete applications was one of the big issues in planning in Kerry: “Going by the standard of forms, at times we wonder if assessments are done at all.
“At the moment, people who don’t know what they are about are submitting assessments. Anyone submitting an application should have a seven-day FÁS course completed,” he said.
In the first six months of last year, further information had to be requested by planning officials in regard to 31%, or 183, of planning applications in the Killarney area.
The requests for further information were made, in many cases, when the assessment section on the form relating to the site and percolation was not properly completed, as set out in the Environmental Protection Agency manual.
Independent councillor Brendan Cronin said this puts clients to extra, unnecessary expense: “Clients should seriously consider holding off on payments to agents until a final decision is made on an application. I think we’ve been too soft on agents for too long.”
Executive staff member Paul Stack said council was forming a panel of agents and applications would only be accepted from those on the panel.
Advertisements were being placed in the newspapers and interested agents could apply to be placed on the panel.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Anti-pylon group welcomes study
ANTI-PYLON protesters have given a guarded welcome to government plans for an independent study on the health and other implications of high voltage power lines.
Energy Minister Eamon Ryan is to tender for experts to carry out the study in the next few weeks and he says he wants to see their findings by the end of April.
They will be asked to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of routing cables underground as opposed to stringing them along pylons, taking into consideration the relative costs, technical difficulties and environmental and health issues.
Eirgrid, which is considering three routes for the Meath-Cavan line, said it would postpone making a decision until the study was completed.
North East Pylon Pressure chairman Francis Lally said the study should in no way be influenced by the work already carried out by Eirgrid but should take a “clean sheet” approach.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Energy Minister Eamon Ryan is to tender for experts to carry out the study in the next few weeks and he says he wants to see their findings by the end of April.
They will be asked to evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of routing cables underground as opposed to stringing them along pylons, taking into consideration the relative costs, technical difficulties and environmental and health issues.
Eirgrid, which is considering three routes for the Meath-Cavan line, said it would postpone making a decision until the study was completed.
North East Pylon Pressure chairman Francis Lally said the study should in no way be influenced by the work already carried out by Eirgrid but should take a “clean sheet” approach.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Arnotts move down road as €1bn city plan takes shape
For almost 175 years, Arnotts has enjoyed pride of place as one of Ireland's most iconic department stores.
Now the famous Dublin store is moving for three years while a new premises is built as part of a €1bn transformation of an eight-acre site between Abbey Street and Henry Street.
After cutting up to 400 of its 900-strong workforce in a "largely" voluntary redundancy programme, Arnotts staff will later this year move some departments into a temporary home in the neighbouring Jervis Centre.
When it returns to Henry Street in 2011, it will employ 1,200 staff as part of a 5,000-strong workforce in the newly developed 'Northern Quarter'.
Arnotts will occupy retail space vacated by Debenhams at the Jervis centre.
Some departments may yet continue to operate from Henry Street, in one of a number of options being considered by the store's management.
It is understood that Boyers, the Arnotts-owned department store on North Earl Street, will be unaffected but is also in line for a revamp.
Sources close to the company said yesterday that a green light for the project from An Bord Pleanala was imminent.
A spokesperson for the company said: "Arnotts is currently finalising its plans for the development phase of the Northern Quarter. When the plans are finalised, they will be communicated to staff."
Redundancies
News of the redundancies comes as the the 900 staff at Arnotts gear up for a €60,000 pension windfall early next month. The cash comes following a decision last year by Arnotts trustees to distribute €50m of the surplus in the company's overachieving pension fund to employees.
But the job cuts will come as blow to staff and customers at the store, opened in 1843 by Sir John Arnott and famed for its old-style service and colourful history.
It was said Easter Rising leader Padraig Pearse stopped off to settle his account at Arnotts in 1916 before proceeding to do battle at the GPO.
And in the 1960s, the model Jean Shrimpton caused a near riot when she turned up to the opening of Arnotts' Southside branch wearing her trademark mini-skirt.
In its more recent history, Arnotts, which is chaired by Richard Nesbitt, the great-great-grandson of founder Sir Arnott, changed hands.
Last year, Anglo Irish Bank teamed up with investment company Boundary Capital to make a joint €65m investment in the firm for a 45pc stake. Boundary is headed up by financier Niall McFadden.
The new investment came after long-term investors, the O'Connor family, sold their 24.75pc stake in Arnotts following a high-profile boardroom dispute with Mr Nesbitt.
The row came to a head in May of last year when it emerged that the O'Connors were preparing to offer €200m for the group. Many observers believed at the time that the bid was a ploy to force the Nesbitt family to buy them out.
In the event, the Nesbitts agreed two weeks later to pay over €40m for the O'Connors' stake.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Now the famous Dublin store is moving for three years while a new premises is built as part of a €1bn transformation of an eight-acre site between Abbey Street and Henry Street.
After cutting up to 400 of its 900-strong workforce in a "largely" voluntary redundancy programme, Arnotts staff will later this year move some departments into a temporary home in the neighbouring Jervis Centre.
When it returns to Henry Street in 2011, it will employ 1,200 staff as part of a 5,000-strong workforce in the newly developed 'Northern Quarter'.
Arnotts will occupy retail space vacated by Debenhams at the Jervis centre.
Some departments may yet continue to operate from Henry Street, in one of a number of options being considered by the store's management.
It is understood that Boyers, the Arnotts-owned department store on North Earl Street, will be unaffected but is also in line for a revamp.
Sources close to the company said yesterday that a green light for the project from An Bord Pleanala was imminent.
A spokesperson for the company said: "Arnotts is currently finalising its plans for the development phase of the Northern Quarter. When the plans are finalised, they will be communicated to staff."
Redundancies
News of the redundancies comes as the the 900 staff at Arnotts gear up for a €60,000 pension windfall early next month. The cash comes following a decision last year by Arnotts trustees to distribute €50m of the surplus in the company's overachieving pension fund to employees.
But the job cuts will come as blow to staff and customers at the store, opened in 1843 by Sir John Arnott and famed for its old-style service and colourful history.
It was said Easter Rising leader Padraig Pearse stopped off to settle his account at Arnotts in 1916 before proceeding to do battle at the GPO.
And in the 1960s, the model Jean Shrimpton caused a near riot when she turned up to the opening of Arnotts' Southside branch wearing her trademark mini-skirt.
In its more recent history, Arnotts, which is chaired by Richard Nesbitt, the great-great-grandson of founder Sir Arnott, changed hands.
Last year, Anglo Irish Bank teamed up with investment company Boundary Capital to make a joint €65m investment in the firm for a 45pc stake. Boundary is headed up by financier Niall McFadden.
The new investment came after long-term investors, the O'Connor family, sold their 24.75pc stake in Arnotts following a high-profile boardroom dispute with Mr Nesbitt.
The row came to a head in May of last year when it emerged that the O'Connors were preparing to offer €200m for the group. Many observers believed at the time that the bid was a ploy to force the Nesbitt family to buy them out.
In the event, the Nesbitts agreed two weeks later to pay over €40m for the O'Connors' stake.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 6 February 2008
Planning row sees toilets being used as classrooms
CHILDREN attending a Limerick city school will have to continue using converted toilets as classrooms due to a planning row.
A €4 million redevelopment of the JFK primary school faces uncertainty due to objections lodged by local residents.
The Department of Education gave the green light for extensive works at the school, on the Ennis Road, last December.
But residents have appealed the planning approval given by Limerick City Council to An Bord Pleanála. School management fear they will forfeit the money if the planning process is unduly delayed.
A spokesman for the school said: “The new school building is urgently needed as we have language and learning support classes in renovated toilets and six prefabs on site.
“The toilets are also located outside the classrooms and outside the supervision of teachers,” he said.
The three objections have been lodged by residents in adjacent houses on North Circular Road. One objector claims the structure would have the appearance of a factory. There is also an objection to the resiting of the playground to the boundary of the site.
Consultant engineers John T Garrett & Associates, which has been engaged by some of the objectors, says the proposed school development would permanently damage the residential amenity of their client’s property in a way that contravenes the Limerick City Council Development Plan of 2004.
The residents say they are not opposed to the school, but want it done in a way that respects their homes. They also object to the scale of the proposed development.
Parents and teachers have been pushing for a new JFK school since 1971.
An Bord Pleanála is due to make a ruling by May 27.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
A €4 million redevelopment of the JFK primary school faces uncertainty due to objections lodged by local residents.
The Department of Education gave the green light for extensive works at the school, on the Ennis Road, last December.
But residents have appealed the planning approval given by Limerick City Council to An Bord Pleanála. School management fear they will forfeit the money if the planning process is unduly delayed.
A spokesman for the school said: “The new school building is urgently needed as we have language and learning support classes in renovated toilets and six prefabs on site.
“The toilets are also located outside the classrooms and outside the supervision of teachers,” he said.
The three objections have been lodged by residents in adjacent houses on North Circular Road. One objector claims the structure would have the appearance of a factory. There is also an objection to the resiting of the playground to the boundary of the site.
Consultant engineers John T Garrett & Associates, which has been engaged by some of the objectors, says the proposed school development would permanently damage the residential amenity of their client’s property in a way that contravenes the Limerick City Council Development Plan of 2004.
The residents say they are not opposed to the school, but want it done in a way that respects their homes. They also object to the scale of the proposed development.
Parents and teachers have been pushing for a new JFK school since 1971.
An Bord Pleanála is due to make a ruling by May 27.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
€100m Mallow project approved
A SUBSIDIARY of Dairygold has been granted planning permission for a €100 million mixed-use development in Mallow, which is expected to create up to 400 jobs.
The mayor of Mallow, Cllr Noel O’Connor, confirmed yesterday the town council had granted Alchemy Properties permission to proceed with the project, which will include retail units, warehousing, offices, restaurants and residential units.
The site chosen is adjacent to where Dairygold has its 4Home outlet at the town’s west end and is one of the largest planned investments ever in Mallow.
The site earmarked for development was a major hub of dairy manufacturing before plant closures and outsourcing drastically reduced these activities.
“This is a major boost for Mallow and I hear that Alchemy Properties are keen to get started on the project as soon as possible. It has huge potential and as far as the town council members are concerned we’re giving it the thumbs up,” said Mr O’Connor.
Those behind the project believe the retail element will attract up to 70,000 shoppers a week and generate an annual turnover of about €50m.
The site is situated on the edge of Mallow town centre and is easily accessible by road and rail.
In addition, a new bus stop will be provided on the site along with pedestrian links to the town centre.
Proposed road improvements will include a new southern access route linking the main Cork-Limerick Road to Park Road.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The mayor of Mallow, Cllr Noel O’Connor, confirmed yesterday the town council had granted Alchemy Properties permission to proceed with the project, which will include retail units, warehousing, offices, restaurants and residential units.
The site chosen is adjacent to where Dairygold has its 4Home outlet at the town’s west end and is one of the largest planned investments ever in Mallow.
The site earmarked for development was a major hub of dairy manufacturing before plant closures and outsourcing drastically reduced these activities.
“This is a major boost for Mallow and I hear that Alchemy Properties are keen to get started on the project as soon as possible. It has huge potential and as far as the town council members are concerned we’re giving it the thumbs up,” said Mr O’Connor.
Those behind the project believe the retail element will attract up to 70,000 shoppers a week and generate an annual turnover of about €50m.
The site is situated on the edge of Mallow town centre and is easily accessible by road and rail.
In addition, a new bus stop will be provided on the site along with pedestrian links to the town centre.
Proposed road improvements will include a new southern access route linking the main Cork-Limerick Road to Park Road.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
High Court action seeks to protect site near Tara
A HIGH COURT action was launched yesterday aimed at protecting the Lismullin national monument near Tara.
The action is being taken by Gordon Lucas, who is seeking to enforce EU directives on national monuments. He is seeking an injunction and a declaration that the National Monuments Act 2004 is in breach of EU law.
Lismullin was declared one of the top 10 most important archaeological discoveries in 2007 by Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. The Hill of Tara has also been placed on the 2008 list of 100 most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund.
Last year, archaeologists working on the route of the motorway stumbled on a vast Iron Age ceremonial enclosure, or henge, surrounded by two walls.
The 2,000-year-old site is about 2km from the Hill of Tara. The discovery of the henge, measuring about 260ft in diameter, confirmed the long-held belief that the area contains a rich complex of monuments.
The extent of archaeological remains on the Hill of Tara — burial mounds, religious enclosures, stone structures, and rock art dating from the third millennium BC to the 12th century AD — makes it Ireland’s most spiritually and archaeologically significant site.
Lismullin and other sites that stand in the way of the new motorway are now approved for destruction. Although archaeologists are rallying support worldwide for the protection of the Hill of Tara, the iconic site remains in great peril, according to the lobbying group Tara Watch.
The European Commission has initiated legal action against the Government over the M3, charging Ireland with failing to protect its own heritage.
A Red C opinion poll has found that almost two-thirds (62%) of Irish adults agree that the current format set down for the M3 is wrong, and that alternatives should be found to protect the heritage sites.
More than half (58%) support a proposed heritage park solution, while 31% agree they would prefer to keep the M3 running through the valley as already agreed.
Vincent Salafia of protest group TaraWatch said: “This is a parallel case to the case being taken against Ireland by the European Commission, which states the Irish government is in breach of EU law. Work should cease immediately within the Tara archaeological complex, until this matter is resolved.
“It is ironic that the Irish government is pushing its citizens to adopt the Lisbon Treaty, while they flatly refuse to obey current EU law with regards to protection of the environment and the national monument at Lismullin,” said Mr Salafia.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The action is being taken by Gordon Lucas, who is seeking to enforce EU directives on national monuments. He is seeking an injunction and a declaration that the National Monuments Act 2004 is in breach of EU law.
Lismullin was declared one of the top 10 most important archaeological discoveries in 2007 by Archaeology magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America. The Hill of Tara has also been placed on the 2008 list of 100 most endangered sites by the World Monuments Fund.
Last year, archaeologists working on the route of the motorway stumbled on a vast Iron Age ceremonial enclosure, or henge, surrounded by two walls.
The 2,000-year-old site is about 2km from the Hill of Tara. The discovery of the henge, measuring about 260ft in diameter, confirmed the long-held belief that the area contains a rich complex of monuments.
The extent of archaeological remains on the Hill of Tara — burial mounds, religious enclosures, stone structures, and rock art dating from the third millennium BC to the 12th century AD — makes it Ireland’s most spiritually and archaeologically significant site.
Lismullin and other sites that stand in the way of the new motorway are now approved for destruction. Although archaeologists are rallying support worldwide for the protection of the Hill of Tara, the iconic site remains in great peril, according to the lobbying group Tara Watch.
The European Commission has initiated legal action against the Government over the M3, charging Ireland with failing to protect its own heritage.
A Red C opinion poll has found that almost two-thirds (62%) of Irish adults agree that the current format set down for the M3 is wrong, and that alternatives should be found to protect the heritage sites.
More than half (58%) support a proposed heritage park solution, while 31% agree they would prefer to keep the M3 running through the valley as already agreed.
Vincent Salafia of protest group TaraWatch said: “This is a parallel case to the case being taken against Ireland by the European Commission, which states the Irish government is in breach of EU law. Work should cease immediately within the Tara archaeological complex, until this matter is resolved.
“It is ironic that the Irish government is pushing its citizens to adopt the Lisbon Treaty, while they flatly refuse to obey current EU law with regards to protection of the environment and the national monument at Lismullin,” said Mr Salafia.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Over €10m for key D7 markets site
Redevelopment Site With the markets area of Dublin city centre - which is between Capel Street and the Four Courts - set for major redevelopment in the coming years, there should be plenty of interest in an important site nearby, writes Jack Fagan
With a major rejuvenation in the pipeline for the Victorian era fruit and vegetable market in Dublin 7, another key site beside it is going for sale today through CB Richard Ellis.
The agency is quoting over €10 million for 0.18 hectares (0.45 of an acre) opposite the market at Arran Street East which is due to be sold at tender on March 6th.
The long drawn out plan to redevelop the key three-acre markets site has been given considerable impetus with the announcement that Dublin City Council has nominated experienced developers, the Linders and Kelly families, along with the Fyffes spin-off Blackrock International Land, as the preferred bidder for the project.
All three parties in the consortium have land holdings in the immediate area.
The odds are that the group will also pitch for the site going for sale which is used as the headquarters for the fruit and vegetable market.
The redevelopment of the main Victorian era market is expected to act as an anchor for the redevelopment of much of the adjoining area which is serviced by the Luas red line.
Dublin City Council has indicated that it wants to see the Liffey boardwalk extended past the Four Courts as part of the scheme.
A new fish market hall is also to be developed on site as well as a number of workshops and office space.
A fruit and vegetable market is to form the centrepiece of the new market square development.
The site for sale is regular in shape and comes with a "Z5" zoning objective in the Dublin city development plan "to consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area and to identify, reinforce and strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity". Uses permissible in principle under this zoning are quite broad.
They include conference centre, health, guest house, hostel, hotel, medical and related consultants, nightclub, offices, restaurant and neighbourhood shopping.
Wesley Rothwell of CB Richard Ellis says he believes a high quality mixed-use development is likely to be achieved on the site in line with the Markets Area Draft Framework Plan.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
With a major rejuvenation in the pipeline for the Victorian era fruit and vegetable market in Dublin 7, another key site beside it is going for sale today through CB Richard Ellis.
The agency is quoting over €10 million for 0.18 hectares (0.45 of an acre) opposite the market at Arran Street East which is due to be sold at tender on March 6th.
The long drawn out plan to redevelop the key three-acre markets site has been given considerable impetus with the announcement that Dublin City Council has nominated experienced developers, the Linders and Kelly families, along with the Fyffes spin-off Blackrock International Land, as the preferred bidder for the project.
All three parties in the consortium have land holdings in the immediate area.
The odds are that the group will also pitch for the site going for sale which is used as the headquarters for the fruit and vegetable market.
The redevelopment of the main Victorian era market is expected to act as an anchor for the redevelopment of much of the adjoining area which is serviced by the Luas red line.
Dublin City Council has indicated that it wants to see the Liffey boardwalk extended past the Four Courts as part of the scheme.
A new fish market hall is also to be developed on site as well as a number of workshops and office space.
A fruit and vegetable market is to form the centrepiece of the new market square development.
The site for sale is regular in shape and comes with a "Z5" zoning objective in the Dublin city development plan "to consolidate and facilitate the development of the central area and to identify, reinforce and strengthen and protect its civic design character and dignity". Uses permissible in principle under this zoning are quite broad.
They include conference centre, health, guest house, hostel, hotel, medical and related consultants, nightclub, offices, restaurant and neighbourhood shopping.
Wesley Rothwell of CB Richard Ellis says he believes a high quality mixed-use development is likely to be achieved on the site in line with the Markets Area Draft Framework Plan.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Bord rejects Dunboyne business park plan
Planning & Development Plans to create over 2,000 jobs in a new business park at Dunboyne, Co Meath, have been thwarted by An Taisce despite securing the unanimous support of members of Meath County Council.
The first phase of the proposed Royal Gateway Business Park was to have included a mix of office and light industrial buildings on a 42-acre site at Piersetown, Dunboyne. The park, designed on broadly similar lines to Citywest, would eventually extend to 120 acres and be accessed from a roundabout on a new distributor road parallel to the N3. The promoters had undertaken to operate a shuttle bus on the 1km trip between the park and the proposed Pace railway station and park-and-ride facility which are due to open within two years as part of the new Dublin-Dunboyne railway service.
Coca Cola was to have anchored the park with a new Irish headquarters and distribution centre that was expected to employ several hundred people. Overall, the promoters had agreed sale terms on almost 80 per cent of the planned 92,900sq m (1 million sq ft) of buildings due to be completed over the next three years.
All 26 members of Meath County Council, on the advice of the county planners, voted in favour of a material contravention of the county development plan to rezone the Dunboyne site for a business park because of the need to create jobs in the county. Permission was granted last June but An Taisce lodged an objection on the grounds that the park "would lead to the creation of an unsustainable car-based development".
An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the park, saying that it would be prejudicial to the preparation and adoption of the integrated framework plan for land use and transportation for the Clonsilla-Pace corridor and the Dunboyne-Clonee-Pace local area plan.
The board also pointed out that the proposed development had no specific locational requirements which necessitated its location at this "rural, unzoned and unserviced location". The board did not mention that the proposed site is within the Ashbourne-Ratoath-Dunshaughlin "dynamic cluster" and will have access to several forms of public transport.
Meath Council Council has been running a national campaign in recent years to attract industry to the county after a study showed that an inordinate proportion of the local population has to travel to Dublin daily to work. Meath has the lowest jobs ratio of all counties in the mid-east region at 0.49 jobs per worker in the county.
Thousands of Dublin-based families have relocated to Meath towns and villages in recent years to avail of lower house prices. The result is that all roads between Meath and Dublin are heavily congested in the mornings and evenings with workers living in Navan frequently spending over two hours commuting to the capital.
Apart from Tara Mines which employs workers from several eastern counties, Navan no longer has any major industries following the closure of most of the local furniture factories. In the 1980s Navan had more than 30 furniture factories which eventually went out of business because of cheap imports mainly from the Far East. Another big employer, Navan Carpets, also closed for the same reason and the site of the factory now serves as a retail park.
Apart from the urgent need for rates revenue from commercial enterprises to allow it maintain and expand its services, Meath County Council has watched Fingal County Council approve substantial commercial developments right up to the Meath border while it has been debarred from allowing similar schemes only a few miles away.
The Menolly Group and the Peters family, who plan to develop the Royal Gateway Business Park on a joint venture basis, will be reapplying for permission for the proposed Dunboyne facility, arguing that the huge investment in the upgraded road network and the new railway service have been made precisely to allow workers to take up employment in the county rather than travel to Dublin.
Brian Fitzgerald, former TD and chairman of Meath County Council, said the board's decision did not make any sense in view of the planned opening of the rail service and a new road system. With an estimated 70 to 75 per cent of Meath workers commuting daily to jobs in Dublin, the council had been applauded by a number of ministers for its efforts to attract new businesses into the county.
Significantly, the National Roads Authority made an observation to Meath County Council about the park but after explanations were provided they did not object to An Bord Pleanála. "Nobody objected except An Taisce and they lobbed in an objection at 27 minutes past five on the last day of 28 allowed for an appeal." Some members of the council believe that An Taisce's decision to object to the Dunboyne facility stems from its costly and unsuccessful campaign to block the building of the M3 Clonee-to-Kells motorway near the Hill of Tara.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The first phase of the proposed Royal Gateway Business Park was to have included a mix of office and light industrial buildings on a 42-acre site at Piersetown, Dunboyne. The park, designed on broadly similar lines to Citywest, would eventually extend to 120 acres and be accessed from a roundabout on a new distributor road parallel to the N3. The promoters had undertaken to operate a shuttle bus on the 1km trip between the park and the proposed Pace railway station and park-and-ride facility which are due to open within two years as part of the new Dublin-Dunboyne railway service.
Coca Cola was to have anchored the park with a new Irish headquarters and distribution centre that was expected to employ several hundred people. Overall, the promoters had agreed sale terms on almost 80 per cent of the planned 92,900sq m (1 million sq ft) of buildings due to be completed over the next three years.
All 26 members of Meath County Council, on the advice of the county planners, voted in favour of a material contravention of the county development plan to rezone the Dunboyne site for a business park because of the need to create jobs in the county. Permission was granted last June but An Taisce lodged an objection on the grounds that the park "would lead to the creation of an unsustainable car-based development".
An Bord Pleanála refused permission for the park, saying that it would be prejudicial to the preparation and adoption of the integrated framework plan for land use and transportation for the Clonsilla-Pace corridor and the Dunboyne-Clonee-Pace local area plan.
The board also pointed out that the proposed development had no specific locational requirements which necessitated its location at this "rural, unzoned and unserviced location". The board did not mention that the proposed site is within the Ashbourne-Ratoath-Dunshaughlin "dynamic cluster" and will have access to several forms of public transport.
Meath Council Council has been running a national campaign in recent years to attract industry to the county after a study showed that an inordinate proportion of the local population has to travel to Dublin daily to work. Meath has the lowest jobs ratio of all counties in the mid-east region at 0.49 jobs per worker in the county.
Thousands of Dublin-based families have relocated to Meath towns and villages in recent years to avail of lower house prices. The result is that all roads between Meath and Dublin are heavily congested in the mornings and evenings with workers living in Navan frequently spending over two hours commuting to the capital.
Apart from Tara Mines which employs workers from several eastern counties, Navan no longer has any major industries following the closure of most of the local furniture factories. In the 1980s Navan had more than 30 furniture factories which eventually went out of business because of cheap imports mainly from the Far East. Another big employer, Navan Carpets, also closed for the same reason and the site of the factory now serves as a retail park.
Apart from the urgent need for rates revenue from commercial enterprises to allow it maintain and expand its services, Meath County Council has watched Fingal County Council approve substantial commercial developments right up to the Meath border while it has been debarred from allowing similar schemes only a few miles away.
The Menolly Group and the Peters family, who plan to develop the Royal Gateway Business Park on a joint venture basis, will be reapplying for permission for the proposed Dunboyne facility, arguing that the huge investment in the upgraded road network and the new railway service have been made precisely to allow workers to take up employment in the county rather than travel to Dublin.
Brian Fitzgerald, former TD and chairman of Meath County Council, said the board's decision did not make any sense in view of the planned opening of the rail service and a new road system. With an estimated 70 to 75 per cent of Meath workers commuting daily to jobs in Dublin, the council had been applauded by a number of ministers for its efforts to attract new businesses into the county.
Significantly, the National Roads Authority made an observation to Meath County Council about the park but after explanations were provided they did not object to An Bord Pleanála. "Nobody objected except An Taisce and they lobbed in an objection at 27 minutes past five on the last day of 28 allowed for an appeal." Some members of the council believe that An Taisce's decision to object to the Dunboyne facility stems from its costly and unsuccessful campaign to block the building of the M3 Clonee-to-Kells motorway near the Hill of Tara.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Retail warehousing park planned for Tyrrelstown, D15
West Dublin is to get another major retail warehousing park. Development work is to begin this summer on the new Tyrrelstown Retail Park in Dublin 15 which will have the giant UK multiple Homebase as anchor tenant.
The shopping facility will be along the proposed four-lane link road about to be built between the N2 (Dublin-Ashbourne road) and the N3 (Dublin-Navan road). The link road will open up a vast new area for development over the coming decade.
Tyrrelstown Retail Park will be less than 4kms from Blanchardstown town centre where Green Property Co has been operating a highly successful retail park for about 10 years. The Cosgrave Group run an equally buoyant fashion retail park at Westend in Blanchardstown.
Tyrrelstown is one of the fastest growing Dublin suburbs where more than 2,000 new homes have been completed since 2001.
Most of them have been built by Eugene Larkin's Twinlite company which is also to develop the retail park.
He also owns the four-star Park Plaza Hotel and a 9,290sq m (100,000sq ft) neighbourhood centre where the tenants include Superquinn and Lidl.
Homebase, second in size in the UK to B&Q with more than 300 outlets in Britain and Ireland, will be paying an annual rent of €700,000 (€218.28 per sq m) for a warehouse of 3,215sq m (35,000sq ft) and outdoor garden centre of 1,114sq m (12,000sq ft). The 25-year lease provides for a standard break clause in year 15.
The Homebase deal puts a capital value of about €5,113 per sq m (€475 per sq ft) on the anchor unit, according to Adrian Leahy of letting agent Savills HOK. Terms have also been agreed on a further 2,787sq m (30,000sq ft) of retail units.
The first phase of Tyrrellstown will extend to 20,438sq m (220,000sq ft), as well as a motor mall with six showrooms. Rents will be €296 per sq m (€27.5 per sq ft) and the expectation is that it will have a capital value of about €100 million.
The second phase is likely to be over 74,322sq m (800,000sq ft).
Leahy says that Tyrrelstown will be aimed primarily at UK traders who find the rents at Blanchardstown and Airside in Swords too high.
He says Twinlite will be prepared to sell as well as lease warehousing space to appeal to indigenous retailers "in an asset management play".
The park was also likely to appeal to UK retailers wanting to open their first stores in Dublin as a springboard into the Irish market.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The shopping facility will be along the proposed four-lane link road about to be built between the N2 (Dublin-Ashbourne road) and the N3 (Dublin-Navan road). The link road will open up a vast new area for development over the coming decade.
Tyrrelstown Retail Park will be less than 4kms from Blanchardstown town centre where Green Property Co has been operating a highly successful retail park for about 10 years. The Cosgrave Group run an equally buoyant fashion retail park at Westend in Blanchardstown.
Tyrrelstown is one of the fastest growing Dublin suburbs where more than 2,000 new homes have been completed since 2001.
Most of them have been built by Eugene Larkin's Twinlite company which is also to develop the retail park.
He also owns the four-star Park Plaza Hotel and a 9,290sq m (100,000sq ft) neighbourhood centre where the tenants include Superquinn and Lidl.
Homebase, second in size in the UK to B&Q with more than 300 outlets in Britain and Ireland, will be paying an annual rent of €700,000 (€218.28 per sq m) for a warehouse of 3,215sq m (35,000sq ft) and outdoor garden centre of 1,114sq m (12,000sq ft). The 25-year lease provides for a standard break clause in year 15.
The Homebase deal puts a capital value of about €5,113 per sq m (€475 per sq ft) on the anchor unit, according to Adrian Leahy of letting agent Savills HOK. Terms have also been agreed on a further 2,787sq m (30,000sq ft) of retail units.
The first phase of Tyrrellstown will extend to 20,438sq m (220,000sq ft), as well as a motor mall with six showrooms. Rents will be €296 per sq m (€27.5 per sq ft) and the expectation is that it will have a capital value of about €100 million.
The second phase is likely to be over 74,322sq m (800,000sq ft).
Leahy says that Tyrrelstown will be aimed primarily at UK traders who find the rents at Blanchardstown and Airside in Swords too high.
He says Twinlite will be prepared to sell as well as lease warehousing space to appeal to indigenous retailers "in an asset management play".
The park was also likely to appeal to UK retailers wanting to open their first stores in Dublin as a springboard into the Irish market.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Concern over water treatment plan
Concerns in Westport at the potential damaging environmental effect of leachate - a toxic liquid produced when water filters through landfill waste - being pumped into Clew Bay, Co Mayo, were expressed at a Bord Pleanála oral hearing in Westport yesterday.
The total cost of the dual project would be about €16.4 million.
Shellfish farmers are among those objecting to the proposals on the grounds that their livelihoods would be endangered.
In a submission to the hearing, Tony O'Flynn of the Department of Local Government said the key concern for the nature conservation service of the department is the risk of severe negative effects on the EU habitats directive species, freshwater pearl mussel.
He said the proposed changes at the Derrinumera landfill facility required a significant change in the nature and scale of the activities licensed by the EPA under the existing waste licence and would therefore be the subject of a review by the EPA as a separate process.
Evidence from Mayo County Council officials was given to the hearing, which is chaired by planning inspector Daniel O'Connor.
Brian O'Reilly, chartered engineer with the authority, said that at present dewatered sewage sludges are taken out of Mayo by licensed contractors and disposed of in a number of ways, including landspreading.
At present, landfill leachate is taken by a fleet of tankers from the landfill through the streets of Castlebar to the wastewater treatment plant where treatment capacity is limited and is needed for the development of Castlebar itself. The treated waste water was discharged at the confluence of the Manulla and Castlebar rivers into the Moy catchment.
An environmental impact statement (EIS) was commissioned by Mayo County Council due to the sensitive nature of Clew Bay which is a designated shellfish water and also designated under the water framework directive for transitional and coastal waters and is a candidate special area of conservation.
Ecological consultant Chris Emblow told the hearing that in the event of project or mitigation measure failure, the receiving environment could be polluted by toxic substances such that profound and irreversible consequences would occur.
He said that during the construction stage, pollutants and chemicals used could contaminate the area.
Chemical contamination could also occur from accidental spillages, such as oil and other chemicals, through poor operational management, the non-removal of spillages, poor storage, handling and transfer of oil and chemicals.
However, if standard precautions were taken and best practice followed, impacts would be minimal.
Vincent Roche, manager of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board, welcomed the county council's proposals. He said that for almost 30 years, the landfill site had discharged raw sewage into a river which eventually flows into Lough Beltra and on to Clew Bay.
The hearing continues today.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The total cost of the dual project would be about €16.4 million.
Shellfish farmers are among those objecting to the proposals on the grounds that their livelihoods would be endangered.
In a submission to the hearing, Tony O'Flynn of the Department of Local Government said the key concern for the nature conservation service of the department is the risk of severe negative effects on the EU habitats directive species, freshwater pearl mussel.
He said the proposed changes at the Derrinumera landfill facility required a significant change in the nature and scale of the activities licensed by the EPA under the existing waste licence and would therefore be the subject of a review by the EPA as a separate process.
Evidence from Mayo County Council officials was given to the hearing, which is chaired by planning inspector Daniel O'Connor.
Brian O'Reilly, chartered engineer with the authority, said that at present dewatered sewage sludges are taken out of Mayo by licensed contractors and disposed of in a number of ways, including landspreading.
At present, landfill leachate is taken by a fleet of tankers from the landfill through the streets of Castlebar to the wastewater treatment plant where treatment capacity is limited and is needed for the development of Castlebar itself. The treated waste water was discharged at the confluence of the Manulla and Castlebar rivers into the Moy catchment.
An environmental impact statement (EIS) was commissioned by Mayo County Council due to the sensitive nature of Clew Bay which is a designated shellfish water and also designated under the water framework directive for transitional and coastal waters and is a candidate special area of conservation.
Ecological consultant Chris Emblow told the hearing that in the event of project or mitigation measure failure, the receiving environment could be polluted by toxic substances such that profound and irreversible consequences would occur.
He said that during the construction stage, pollutants and chemicals used could contaminate the area.
Chemical contamination could also occur from accidental spillages, such as oil and other chemicals, through poor operational management, the non-removal of spillages, poor storage, handling and transfer of oil and chemicals.
However, if standard precautions were taken and best practice followed, impacts would be minimal.
Vincent Roche, manager of the North Western Regional Fisheries Board, welcomed the county council's proposals. He said that for almost 30 years, the landfill site had discharged raw sewage into a river which eventually flows into Lough Beltra and on to Clew Bay.
The hearing continues today.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Opponents of Cashel hotel project to appeal planning ruling
A controversial proposal to build a five-storey, 83-bedroom hotel with an underground car park on land formerly owned by the Presentation Order of nuns in Cashel, Co Tipperary, is to be appealed to An Bord Pleanála following a decision by the town council to grant planning permission.
Richard O'Brien, a spokesman for the Save Our Town Park committee - a group of community activists opposed to the scheme - described the proposal as a "fiasco". He said the car park will not be able to accommodate tourist coaches, which is "incredible for a hotel proposal in a major heritage town like Cashel".
Mr O'Brien said his committee, which has attracted widespread public support, will hold a public meeting in the town later this month and appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála. He said "there are far more suitable sites for such a hotel on the periphery of the town where a lot of suitable development land is lying idle".
The council bought the 2.8-acre plot in the centre of the south Tipperary town from the nuns in 2001 for a price equivalent to €418,000 and then sold it on five years later for €1.9 million to CMS Developments Ltd of Clonmel, subject to planning permission for a hotel on the site.
Councillor Martin Browne (Independent) said town council "officials can only see the profit and the nuns who served Cashel very well for 200 years were short-changed and didn't get the right price for the property". He said the Presentation Order, which was leaving the town, only agreed to the sale because it was sent a letter "threatening a compulsory purchase order" and believed that the land would be used to create a town park.
Councillor Browne said "the whole thing leaves a bad taste" and hopes that An Bord Pleanála will hold an oral hearing into the matter.
Cashel Town Council has denied allegations of wrongdoing and defended the development as necessary because existing "hotels in the town can't cope with tourist numbers".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Richard O'Brien, a spokesman for the Save Our Town Park committee - a group of community activists opposed to the scheme - described the proposal as a "fiasco". He said the car park will not be able to accommodate tourist coaches, which is "incredible for a hotel proposal in a major heritage town like Cashel".
Mr O'Brien said his committee, which has attracted widespread public support, will hold a public meeting in the town later this month and appeal the decision to An Bord Pleanála. He said "there are far more suitable sites for such a hotel on the periphery of the town where a lot of suitable development land is lying idle".
The council bought the 2.8-acre plot in the centre of the south Tipperary town from the nuns in 2001 for a price equivalent to €418,000 and then sold it on five years later for €1.9 million to CMS Developments Ltd of Clonmel, subject to planning permission for a hotel on the site.
Councillor Martin Browne (Independent) said town council "officials can only see the profit and the nuns who served Cashel very well for 200 years were short-changed and didn't get the right price for the property". He said the Presentation Order, which was leaving the town, only agreed to the sale because it was sent a letter "threatening a compulsory purchase order" and believed that the land would be used to create a town park.
Councillor Browne said "the whole thing leaves a bad taste" and hopes that An Bord Pleanála will hold an oral hearing into the matter.
Cashel Town Council has denied allegations of wrongdoing and defended the development as necessary because existing "hotels in the town can't cope with tourist numbers".
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Developer's 'Louvre' development to offer concierge service of hotel
First Seán Dunne promised to bring Knightsbridge to Ballsbridge. Now a northside developer is aiming to bring Paris to Clontarf with the launch of an apartment complex based loosely on the Louvre, with a copy of IM Pei's famous glass pyramid as its centrepiece.
The scheme at 119 Howth Road is yet to be built but developer Eric Whelan claims to have sold 30 of the 52 apartments, priced from €675,000 for a one-bed up to €2.75 million for a lavish three-bedroom penthouse.
While Howth Road is a top northside address, the pre-sales will surprise other developers who are struggling to sell completed units across the city.
At last night's launch party at Clontarf Castle a 15-piece orchestra entertained guests who sipped champagne as they studied plans for the €68 million scheme billed as Ireland's first "hybrid" development - translated, this means apartments with a hotel's ambience and service.
"The development introduces for the first time the concept of hotel-lifestyle accommodation, influenced by New York's Park Avenue," says the brochure.
The architectural design of 119 has been inspired by the Musée du Louvre in Paris, with pride of place in the enclosed courtyard given to a 8sq m at base glass pyramid, below which lies a private swimming pool.
The big selling point, however, is the concierge service, to include a chef, personal shopper, chauffeur, butler, maid, trainer, and chauffeur-driven helicopter and private jet connections.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The scheme at 119 Howth Road is yet to be built but developer Eric Whelan claims to have sold 30 of the 52 apartments, priced from €675,000 for a one-bed up to €2.75 million for a lavish three-bedroom penthouse.
While Howth Road is a top northside address, the pre-sales will surprise other developers who are struggling to sell completed units across the city.
At last night's launch party at Clontarf Castle a 15-piece orchestra entertained guests who sipped champagne as they studied plans for the €68 million scheme billed as Ireland's first "hybrid" development - translated, this means apartments with a hotel's ambience and service.
"The development introduces for the first time the concept of hotel-lifestyle accommodation, influenced by New York's Park Avenue," says the brochure.
The architectural design of 119 has been inspired by the Musée du Louvre in Paris, with pride of place in the enclosed courtyard given to a 8sq m at base glass pyramid, below which lies a private swimming pool.
The big selling point, however, is the concierge service, to include a chef, personal shopper, chauffeur, butler, maid, trainer, and chauffeur-driven helicopter and private jet connections.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dempsey derails ambitious CIÉ plan and opts for new Luas line
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey last night informed CIÉ that it will have to drop ambitious plans for a heavy rail hub at Broadstone in Dublin in favour of a Luas line under the aegis of the Rail Procurement Agency (RPA), The Irish Times has established.
The key Broadstone depot - located a short distance from the quays in the northside of the city - has been the subject of what has been, in effect, a "turf war" between CIÉ and the RPA. Both agencies have wrangled over how it should be utilised in the future - at one stage CIÉ denied the other transport agency access to the site, prompting then minister Martin Cullen to make a personal intervention.
The site was earmarked for a Luas-type operation as far back as 1996 with plans to set up a new extension using the old Broadstone railway alignment, which is no longer in use.
But last summer, CIÉ submitted an alternative plan for Broadstone as a transport hub for heavy-duty rail. The blueprint was ambitious in scope.
Broadstone would become a new rail depot that would serve intercity trains from Galway along with commuter services from Maynooth, Navan and Kildare.
CIÉ said the expansion of Broadstone was vital to cater for significant expansion in rail services and huge increases in passenger numbers. It would also ease the pressure on Connolly Station.
But The Irish Times has learned that Mr Dempsey wrote to all the transport agencies yesterday informing them that he intends to allow the RPA to proceed with planning the Luas line along the agreed alignment using Broadstone.
In the letter, Mr Dempsey also mandated CIÉ to make an early application for planning permission to retain its dockland station on a permanent basis.
The dockland station was expected to be operational for 10 years but the upshot of Mr Dempsey's decision is that it will now be made permanent, and will become the station catering for commuter services from Maynooth, Navan and Kildare.
The Minister's decision was based on a study he commissioned from specialist consultants Booz Hamilton Allen (BHA) on the CIÉ plans.
Using traffic projection models, BHA concluded that a heavy-rail depot at Broadstone was not required and that a permanent dockland railway station would comfortably accommodate commuter rail services.
The CIÉ plans were predicated on projected population increases based on Central Statistics Office data.
However, BHA concluded that even with the largest projected increase in rail traffic, a heavy rail hub at Broadstone, was not required.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The key Broadstone depot - located a short distance from the quays in the northside of the city - has been the subject of what has been, in effect, a "turf war" between CIÉ and the RPA. Both agencies have wrangled over how it should be utilised in the future - at one stage CIÉ denied the other transport agency access to the site, prompting then minister Martin Cullen to make a personal intervention.
The site was earmarked for a Luas-type operation as far back as 1996 with plans to set up a new extension using the old Broadstone railway alignment, which is no longer in use.
But last summer, CIÉ submitted an alternative plan for Broadstone as a transport hub for heavy-duty rail. The blueprint was ambitious in scope.
Broadstone would become a new rail depot that would serve intercity trains from Galway along with commuter services from Maynooth, Navan and Kildare.
CIÉ said the expansion of Broadstone was vital to cater for significant expansion in rail services and huge increases in passenger numbers. It would also ease the pressure on Connolly Station.
But The Irish Times has learned that Mr Dempsey wrote to all the transport agencies yesterday informing them that he intends to allow the RPA to proceed with planning the Luas line along the agreed alignment using Broadstone.
In the letter, Mr Dempsey also mandated CIÉ to make an early application for planning permission to retain its dockland station on a permanent basis.
The dockland station was expected to be operational for 10 years but the upshot of Mr Dempsey's decision is that it will now be made permanent, and will become the station catering for commuter services from Maynooth, Navan and Kildare.
The Minister's decision was based on a study he commissioned from specialist consultants Booz Hamilton Allen (BHA) on the CIÉ plans.
Using traffic projection models, BHA concluded that a heavy-rail depot at Broadstone was not required and that a permanent dockland railway station would comfortably accommodate commuter rail services.
The CIÉ plans were predicated on projected population increases based on Central Statistics Office data.
However, BHA concluded that even with the largest projected increase in rail traffic, a heavy rail hub at Broadstone, was not required.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council backs €275m mixed-use project at Portlaoise GAA club
A €275 million retail, residential and leisure development for Portlaoise GAA club grounds has been granted planning permission by Laois County Council.
A shopping centre, cinema, office block, bars, restaurants and apartment scheme will be built on the 18-acre site beside O'Moore Park on the fringes of the town.
The club struck a deal to sell the facility to Cork-based firm Firestone Developments for a record €19 million last year. The contract will be finalised in four weeks' time when the the date for appeals to An Bord Pleanála has been passed, according to John Hanniffy, chairman of the club's relocation committee.
Firestone intends to build a shopping centre with 12 retail units and a large foodstore, restaurants, a bar, creche and medical centre. A seven-storey office block, two own-door office blocks, 52 apartments and 1,350 parking spaces will be provided at the scheme, which is expected to take five years to build.
The club has already secured planning permission to develop a €10 million sporting facility for its 400 members on a site at Rathleague, a mile away. It intends to build six full-sized playing pitches, including an astroturf pitch, spectator stands, a fitness centre, lounge and restaurant.
The project is being watched closely by other GAA clubs which are reported to be considering cashing in on their well-placed pitches. While other GAA clubs, including Nemo Rangers and Mallow, have in the past sold or swapped their pitches, this is the first time that a GAA pitch is to be redeveloped as a mixed-use scheme rather than a solely residential development.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A shopping centre, cinema, office block, bars, restaurants and apartment scheme will be built on the 18-acre site beside O'Moore Park on the fringes of the town.
The club struck a deal to sell the facility to Cork-based firm Firestone Developments for a record €19 million last year. The contract will be finalised in four weeks' time when the the date for appeals to An Bord Pleanála has been passed, according to John Hanniffy, chairman of the club's relocation committee.
Firestone intends to build a shopping centre with 12 retail units and a large foodstore, restaurants, a bar, creche and medical centre. A seven-storey office block, two own-door office blocks, 52 apartments and 1,350 parking spaces will be provided at the scheme, which is expected to take five years to build.
The club has already secured planning permission to develop a €10 million sporting facility for its 400 members on a site at Rathleague, a mile away. It intends to build six full-sized playing pitches, including an astroturf pitch, spectator stands, a fitness centre, lounge and restaurant.
The project is being watched closely by other GAA clubs which are reported to be considering cashing in on their well-placed pitches. While other GAA clubs, including Nemo Rangers and Mallow, have in the past sold or swapped their pitches, this is the first time that a GAA pitch is to be redeveloped as a mixed-use scheme rather than a solely residential development.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 4 February 2008
Protecting our groundwater is top priority
Protecting our groundwater sources is a matter of top priority, Environment Minister John Gormley has said.
With the prospect of a landfill still hanging over Fingal and a local action group claiming a major water supply could be jeapordised, Minister Gormley said it was 'common sense' to protect our sources.
'I do think that we have to look much more closely at groundwater,' he said. 'Groundwater is an area that has fallen between a number of stools.
'It's fallen between my department and my colleague's department, because geological survey looks after groundwater, which is [Minister for Energy and Communication] Eamon Ryan's department.
'I think it's an area that, because of the increasing shortage of water or surface water, we have to look at protecting.
'I see that certainly as a priority. In other countries groundwater is really the source of their drinking water and I think we have to understand that.
'Otherwise, we are looking at other options going forward. People talk about desalination, they're talking about abstractions from the Shannon.
'The third element is looking after our groundwater and the fourth element would be conservation. Without a doubt, it's common sense.'
Referring to the proposed landfill at the Nevitt, the Minister declined to comment on the case itself, but instead spoke of the need for good waste management practice.
'I don't want to interfere in any planning process, other than make one general comment. Where we have landfills, I think it's very important that in terms of the whole waste strategy, that a, we reduce the amount going to landfill and b, that what is going to landfill is inert, that you don't get the leachate and that you protect groundwater.
'Those are key principals of good waste management and I would hope that they would be applied in every single county throughout Ireland.'
The Nevitt Lusk Action Group, which is opposing the project, has called for jail sentences for those who pollute water sources and have sought Minister Gormley's backing.
'I've already brought in tough sentences for those who actually pollute,' he added. 'There have been major increase in fines and indeed custodial sentences - that's important.'
Fingal Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
With the prospect of a landfill still hanging over Fingal and a local action group claiming a major water supply could be jeapordised, Minister Gormley said it was 'common sense' to protect our sources.
'I do think that we have to look much more closely at groundwater,' he said. 'Groundwater is an area that has fallen between a number of stools.
'It's fallen between my department and my colleague's department, because geological survey looks after groundwater, which is [Minister for Energy and Communication] Eamon Ryan's department.
'I think it's an area that, because of the increasing shortage of water or surface water, we have to look at protecting.
'I see that certainly as a priority. In other countries groundwater is really the source of their drinking water and I think we have to understand that.
'Otherwise, we are looking at other options going forward. People talk about desalination, they're talking about abstractions from the Shannon.
'The third element is looking after our groundwater and the fourth element would be conservation. Without a doubt, it's common sense.'
Referring to the proposed landfill at the Nevitt, the Minister declined to comment on the case itself, but instead spoke of the need for good waste management practice.
'I don't want to interfere in any planning process, other than make one general comment. Where we have landfills, I think it's very important that in terms of the whole waste strategy, that a, we reduce the amount going to landfill and b, that what is going to landfill is inert, that you don't get the leachate and that you protect groundwater.
'Those are key principals of good waste management and I would hope that they would be applied in every single county throughout Ireland.'
The Nevitt Lusk Action Group, which is opposing the project, has called for jail sentences for those who pollute water sources and have sought Minister Gormley's backing.
'I've already brought in tough sentences for those who actually pollute,' he added. 'There have been major increase in fines and indeed custodial sentences - that's important.'
Fingal Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Congestion charges for cars to be considered
Congestion charges for cars entering Dublin city centre are to be considered to coincide with major transport projects due to get under way next year.
The charges will be discussed once work begins on Transport 21 projects such as the Metro and the Luas connector line, Dublin city manager John Tierney told an Oireachtas committee yesterday.
Construction of both the Metro North and Luas BX city centre connector lines is due to begin in 2009.
Mr Tierney appeared before the Oireachtas transport committee along with the managers of the three other Dublin local authorities.
Dublin City Council was devising a contingency plan to ensure the city did not come to a standstill during the construction phase of the city centre element of Transport 21, and once this infrastructure was in place, Mr Tierney said, the plan was due to be finalised by the end of this year.
The entry of cars into the city was going to have to be "very restricted" and in some areas such as College Green, where the Luas BX line to connect the two original Luas lines will run in front of Trinity College, cars would be banned, he said.
Traffic flows would have to be reconfigured throughout the city centre to allow for construction and the new layout of lines and stations, which would include changes in the direction of traffic and junctions.
"Some of the changes that are going to occur with Luas BX and metro are going to make it more and more difficult for cars to enter the city. A lot of access to the city centre is going to have to be for businesses only." Mr Tierney said.
The cost of car parking would deter people from driving into the city, but he said "a congestion charge will have to be considered".
It would not be possible to ban cars from the city centre completely Mr Tierney said, because of the detrimental effects this would have on city centre businesses, but there would be more restrictions placed on cars.
Dublin Bus would have to reconfigure many of its routes to allow for the rail construction and to allow for the movements of trams, but buses would also benefit from the reduction in cars in the city, he said.
"We are not a public transport provider but we do everything in our power to try to facilitate public transport," he said.
However, Mr Tierney told the committee it was very frustrating when a local authority established a quality bus corridor which was not fully exploited by the bus company.
"There is nothing more frustrating for a local authority not to see buses in a quality bus corridor it fought hard to implement."
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown manager Owen Keegan also said it was difficult to plan routes with Dublin Bus.
"It is very frustrating when major areas could be serviced and there is no commitment - and it's not for the want of asking."
Fingal county manager David O'Connor said the idea of using the Phoenix Park as a Dublin Bus route would have to be "very seriously" considered.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The charges will be discussed once work begins on Transport 21 projects such as the Metro and the Luas connector line, Dublin city manager John Tierney told an Oireachtas committee yesterday.
Construction of both the Metro North and Luas BX city centre connector lines is due to begin in 2009.
Mr Tierney appeared before the Oireachtas transport committee along with the managers of the three other Dublin local authorities.
Dublin City Council was devising a contingency plan to ensure the city did not come to a standstill during the construction phase of the city centre element of Transport 21, and once this infrastructure was in place, Mr Tierney said, the plan was due to be finalised by the end of this year.
The entry of cars into the city was going to have to be "very restricted" and in some areas such as College Green, where the Luas BX line to connect the two original Luas lines will run in front of Trinity College, cars would be banned, he said.
Traffic flows would have to be reconfigured throughout the city centre to allow for construction and the new layout of lines and stations, which would include changes in the direction of traffic and junctions.
"Some of the changes that are going to occur with Luas BX and metro are going to make it more and more difficult for cars to enter the city. A lot of access to the city centre is going to have to be for businesses only." Mr Tierney said.
The cost of car parking would deter people from driving into the city, but he said "a congestion charge will have to be considered".
It would not be possible to ban cars from the city centre completely Mr Tierney said, because of the detrimental effects this would have on city centre businesses, but there would be more restrictions placed on cars.
Dublin Bus would have to reconfigure many of its routes to allow for the rail construction and to allow for the movements of trams, but buses would also benefit from the reduction in cars in the city, he said.
"We are not a public transport provider but we do everything in our power to try to facilitate public transport," he said.
However, Mr Tierney told the committee it was very frustrating when a local authority established a quality bus corridor which was not fully exploited by the bus company.
"There is nothing more frustrating for a local authority not to see buses in a quality bus corridor it fought hard to implement."
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown manager Owen Keegan also said it was difficult to plan routes with Dublin Bus.
"It is very frustrating when major areas could be serviced and there is no commitment - and it's not for the want of asking."
Fingal county manager David O'Connor said the idea of using the Phoenix Park as a Dublin Bus route would have to be "very seriously" considered.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dempsey plan for M3 cables to mean a €1.8bn bill
TRANSPORT Minister Noel Dempsey has set himself on a collision course with the state-owned powergrid company by calling for high-voltage power lines to be placed underground.
EirGrid has warned that putting the planned 400Kv line from Meath to Cavan underground -- rather than on overhead pylons -- will increase the cost from €180m to €1.8bn.
It is also planning to erect another 600 km of high-voltage overhead power lines around the country over the next 20 years to provide the capacity for the State to get up to 42pc of its power from renewable sources.
Mr Dempsey, whose Meath West constituents will be affected by the pylon project, has asked EirGrid to look into putting the power lines underground for 58km along the route of the new M3 motorway.
"I had a number of meetings with EirGrid and requested them to fully examine the option of putting the power lines underground," he told a Sunday newspaper.
Fine Gael Meath East TD Shane McEntee said many people living in the areas affected by the project were worried about potential health effects.
Mr McEntee added: "All we've asked for is an independent study giving a price on what it would cost to put the cables underground." He said the protesters against the power lines came from "right across the political spectrum".
Pressure
"There will be another 20 of these projects over the coming years and every other TD in the country is going to come under the same pressure as we are. We're saying Minister Eamon Ryan (Energy) should do the independent study now rather than later," Mr McEntee said.
The issue is due to be examined by the Oireachtas energy committee on Wednesday.
Radiation experts, such as Professor Denis Henshaw of Bristol University, have linked the electromagnetic fields from high power lines fields to birth defects and miscarriages and believe the current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, used as a standard by grid companies throughout Europe, should be changed.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the WHO, later described Professor Henshaw's evidence as "inadequate''.
Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
EirGrid has warned that putting the planned 400Kv line from Meath to Cavan underground -- rather than on overhead pylons -- will increase the cost from €180m to €1.8bn.
It is also planning to erect another 600 km of high-voltage overhead power lines around the country over the next 20 years to provide the capacity for the State to get up to 42pc of its power from renewable sources.
Mr Dempsey, whose Meath West constituents will be affected by the pylon project, has asked EirGrid to look into putting the power lines underground for 58km along the route of the new M3 motorway.
"I had a number of meetings with EirGrid and requested them to fully examine the option of putting the power lines underground," he told a Sunday newspaper.
Fine Gael Meath East TD Shane McEntee said many people living in the areas affected by the project were worried about potential health effects.
Mr McEntee added: "All we've asked for is an independent study giving a price on what it would cost to put the cables underground." He said the protesters against the power lines came from "right across the political spectrum".
Pressure
"There will be another 20 of these projects over the coming years and every other TD in the country is going to come under the same pressure as we are. We're saying Minister Eamon Ryan (Energy) should do the independent study now rather than later," Mr McEntee said.
The issue is due to be examined by the Oireachtas energy committee on Wednesday.
Radiation experts, such as Professor Denis Henshaw of Bristol University, have linked the electromagnetic fields from high power lines fields to birth defects and miscarriages and believe the current World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines, used as a standard by grid companies throughout Europe, should be changed.
But the International Agency for Research on Cancer, an agency of the WHO, later described Professor Henshaw's evidence as "inadequate''.
Michael Brennan Political Correspondent
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Skyscrapers scaling new heights to beat council cut-off point
DUBLIN is set to become a skyscraper city, and the sky's the limit on how tall buildings can go.
More than a dozen high-rise buildings are in the pipeline, even though the city council has yet to set a maximum permitted height for buildings across the city.
Homes, hotels and offices will boast panoramic views across the capital when buildings up to 150m tall -- more than two -- and-a-half times the height of Liberty Hall -- shoot up in the coming years.
Only now, with more than a dozen high-rise buildings -- structures more than 50 metres tall -- in the planning process, are city planners seeking to have an upper height limit.
Dublin City Council is in the process of setting down the upper height limits, but permission for some of the biggest building projects ever undertaken here are likely to be granted before the strategy is in place.
Among the projects likely to be adjudicated on by the council before the new limits apply include Sean Dunne's One Berkeley Court development in Dublin 4.
Apartments
This includes a "landmark" building of 37 floors, along with a complete redevelopment of the Jury's/Berkeley Court site which he acquired for €400m.
The cost of developing the site is expected to reach €1bn, and, if approved, the luxury apartments will sell for €1m each.
The so-called "gateway" to the city comprising the U2 Tower (36 storeys) and Point Village (32 storeys) has been approved, with construction under way on the latter project.
Planning permission is also being sought by Treasury Holdings for a new hotel at Spencer Dock, which is set to reach 152 metres -- 35 storeys.
Other projects include Heuston Gate beside Heuston Station, which at 117 metres and 32 floors will be Ireland's tallest building when complete later this year.
It is being built by the Office of Public Works, which could sell it once complete.
"We had been examining the possibility of retaining elements of the site for further state use, (and are) giving consideration to structuring a sale that will maximise value to the State," a spokesman said.
"Given the current market this may not necessarily mean a deal where money is paid up front."
The draft building height strategy -- called Maximising the City's Potential -- set out Grangegorman, Connolly, Tara and Heuston stations and the Docklands as locations where high-rise should be considered.
Higher densities should reduce urban sprawl, and it will be the first time the council has defined what "high rise" is.
A spokesman said the council would take as long as necessary to adopt the right strategy. The public are asked to make submissions up to March 7 next.
"So important is this to us we would ensure a variation of the development plan," said a spokesman.
"Once it's gone through the full public consultation process, An Bord Pleanala must take account of it.
"It will give clear guidelines on where we think the densities and high rise should occur."
Sky's the limit for tall order buildings
Spencer Dock Hotel
This proposed 35-storey hotel is to be developed by Treasury Holdings as part of the landmark National Conference Centre complex on Dublin's North Wall Quay. The public spaces of the hotel will occupy the first five floors.
The remainder comprising hotel rooms, a fitness centre and spa, hotel suites, clubs, lounges, meeting rooms and winter gardens.
One Berkeley Court
The developer behind Mountbrook Homes acquired the Jury's/ Berkeley Court site for a reported €400m, and is set to spend another €1bn developing it -- assuming permission is granted.
The proposal includes a 'landmark' building of 132m, or 37 floors, along with a redevelopment of the site. Residents and local councillors are bitterly opposed to the project, and An Bord Pleanala is likely to have the final word.
U2 Tower
The 36-storey skyscraper being built by the band, the final design of which has been granted planning permission after two architectural competitions.
The first was won by an Irish firm, but the Dublin Docklands Development Authority -- the planning authority in this case -- decided a more intensive development was needed. Sir Norman Foster won the second competition, and legal action by unsuccessful bidders may yet follow.
Point Village Watchtower
Being built by Harry Crosbie, the iconic building will form the 'gateway' into Dublin Port when complete. The watchtower forms part of an €800m scheme, to include a new concert venue, cinema, apartments offices and hotel.
Heuston Gate
Situated on a State site between the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Heuston Station, 'Heuston Gate', at 117m and 32 floors, will be Ireland's tallest building when completed later this year.
A mixed-use scheme of residential, office, cultural and amenity developments, the residential element amounts to 650 high specification, family-sized apartments -- while 'Heuston Gate' will have elevated roadway access to the Phoenix Park and directly into Heuston Station when complete.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
More than a dozen high-rise buildings are in the pipeline, even though the city council has yet to set a maximum permitted height for buildings across the city.
Homes, hotels and offices will boast panoramic views across the capital when buildings up to 150m tall -- more than two -- and-a-half times the height of Liberty Hall -- shoot up in the coming years.
Only now, with more than a dozen high-rise buildings -- structures more than 50 metres tall -- in the planning process, are city planners seeking to have an upper height limit.
Dublin City Council is in the process of setting down the upper height limits, but permission for some of the biggest building projects ever undertaken here are likely to be granted before the strategy is in place.
Among the projects likely to be adjudicated on by the council before the new limits apply include Sean Dunne's One Berkeley Court development in Dublin 4.
Apartments
This includes a "landmark" building of 37 floors, along with a complete redevelopment of the Jury's/Berkeley Court site which he acquired for €400m.
The cost of developing the site is expected to reach €1bn, and, if approved, the luxury apartments will sell for €1m each.
The so-called "gateway" to the city comprising the U2 Tower (36 storeys) and Point Village (32 storeys) has been approved, with construction under way on the latter project.
Planning permission is also being sought by Treasury Holdings for a new hotel at Spencer Dock, which is set to reach 152 metres -- 35 storeys.
Other projects include Heuston Gate beside Heuston Station, which at 117 metres and 32 floors will be Ireland's tallest building when complete later this year.
It is being built by the Office of Public Works, which could sell it once complete.
"We had been examining the possibility of retaining elements of the site for further state use, (and are) giving consideration to structuring a sale that will maximise value to the State," a spokesman said.
"Given the current market this may not necessarily mean a deal where money is paid up front."
The draft building height strategy -- called Maximising the City's Potential -- set out Grangegorman, Connolly, Tara and Heuston stations and the Docklands as locations where high-rise should be considered.
Higher densities should reduce urban sprawl, and it will be the first time the council has defined what "high rise" is.
A spokesman said the council would take as long as necessary to adopt the right strategy. The public are asked to make submissions up to March 7 next.
"So important is this to us we would ensure a variation of the development plan," said a spokesman.
"Once it's gone through the full public consultation process, An Bord Pleanala must take account of it.
"It will give clear guidelines on where we think the densities and high rise should occur."
Sky's the limit for tall order buildings
Spencer Dock Hotel
This proposed 35-storey hotel is to be developed by Treasury Holdings as part of the landmark National Conference Centre complex on Dublin's North Wall Quay. The public spaces of the hotel will occupy the first five floors.
The remainder comprising hotel rooms, a fitness centre and spa, hotel suites, clubs, lounges, meeting rooms and winter gardens.
One Berkeley Court
The developer behind Mountbrook Homes acquired the Jury's/ Berkeley Court site for a reported €400m, and is set to spend another €1bn developing it -- assuming permission is granted.
The proposal includes a 'landmark' building of 132m, or 37 floors, along with a redevelopment of the site. Residents and local councillors are bitterly opposed to the project, and An Bord Pleanala is likely to have the final word.
U2 Tower
The 36-storey skyscraper being built by the band, the final design of which has been granted planning permission after two architectural competitions.
The first was won by an Irish firm, but the Dublin Docklands Development Authority -- the planning authority in this case -- decided a more intensive development was needed. Sir Norman Foster won the second competition, and legal action by unsuccessful bidders may yet follow.
Point Village Watchtower
Being built by Harry Crosbie, the iconic building will form the 'gateway' into Dublin Port when complete. The watchtower forms part of an €800m scheme, to include a new concert venue, cinema, apartments offices and hotel.
Heuston Gate
Situated on a State site between the Irish Museum of Modern Art and Heuston Station, 'Heuston Gate', at 117m and 32 floors, will be Ireland's tallest building when completed later this year.
A mixed-use scheme of residential, office, cultural and amenity developments, the residential element amounts to 650 high specification, family-sized apartments -- while 'Heuston Gate' will have elevated roadway access to the Phoenix Park and directly into Heuston Station when complete.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
On the brink of collapse
Lester Brown has been warning of climatic catastrophe since the 1970s, and he believes we're running out of time, he tells Brian O'Connell .
The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rat, oil production is almost at its peak and the question for Lester Brown is can civilisation be saved?
He is not so sure. For the best part of half a century, Brown has been documenting annual health checks on the planet in the 50 or so books on the environment he has authored to date. Since the 1970s, he has been regarded by many as one of the world's foremost environmental thinkers, and his thoughts on topics as diverse as climate change, the future of automobiles or how China will feed itself, populate academic shelves and general libraries the world over.
Brown created something of a stir in 2003 with the publication of Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilisation in Trouble. In it, he outlined his case for a renewable-energy-based, reuse-recycle economy spawning an adaptable transport system. It was time to build a new economy and a new world, he argued.
That was then, and four years later, Brown is back with another Plan B, entitled Mobilising to Save Civilisation, where he outlines his thoughts on how the planet can avert catastrophe. Optimists may want to turn away now.
"It is decision time," says Brown in the book. "Like earlier civilisations that got into environmental trouble, we have to make a choice." Saving civilisation, he argues, is not a spectator sport. "We have reached a point in the deteriorating relationship between us and the earth's natural systems where we all have to become political activists. Every day counts. We all have a stake in civilisation's survival."
You could argue that Brown's eco-anxiety has hit overdrive, yet speaking by phone from Washington (where he founded the Earth Policy Institute think-tank in the 1970s) Brown sounds very much like the environmental pragmatist. In his view, the biggest factor now working against the planet is time.
"There is this call for carbon emissions to be cut by 20 per cent by 2020, or in some quarters by 2050. I believe we don't have that much time. Things are moving so fast now, and it is really only in the last few months that this has become apparent, that I don't think we have ever witnessed anything on this scale before."
PART OF WHAT Brown argues in his new book, which is free to download online, is the potential effect a continued rise in temperature and melting of glaciers will have. For instance, if Greenland were to continue to fade away, then the subsequent seven-metre (23ft) rise in sea level will result in hundreds of millions of human refugees. The Tibetan Glacier, rescinding at a rate of 7 per cent a year, could result in the Ganges becoming a seasonal river, drying up at certain times of the year. The effect on the millions of people reliant on it for food and water would be unthinkable.
And Brown is not alone in his thinking. Last year respected UK environmentalist Mark Lynas outlined similar doomsday scenarios in his book Six Degrees. In it, Lynas illustrated degree-by-degree how large parts of the world will be made uninhabitable by the turn of the century if current trends continue. Ireland and the UK for instance, could expect summers on a par with North Africa by 2050, while flooding in winter will have disastrous effects on both coastlines.
"The book arose from the general sense of apocalypse that is prevalent in some quarters," says Lynas, "and the assumption that it might be just around the corner."
Brown reckons he has the answers. His new Plan B can avert global disaster, but only if governments and individuals sit up and take notice, he says.
Forget about Bali, or any other pan-national agreements, there simply isn't enough time. Given that oil production is close to peaking, the political story for the next decade will be that no country can get more oil unless another country gets less. So, in order for green energies to take the slack, Brown is calling for the type of mobilisation last seen when the US entered the second World War.
"What's required is an extraordinarily huge effort," says Brown. "In the US alone, a million and a half wind turbines need to be built generating three million megawatts of electricity. I don't think the political will is there yet to tackle this in the way it needs to be tackled. Tackling climate change is not going to succeed because of some global agreement, but because individual states start to unilaterally move ahead and take responsibility."
Others disagree though. Mark Lynas says that without global agreements, it will be very difficult to spark the rapid transformation Brown calls for. "Unless you have international agreement, there is the danger that free-riding states (such as the US at the moment) can gain competitive advantage by refusing to price carbon. So the international Bali roadmap process, due to conclude in 2009, is absolutely vital in order to eventually price carbon in all markets and in all countries," says Lynas.
Amid all the doom and gloom, there are some positive signs that certain governments are beginning to get serious about tackling climate change. Brown points to New Zealand and the recent steps taken by Helen Clarke and her government to cut carbon emissions significantly by 2020.
The first step is to increase the renewable share of electricity to 90 per cent, meaning that just 10 per cent of that country's electricity will derive from carbon-based fuels. The government has also outlined plans to cut automotive fuel use in half by 2040, and to plant half a million acres of trees by 2020. It's this type of radical thinking that is needed on a global scale, Brown argues.
SIMILARLY, IN IRELAND, there gave been recent moves, such as building regulations designed to improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent and the proposed incandescent light bulb. Lynas also points to the so-called "Cap and Share" idea, currently being considered by the Irish government. This is where money from auctioned carbon permits is returned to citizens in quarterly cheques.
"So even whilst petrol at the pump would go up in price to reflect carbon limitations," says Lynas, "people would find themselves no worse off, or even much better off if they switched to cycling, bus or rail. I think it is true that we need a radically new approach, such as Brown calls for, but we need to do it within existing institutions and via the market - there is no time to reinvent human civilisation in order to avoid this crisis."
Speaking at the MacGill summer school last July, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, shared the immediacy of the situation: "Global warming threatens not just our quality of life, but the very survival of this planet and we who live on it. If global warming is allowed to continue unchecked, the sheer scale of potential disruption and destruction of people and the environment is almost beyond comprehension."
The kernel of Brown's plan to avert the crisis is for an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, a radical advancement on the 20 per cent reduction by 2020 outlined by the EU.
After that, it's a matter of stabilising world populations, restoring the ecosystem, such as fisheries and soils, and thereby preserving the planet for future generations.
"I'm fully convinced that the future of civilisation is at stake," says Brown. "If we look at how many states in the world are beginning to unravel, most clearly in Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, then you get a sense of where we could be headed. Seventeen of the top 20 failing states have a growth rate of between 2 and 3.5 per cent a year, which is not enough to sustain their growing populations.
"And the move to biofuels is driving up food prices, which leaves the price of grain now linked directly to the price of oil. Unless someone can intervene to restrict the amount of grain converted to fuel for cars, this trend looks set to continue."
Asked if he is more or less optimistic about the chances to avert a global crisis, Brown sounds uncertain. The frustrating aspect for him is that we now have the technology to tackle climate change, unlike decades ago when he first began highlighting the problem.
"The technology is now there to build a new economic system which can sustain progress without damaging the earth's system. It's a matter now of getting people to understand the urgency of the situation and tackling this problem hands-on."
Plan B 3.0: Mobilising to Save Civilisation can be downloaded free at www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The polar ice caps are melting at an alarming rat, oil production is almost at its peak and the question for Lester Brown is can civilisation be saved?
He is not so sure. For the best part of half a century, Brown has been documenting annual health checks on the planet in the 50 or so books on the environment he has authored to date. Since the 1970s, he has been regarded by many as one of the world's foremost environmental thinkers, and his thoughts on topics as diverse as climate change, the future of automobiles or how China will feed itself, populate academic shelves and general libraries the world over.
Brown created something of a stir in 2003 with the publication of Plan B: Rescuing a Planet Under Stress and a Civilisation in Trouble. In it, he outlined his case for a renewable-energy-based, reuse-recycle economy spawning an adaptable transport system. It was time to build a new economy and a new world, he argued.
That was then, and four years later, Brown is back with another Plan B, entitled Mobilising to Save Civilisation, where he outlines his thoughts on how the planet can avert catastrophe. Optimists may want to turn away now.
"It is decision time," says Brown in the book. "Like earlier civilisations that got into environmental trouble, we have to make a choice." Saving civilisation, he argues, is not a spectator sport. "We have reached a point in the deteriorating relationship between us and the earth's natural systems where we all have to become political activists. Every day counts. We all have a stake in civilisation's survival."
You could argue that Brown's eco-anxiety has hit overdrive, yet speaking by phone from Washington (where he founded the Earth Policy Institute think-tank in the 1970s) Brown sounds very much like the environmental pragmatist. In his view, the biggest factor now working against the planet is time.
"There is this call for carbon emissions to be cut by 20 per cent by 2020, or in some quarters by 2050. I believe we don't have that much time. Things are moving so fast now, and it is really only in the last few months that this has become apparent, that I don't think we have ever witnessed anything on this scale before."
PART OF WHAT Brown argues in his new book, which is free to download online, is the potential effect a continued rise in temperature and melting of glaciers will have. For instance, if Greenland were to continue to fade away, then the subsequent seven-metre (23ft) rise in sea level will result in hundreds of millions of human refugees. The Tibetan Glacier, rescinding at a rate of 7 per cent a year, could result in the Ganges becoming a seasonal river, drying up at certain times of the year. The effect on the millions of people reliant on it for food and water would be unthinkable.
And Brown is not alone in his thinking. Last year respected UK environmentalist Mark Lynas outlined similar doomsday scenarios in his book Six Degrees. In it, Lynas illustrated degree-by-degree how large parts of the world will be made uninhabitable by the turn of the century if current trends continue. Ireland and the UK for instance, could expect summers on a par with North Africa by 2050, while flooding in winter will have disastrous effects on both coastlines.
"The book arose from the general sense of apocalypse that is prevalent in some quarters," says Lynas, "and the assumption that it might be just around the corner."
Brown reckons he has the answers. His new Plan B can avert global disaster, but only if governments and individuals sit up and take notice, he says.
Forget about Bali, or any other pan-national agreements, there simply isn't enough time. Given that oil production is close to peaking, the political story for the next decade will be that no country can get more oil unless another country gets less. So, in order for green energies to take the slack, Brown is calling for the type of mobilisation last seen when the US entered the second World War.
"What's required is an extraordinarily huge effort," says Brown. "In the US alone, a million and a half wind turbines need to be built generating three million megawatts of electricity. I don't think the political will is there yet to tackle this in the way it needs to be tackled. Tackling climate change is not going to succeed because of some global agreement, but because individual states start to unilaterally move ahead and take responsibility."
Others disagree though. Mark Lynas says that without global agreements, it will be very difficult to spark the rapid transformation Brown calls for. "Unless you have international agreement, there is the danger that free-riding states (such as the US at the moment) can gain competitive advantage by refusing to price carbon. So the international Bali roadmap process, due to conclude in 2009, is absolutely vital in order to eventually price carbon in all markets and in all countries," says Lynas.
Amid all the doom and gloom, there are some positive signs that certain governments are beginning to get serious about tackling climate change. Brown points to New Zealand and the recent steps taken by Helen Clarke and her government to cut carbon emissions significantly by 2020.
The first step is to increase the renewable share of electricity to 90 per cent, meaning that just 10 per cent of that country's electricity will derive from carbon-based fuels. The government has also outlined plans to cut automotive fuel use in half by 2040, and to plant half a million acres of trees by 2020. It's this type of radical thinking that is needed on a global scale, Brown argues.
SIMILARLY, IN IRELAND, there gave been recent moves, such as building regulations designed to improve energy efficiency by 40 per cent and the proposed incandescent light bulb. Lynas also points to the so-called "Cap and Share" idea, currently being considered by the Irish government. This is where money from auctioned carbon permits is returned to citizens in quarterly cheques.
"So even whilst petrol at the pump would go up in price to reflect carbon limitations," says Lynas, "people would find themselves no worse off, or even much better off if they switched to cycling, bus or rail. I think it is true that we need a radically new approach, such as Brown calls for, but we need to do it within existing institutions and via the market - there is no time to reinvent human civilisation in order to avoid this crisis."
Speaking at the MacGill summer school last July, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, shared the immediacy of the situation: "Global warming threatens not just our quality of life, but the very survival of this planet and we who live on it. If global warming is allowed to continue unchecked, the sheer scale of potential disruption and destruction of people and the environment is almost beyond comprehension."
The kernel of Brown's plan to avert the crisis is for an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2020, a radical advancement on the 20 per cent reduction by 2020 outlined by the EU.
After that, it's a matter of stabilising world populations, restoring the ecosystem, such as fisheries and soils, and thereby preserving the planet for future generations.
"I'm fully convinced that the future of civilisation is at stake," says Brown. "If we look at how many states in the world are beginning to unravel, most clearly in Sudan, Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo, then you get a sense of where we could be headed. Seventeen of the top 20 failing states have a growth rate of between 2 and 3.5 per cent a year, which is not enough to sustain their growing populations.
"And the move to biofuels is driving up food prices, which leaves the price of grain now linked directly to the price of oil. Unless someone can intervene to restrict the amount of grain converted to fuel for cars, this trend looks set to continue."
Asked if he is more or less optimistic about the chances to avert a global crisis, Brown sounds uncertain. The frustrating aspect for him is that we now have the technology to tackle climate change, unlike decades ago when he first began highlighting the problem.
"The technology is now there to build a new economic system which can sustain progress without damaging the earth's system. It's a matter now of getting people to understand the urgency of the situation and tackling this problem hands-on."
Plan B 3.0: Mobilising to Save Civilisation can be downloaded free at www.earth-policy.org/Books/PB3/Contents.htm
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Vital wetlands at risk of destruction - Minister
Irish wetlands, which provide a home to many plant and animal species, are in danger of destruction because of poor management and inappropriate development, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said.
He was speaking in Monaghan yesterday at the Wise Use of Wetlands conference, held to coincide with World Wetlands Day.
Ireland's climate and geology made it particularly rich in bogs and other wetland areas, and in addition to providing habitats for wildlife, they are essential to the battle against climate change, Mr Gormley said.
"Wetlands in particular provide us with important environmental services such as flood mitigation, water supply and pollution control. Peatlands also act as carbon sinks, an important service in the battle against increased CO2 emissions."
These resources had been abused in the past, he said. "Many of our most important habitats have been threatened and damaged through poor management and inappropriate development."
Fen sites in Monaghan faced threats from pollution, afforestation, illegal dumping, drainage and invasive species.
The Government was developing a new national biodiversity plan which would tackle these threats, he said.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
He was speaking in Monaghan yesterday at the Wise Use of Wetlands conference, held to coincide with World Wetlands Day.
Ireland's climate and geology made it particularly rich in bogs and other wetland areas, and in addition to providing habitats for wildlife, they are essential to the battle against climate change, Mr Gormley said.
"Wetlands in particular provide us with important environmental services such as flood mitigation, water supply and pollution control. Peatlands also act as carbon sinks, an important service in the battle against increased CO2 emissions."
These resources had been abused in the past, he said. "Many of our most important habitats have been threatened and damaged through poor management and inappropriate development."
Fen sites in Monaghan faced threats from pollution, afforestation, illegal dumping, drainage and invasive species.
The Government was developing a new national biodiversity plan which would tackle these threats, he said.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Brothers eye €40m windfall as council backs down over zoning
The Presentation Brothers religious teaching order is looking at a €40m-plus property windfall after succeeding in a legal action to stop Dun Laoghaire council from zoning land belonging to one of its former schools for sports and recreational use.
The four-acre playing fields at Hudson Road in Glasthule are among the last major potential development sites left in the Dun Laoghaire area and among the last open spaces. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council last year zoned it for sports and recreational use only.
However, the order challenged the decision and the council has now conceded that it cannot succeed against the legal challenge.
In a letter to councillors last Friday, County Manager Owen Keegan, conceded that the council did not have grounds to insist that the lands should remain for recreational use. It is now likely that they will be sold for apartment development. As it is one of the last sites of its size in the Dun Laoghaire/Sandycove area the four-acre site is expected to fetch at least €10m an acre, as similar development land has already been fetching.
Local Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell-O'Connor is headmistress of the Harold National School in Glasthule whose children have used the fields up to now. She said, "Open space is at a premium in Dun Laoghaire and especially round this area. There are 500 children in the Harold and there is very little open space for them.
"We should try and preserve as much green space as we have and I would like to see the County Manager and the Presentation Brothers coming together to discuss this as an issue. I personally hope that this will not be yet another high-rise, high-density development proposal. We have had too many of those in Dun Laoghaire."
There was no comment available from the Presentation Brothers yesterday.
In his letter to the councillors, Mr Keegan said: "As you are probably aware, following the adoption by the council of this Variation, the Trustees of the Presentation Brothers Religious Order initiated judicial review proceedings against the council. Within the last few weeks, the case was remitted to the Commercial Court for hearing. The hearing of the action has been fixed for April 15, 2008."
He said legal advice had been sought and this was: "that the planning ethos and intentions of the council, intended to be expressed in the documentation upon which the decision to vary the Development Plan was made, are not clearly borne out in that documentation; that the Presentation Brothers make a strong case that the procedures adopted by the council are, in the legal sense, infirm; that defending the proceedings would be costly and result in delay and; that the Court would be more likely to quash the decision to adopt the Variation arising from the difficulties, which have been identified".
Mr Keegan added: "In these circumstances and in light of the legal advice given to me, I consider that it is both appropriate and prudent not to defend the proceedings and to allow the council's decision to vary the Development Plan to be quashed."
Around 4,000 apartment and town-houses are currently under construction or in planning in the Dun Laoghaire area, including some 1,300 in the first phase of the Cosgrave Brothers development of Dun Laoghaire Golf Course. Developer Noel Smyth, who is seen locally as one of the likely bidders for the Presentation site, is also involved in proposals for around 400 apartments, including the proposal to build two apartment blocks in the grounds of St Michael's Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.
JIM CUSACK
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The four-acre playing fields at Hudson Road in Glasthule are among the last major potential development sites left in the Dun Laoghaire area and among the last open spaces. Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council last year zoned it for sports and recreational use only.
However, the order challenged the decision and the council has now conceded that it cannot succeed against the legal challenge.
In a letter to councillors last Friday, County Manager Owen Keegan, conceded that the council did not have grounds to insist that the lands should remain for recreational use. It is now likely that they will be sold for apartment development. As it is one of the last sites of its size in the Dun Laoghaire/Sandycove area the four-acre site is expected to fetch at least €10m an acre, as similar development land has already been fetching.
Local Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell-O'Connor is headmistress of the Harold National School in Glasthule whose children have used the fields up to now. She said, "Open space is at a premium in Dun Laoghaire and especially round this area. There are 500 children in the Harold and there is very little open space for them.
"We should try and preserve as much green space as we have and I would like to see the County Manager and the Presentation Brothers coming together to discuss this as an issue. I personally hope that this will not be yet another high-rise, high-density development proposal. We have had too many of those in Dun Laoghaire."
There was no comment available from the Presentation Brothers yesterday.
In his letter to the councillors, Mr Keegan said: "As you are probably aware, following the adoption by the council of this Variation, the Trustees of the Presentation Brothers Religious Order initiated judicial review proceedings against the council. Within the last few weeks, the case was remitted to the Commercial Court for hearing. The hearing of the action has been fixed for April 15, 2008."
He said legal advice had been sought and this was: "that the planning ethos and intentions of the council, intended to be expressed in the documentation upon which the decision to vary the Development Plan was made, are not clearly borne out in that documentation; that the Presentation Brothers make a strong case that the procedures adopted by the council are, in the legal sense, infirm; that defending the proceedings would be costly and result in delay and; that the Court would be more likely to quash the decision to adopt the Variation arising from the difficulties, which have been identified".
Mr Keegan added: "In these circumstances and in light of the legal advice given to me, I consider that it is both appropriate and prudent not to defend the proceedings and to allow the council's decision to vary the Development Plan to be quashed."
Around 4,000 apartment and town-houses are currently under construction or in planning in the Dun Laoghaire area, including some 1,300 in the first phase of the Cosgrave Brothers development of Dun Laoghaire Golf Course. Developer Noel Smyth, who is seen locally as one of the likely bidders for the Presentation site, is also involved in proposals for around 400 apartments, including the proposal to build two apartment blocks in the grounds of St Michael's Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.
JIM CUSACK
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Planning board rejects park-and-ride facility
Dublin's first dedicated park-and-ride facility for buses, which would have taken commuters from Leixlip to the city centre in less than half the time of a car, has been denied planning permission by An Board Pleanála.
South Dublin County Council intended to run express bus services every 10 minutes, at peak time, from a park-and-ride facility at Lucan Demesne, just off the N4 between the Leixlip and Lucan bypass roads.
The 15km journey along the N4 to O'Connell Street could have taken less than 30 minutes using dedicated bus lanes and taken up to 1,500 commuters off the road each day, the council said.
The council applied to the planning board in December 2006 to build the facility on a 4.49 hectare (11 acre) site adjacent to the Liffey Valley. It was to be built in two phases, the first with 525 standard parking spaces and 10 disabled parking space and the second with 501 standard spaces and 10 disabled spaces. Bicycle parking would also be provided.
An oral hearing on the application was held last July and the inspector who conducted the hearing, Padraig Ó Gliasain, recommended that the project receive permission. However, the board rejected this recommendation and refused the project.
In its report the board said the council had zoned the land as a high amenity area in its own development plan. The plan also contained a policy to develop the lands as part of a Liffey Valley National Park.
"It is considered that the proposed use of these lands as a park-and-ride facility would materially contravene the zoning objective for these lands and would conflict with the aforesaid policies in relation to the preservation of the Liffey Valley and the achievement of a National Park," the board said.
County manager Joe Horan said he was disappointed by the board's decision.
"I fully accept the board's right to make that decision, but we felt we had chosen a discreet location, and the best possible location in terms of motorists exiting from the road."
The council was still studying the board's decision, but would shortly consider whether to look for a new site or seek an alteration to the development plan, Mr Horan said. It is understood that the other Dublin local authorities intended to monitor its progress with a view to setting up their own services.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
South Dublin County Council intended to run express bus services every 10 minutes, at peak time, from a park-and-ride facility at Lucan Demesne, just off the N4 between the Leixlip and Lucan bypass roads.
The 15km journey along the N4 to O'Connell Street could have taken less than 30 minutes using dedicated bus lanes and taken up to 1,500 commuters off the road each day, the council said.
The council applied to the planning board in December 2006 to build the facility on a 4.49 hectare (11 acre) site adjacent to the Liffey Valley. It was to be built in two phases, the first with 525 standard parking spaces and 10 disabled parking space and the second with 501 standard spaces and 10 disabled spaces. Bicycle parking would also be provided.
An oral hearing on the application was held last July and the inspector who conducted the hearing, Padraig Ó Gliasain, recommended that the project receive permission. However, the board rejected this recommendation and refused the project.
In its report the board said the council had zoned the land as a high amenity area in its own development plan. The plan also contained a policy to develop the lands as part of a Liffey Valley National Park.
"It is considered that the proposed use of these lands as a park-and-ride facility would materially contravene the zoning objective for these lands and would conflict with the aforesaid policies in relation to the preservation of the Liffey Valley and the achievement of a National Park," the board said.
County manager Joe Horan said he was disappointed by the board's decision.
"I fully accept the board's right to make that decision, but we felt we had chosen a discreet location, and the best possible location in terms of motorists exiting from the road."
The council was still studying the board's decision, but would shortly consider whether to look for a new site or seek an alteration to the development plan, Mr Horan said. It is understood that the other Dublin local authorities intended to monitor its progress with a view to setting up their own services.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin airport expansion
Madam, - Your Editorial of February 1st highlighted Dublin's traffic woes, while An Irishman's Diary chided Dublin Airport's propaganda for suggesting that its new Terminal 2 and Pier D would be nicely under-populated. The facts are very different.
Dublin Airport plans to expand its capacity threefold to 60 million passengers a year, with horrendous implications for Dublin traffic. The proposed Metro will handle only a fraction of the extra numbers while the rest will just add catastrophically to the woes you mention in your Editorial.
On August 30th last year another Editorial said a second airport, further away from the city, should have been considered. It called on the Government to ensure that the very expensive new runway and new terminal projects were subjected to proper scrutiny to ensure that what was being planned is in the public interest.
That has still not happened. - Yours, etc,
MATTHEW HARLEY, Portmarnock Community Association, Portmarnock, Co Dublin.
The Irish Times
Dublin Airport plans to expand its capacity threefold to 60 million passengers a year, with horrendous implications for Dublin traffic. The proposed Metro will handle only a fraction of the extra numbers while the rest will just add catastrophically to the woes you mention in your Editorial.
On August 30th last year another Editorial said a second airport, further away from the city, should have been considered. It called on the Government to ensure that the very expensive new runway and new terminal projects were subjected to proper scrutiny to ensure that what was being planned is in the public interest.
That has still not happened. - Yours, etc,
MATTHEW HARLEY, Portmarnock Community Association, Portmarnock, Co Dublin.
The Irish Times
Residents object to gas power station
Residents, schools and community organisations in Claremorris, Co Mayo have pledged to fight plans to build a €135 million gas turbine power station.
Mayo County Council is set to adjudicate on the application by Mountside Properties Ltd to build the station, which would include two 20m stacks. The proposed location, about a kilometre from the town centre, is on a site owned by Mayo County Council.
A recent protest meeting attracted about 500 people. Among the objectors are Claremorris Chamber of Commerce, which says the plant contravenes the local development plan.
Mountside Properties Ltd has argued that the plant would contribute to the security of electricity supply.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mayo County Council is set to adjudicate on the application by Mountside Properties Ltd to build the station, which would include two 20m stacks. The proposed location, about a kilometre from the town centre, is on a site owned by Mayo County Council.
A recent protest meeting attracted about 500 people. Among the objectors are Claremorris Chamber of Commerce, which says the plant contravenes the local development plan.
Mountside Properties Ltd has argued that the plant would contribute to the security of electricity supply.
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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