A FORMER Army bomb disposal officer has warned of “horrific” consequences for civilians in and around Rossport if an onshore gas pipeline serving the Corrib gas project should rupture and explode.
A hospital with a specialised burns unit and a fire station would have to be located in the area, due to the potential for fatalities and serious injury in a very isolated area, Comdt Patrick Boyle (ret) told the An Bord Pleanála hearing into the Corrib gas modified onshore pipeline yesterday.
Comdt Boyle, who has served on bomb disposal in Ireland and with the UN in Lebanon, was representing the community group Pobal Chill Chomáin on the sixth day of the oral hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.
Comdt Boyle said that many recent pipeline accidents had occurred with pressure loads of 70 bar – half that proposed for the Corrib gas onshore pipeline.
He cited as an example the July 2004 explosion in Ghislenghien, Belgium, in which 24 people died and more than 120 people were injured. Most of those killed were police and firefighters responding to reports of a gas leak, operated by Fkuxys, a pipeline operator owned by Royal Dutch Shell.
Explosions caused by released fuel mixed with air had a multiple factor, Comdt Boyle said. The Ghislenghien explosion was equivalent to 41 tonnes of TNT and similar to the impact of smaller tactical nuclear weapons.
He said that a separation distance of at least 500 metres from dwellings would be more appropriate than that currently proposed. The new pipeline route has a 140-metre separation distance from dwellings – twice that proposed for the original pipeline route.
Former Bord Gáis engineering manager Leo Corcoran, also representing Pobal Chill Chomáin, said that the project was a case study in “escalation of commitment” by developers who continue to build “beyond the point of failure”.
A “litany of errors, omissions, flawed design and bad decisions” had “not prompted” the promoters, including the Government, to “reconsider the fundamental approach”, he said.
Nor had it prompted the promoters to “engage meaningfully with the local community to reach agreement”, Mr Corcoran said.
Mr Corcoran, who was a member of the Gas Technical Standards Committee, identified a number of difficulties with the current application. No code of practice for a high pressure gas pipeline was mandated in the ministerial consents for the onshore and offshore pipelines issued in 2002, he noted.
The site selected for the gas refinery in Bellanaboy was also “in breach” of the code, and located within a drinking water catchment of 10,000 people, he said.
Mr Corcoran also said that the site for the land valve installation at the Glengad landfall, linking the offshore and onshore pipelines, was an “insecure location” and “socially unsustainable”. Without the support of the local community, it would be “difficult to enforce the invasive measures required to secure this facility”.
Erris resident Niall King said in his submission that Shell consultants RPS, who designed the new pipeline route, had been based in Belmullet, some 30km from the Rossport community, and had not engaged in real consultation with the community.
Mr King shared safety concerns expressed by Micheál Ó Seighin, one of the Rossport Five, in his submission earlier this week. Mr Ó Seighin had noted that there was “no place in the planning system for including the health impacts on the receiving population”.
The hearing continues today in Belmullet.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 30 May 2009
Gormley lands a blow to wild speculation and rash rezonings
THERE CAN be no doubt that the timing of Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s announcement that the Government had approved his new planning Bill is political; it is clearly designed to put the Green Party in a good light with an eye on next week’s elections, writes FRANK McDONALD
Normally, draft legislation is published simultaneously. In this case, however, the Bill in question is still with the parliamentary drafters and won’t see the light of day for several weeks. And with voters going to the polls next Friday, the Green Party leader couldn’t wait.
That being said, there is much to commend in the proposed legislation, based on details given yesterday. In particular, it addresses the Achilles heel of all previous planning Acts by replacing the phrase “shall have regard to” with the much stronger “shall be consistent with”.
At present, local authorities need only “have regard to” the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), regional planning guidelines and ministerial directives in formulating their development plans.
In future, they will be required to show that these plans are “consistent with” national policy.
The “have regard to” provisions that currently apply are so nebulous that the elected members of a local authority need only glance at the NSS or other guidelines before proceeding to do the exact opposite. Thus, they could get away with snubbing a raft of planning policies.
What the Bill means is that councillors will no longer be able to rezone vast tracts of land at will, in response to landowners’ pressure.
Instead, an “evidence-based core strategy” will have to inform all decisions on zoning, “consistent with” established planning policies.
One of the key elements of the new legislation is that in making or even varying a development plan, the city or county manager’s report on the draft being prepared for public consultation must clearly indicate how it complies with the NSS and regional planning guidelines.
Ministerial guidelines on development planning, flood risk management and other matters will also have greater legal force, and the Minister’s views on a draft development plan will also be dealt with separately in the manager’s report, to allow a “clear and open response”.
Councillors will no longer be able to make significant amendments to a draft development plan or local area plan that’s already been out for public consultation – for example, by adopting entirely new zonings; they will only have the power to modify it “in minor respects”.
As a further safeguard to ensure “democratic accountability”, the making or variation of a development plan or local area plan will require the support of two-thirds of the total number of elected members, instead of a simple majority as is currently the case.
Gormley’s use of his powers under section 31 of the 2000 Planning Act to require local authorities in Monaghan and Mayo to drop “excessive” zonings was deeply resented by the councillors involved and criticised by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment.
To take account of this, the Bill will provide a new “consultative procedure” whereby the Minister would issue a draft direction on which local views would be sought before a final direction is given – perhaps with the aid of an independent planning inspector to advise on it.
The “over-arching objective”, according to Gormley, is to ensure a strategic approach to zoning so that development would take place “at the right time and in the right place”, allowing State agencies to plan for the provision of infrastructure with much greater certainty.
New provisions aimed at supporting the Government’s target of having 40 per cent of electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2020 will integrate foreshore licensing for offshore wind and wave installations with the Strategic Infrastructure Act’s consent process. The Minister believes this would deliver an “integrated, fast-track, transparent and participative consent process” for the onshore and offshore elements of such renewable energy projects – although, of course, they would all go directly to An Bord Pleanála.
The Bill will also provide more flexibility for local authorities to use development levies for a broader range of social infrastructure such as schools and flood relief works.
This contrasts with Fianna Fáil’s pre-election commitment to cut levies by a half for at least two years.
Powers to refuse planning permission to applicants who have been convicted of serious breaches of planning legislation are being strengthened, and also to refuse retention permission to an applicant who has carried out a substantial unauthorised development.
These are sensible provisions – long overdue – to regulate the proliferation of unauthorised development. But one element that flies in the face of common sense is Gormley’s proposal to reduce An Bord Pleanála’s quorum from three to two for “routine” appeals.
Berna Grist, lecturer in planning at UCD and a former member of the appeals board, has pointed out that the “triumvirate” has been the ideal decision-making model since Roman times.
To reduce it to just two could result in the board being “frozen into indecision”, she said. The justification given for the proposed change is to expedite An Bord Pleanála’s determination of routine appeals and help the board to clear a significant backlog of cases.
But with the number of appeals down dramatically due to the recession, this is bound to happen anyway.
One specific recession-related provision in the Bill would allow local authorities to extend the five-year lifespan of a planning permission to facilitate developers who are in difficulties because of the credit crunch and the knock-on effect that this has had on construction activity.
The overall thrust of the Bill is designed not only to ensure better planning at local level, but also to avoid a repetition of the wild speculation that took place during the boom years, creating the property bubble and aggravating the intensity of the recession here.
If it succeeds in doing that, it must surely be welcomed by everyone who believes in “proper planning and sustainable development”, which was the explicit objective of the 2000 Planning Act. Unfortunately, we are now living with the consequences of having failed to achieve it.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Normally, draft legislation is published simultaneously. In this case, however, the Bill in question is still with the parliamentary drafters and won’t see the light of day for several weeks. And with voters going to the polls next Friday, the Green Party leader couldn’t wait.
That being said, there is much to commend in the proposed legislation, based on details given yesterday. In particular, it addresses the Achilles heel of all previous planning Acts by replacing the phrase “shall have regard to” with the much stronger “shall be consistent with”.
At present, local authorities need only “have regard to” the National Spatial Strategy (NSS), regional planning guidelines and ministerial directives in formulating their development plans.
In future, they will be required to show that these plans are “consistent with” national policy.
The “have regard to” provisions that currently apply are so nebulous that the elected members of a local authority need only glance at the NSS or other guidelines before proceeding to do the exact opposite. Thus, they could get away with snubbing a raft of planning policies.
What the Bill means is that councillors will no longer be able to rezone vast tracts of land at will, in response to landowners’ pressure.
Instead, an “evidence-based core strategy” will have to inform all decisions on zoning, “consistent with” established planning policies.
One of the key elements of the new legislation is that in making or even varying a development plan, the city or county manager’s report on the draft being prepared for public consultation must clearly indicate how it complies with the NSS and regional planning guidelines.
Ministerial guidelines on development planning, flood risk management and other matters will also have greater legal force, and the Minister’s views on a draft development plan will also be dealt with separately in the manager’s report, to allow a “clear and open response”.
Councillors will no longer be able to make significant amendments to a draft development plan or local area plan that’s already been out for public consultation – for example, by adopting entirely new zonings; they will only have the power to modify it “in minor respects”.
As a further safeguard to ensure “democratic accountability”, the making or variation of a development plan or local area plan will require the support of two-thirds of the total number of elected members, instead of a simple majority as is currently the case.
Gormley’s use of his powers under section 31 of the 2000 Planning Act to require local authorities in Monaghan and Mayo to drop “excessive” zonings was deeply resented by the councillors involved and criticised by the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment.
To take account of this, the Bill will provide a new “consultative procedure” whereby the Minister would issue a draft direction on which local views would be sought before a final direction is given – perhaps with the aid of an independent planning inspector to advise on it.
The “over-arching objective”, according to Gormley, is to ensure a strategic approach to zoning so that development would take place “at the right time and in the right place”, allowing State agencies to plan for the provision of infrastructure with much greater certainty.
New provisions aimed at supporting the Government’s target of having 40 per cent of electricity supplied from renewable sources by 2020 will integrate foreshore licensing for offshore wind and wave installations with the Strategic Infrastructure Act’s consent process. The Minister believes this would deliver an “integrated, fast-track, transparent and participative consent process” for the onshore and offshore elements of such renewable energy projects – although, of course, they would all go directly to An Bord Pleanála.
The Bill will also provide more flexibility for local authorities to use development levies for a broader range of social infrastructure such as schools and flood relief works.
This contrasts with Fianna Fáil’s pre-election commitment to cut levies by a half for at least two years.
Powers to refuse planning permission to applicants who have been convicted of serious breaches of planning legislation are being strengthened, and also to refuse retention permission to an applicant who has carried out a substantial unauthorised development.
These are sensible provisions – long overdue – to regulate the proliferation of unauthorised development. But one element that flies in the face of common sense is Gormley’s proposal to reduce An Bord Pleanála’s quorum from three to two for “routine” appeals.
Berna Grist, lecturer in planning at UCD and a former member of the appeals board, has pointed out that the “triumvirate” has been the ideal decision-making model since Roman times.
To reduce it to just two could result in the board being “frozen into indecision”, she said. The justification given for the proposed change is to expedite An Bord Pleanála’s determination of routine appeals and help the board to clear a significant backlog of cases.
But with the number of appeals down dramatically due to the recession, this is bound to happen anyway.
One specific recession-related provision in the Bill would allow local authorities to extend the five-year lifespan of a planning permission to facilitate developers who are in difficulties because of the credit crunch and the knock-on effect that this has had on construction activity.
The overall thrust of the Bill is designed not only to ensure better planning at local level, but also to avoid a repetition of the wild speculation that took place during the boom years, creating the property bubble and aggravating the intensity of the recession here.
If it succeeds in doing that, it must surely be welcomed by everyone who believes in “proper planning and sustainable development”, which was the explicit objective of the 2000 Planning Act. Unfortunately, we are now living with the consequences of having failed to achieve it.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
CIÉ fails to have CPO order quashed
CIÉ has failed in a High Court bid to quash a compulsory purchase order over some of its property in the Cork docklands.
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill rejected claims that the consent of the Minister for Transport was a necessary initial precondition to the CPO process before it could begin.
He said consent could be obtained at any time up to the latest stage in the process.
An Bord Pleanála had adjourned its hearing into the CPO pending the outcome of the case.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Justice Iarfhlaith O’Neill rejected claims that the consent of the Minister for Transport was a necessary initial precondition to the CPO process before it could begin.
He said consent could be obtained at any time up to the latest stage in the process.
An Bord Pleanála had adjourned its hearing into the CPO pending the outcome of the case.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
State claims permission for road is invalid
THE STATE believes An Bord Pleanála has given invalid permission for a €317 million Galway ring road, possibly exposing the State to legal action by the European Commission, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.
However, the board rejects the claims of invalidity and is standing over its decision.
The State told the board in correspondence this week that it was a matter of “great regret” the board did not accept the State’s view that the permission for the project breaches provisions of the EU habitats directive and relevant regulations.
The chief State solicitor informed the board that the existence of a consent which breached EU law exposed the State to an action for infringement by the European Commission and to risk of injunctive/interim measures and heavy fines.
“It is Government policy to proceed with the building of this road, but only in accordance with law,” the letter stated. The chief State solicitor added that unless the position was clarified by the court, there would be a “very significant legal impediment” to the development of the road project.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly was provided with the correspondence yesterday when dealing with procedural issues concerning a legal challenge by environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman to the board’s November 2008 permission for the road project.
The judge said the case brought by Mr Sweetman against the board and the State, with Galway City Council and Galway County Council as notice parties, had thrown up a “hornet’s nest” and exposed a split between the State and the board on interpretation of the habitats directive and Article 30 of the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations and other issues.
The judge said he would permit the board to amend its statement of opposition in the case, which is due to be heard on June 30th.
In that amended opposition, the board rejects the State’s claims, and also contends the State does not have the necessary legal standing to introduce new grounds of challenge.
The judge was told Galway County Council was anxious to proceed with the project and to have the case heard on June 30th.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
However, the board rejects the claims of invalidity and is standing over its decision.
The State told the board in correspondence this week that it was a matter of “great regret” the board did not accept the State’s view that the permission for the project breaches provisions of the EU habitats directive and relevant regulations.
The chief State solicitor informed the board that the existence of a consent which breached EU law exposed the State to an action for infringement by the European Commission and to risk of injunctive/interim measures and heavy fines.
“It is Government policy to proceed with the building of this road, but only in accordance with law,” the letter stated. The chief State solicitor added that unless the position was clarified by the court, there would be a “very significant legal impediment” to the development of the road project.
Mr Justice Peter Kelly was provided with the correspondence yesterday when dealing with procedural issues concerning a legal challenge by environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman to the board’s November 2008 permission for the road project.
The judge said the case brought by Mr Sweetman against the board and the State, with Galway City Council and Galway County Council as notice parties, had thrown up a “hornet’s nest” and exposed a split between the State and the board on interpretation of the habitats directive and Article 30 of the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations and other issues.
The judge said he would permit the board to amend its statement of opposition in the case, which is due to be heard on June 30th.
In that amended opposition, the board rejects the State’s claims, and also contends the State does not have the necessary legal standing to introduce new grounds of challenge.
The judge was told Galway County Council was anxious to proceed with the project and to have the case heard on June 30th.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Local anger as gardaí supervise blasting at unauthorised quarry
BLASTING AT an unauthorised quarry near Ashford in Co Wicklow has recommenced – under Garda supervision.
Ballylusk Quarry operated by O’Reilly Brothers (Wicklow) Ltd., on the outskirts of Ashford was judged to not have either planning permission or an exemption under the planning Acts, by An Bord Pleanála in 2003. A subsequent judicial review taken by O’Reilly Brothers against An Bord Pleanála was rejected by the High Court in 2006.
However operations have continued at the quarry and at least one local property owner was incensed when gardaí arrived and instructed him to leave his property during blasting in 2007 in the interests of health and safety.
This property, the closest building to the quarry, has since been sold, and on Wednesday the use of explosives recommenced.
Locals who have campaigned against the quarry for a decade said they are now so frustrated they are considering an appeal to the European Commission. A spokesman said there were few options left open to locals, “since the courts and Bord Pleanála have all held against this operation, but Wicklow County Council over all the years have not enforced the law”.
Senior planner at Wicklow County Council, Des O’Brien told The Irish Times the council had served a notice on the owners requiring them to cease unauthorised activity several years ago.
Mr O’Brien said the Planning Act required the council to get a court order to close the operation, and the District Court had refused the order on the basis that the O’Reilly Brothers had lodged a new planning application.
Mr O’Brien said the council had been unable to secure even a temporary injunction until the planning application was decided. Last December Wicklow County Council sought additional information in relation to the planning application and the applicants have until next month to reply.
Mr O’Brien said that on the basis of the court decision, the council told gardaí that it had no order against the quarry.
Gardaí must be present in all cases where explosives are used, said a Garda source.
Meanwhile the High Court has directed Wicklow County Council’s ethics registrar to carry out a fresh inquiry into a complaint by Green Party Senator Deirdre de Búrca that former Fianna Fáil councillor Facthna Whittle, who is a solicitor, breached ethics legislation by proposing and voting to rezone the quarry, without disclosing his law firm had acted for the quarry owner in legal proceedings.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Ballylusk Quarry operated by O’Reilly Brothers (Wicklow) Ltd., on the outskirts of Ashford was judged to not have either planning permission or an exemption under the planning Acts, by An Bord Pleanála in 2003. A subsequent judicial review taken by O’Reilly Brothers against An Bord Pleanála was rejected by the High Court in 2006.
However operations have continued at the quarry and at least one local property owner was incensed when gardaí arrived and instructed him to leave his property during blasting in 2007 in the interests of health and safety.
This property, the closest building to the quarry, has since been sold, and on Wednesday the use of explosives recommenced.
Locals who have campaigned against the quarry for a decade said they are now so frustrated they are considering an appeal to the European Commission. A spokesman said there were few options left open to locals, “since the courts and Bord Pleanála have all held against this operation, but Wicklow County Council over all the years have not enforced the law”.
Senior planner at Wicklow County Council, Des O’Brien told The Irish Times the council had served a notice on the owners requiring them to cease unauthorised activity several years ago.
Mr O’Brien said the Planning Act required the council to get a court order to close the operation, and the District Court had refused the order on the basis that the O’Reilly Brothers had lodged a new planning application.
Mr O’Brien said the council had been unable to secure even a temporary injunction until the planning application was decided. Last December Wicklow County Council sought additional information in relation to the planning application and the applicants have until next month to reply.
Mr O’Brien said that on the basis of the court decision, the council told gardaí that it had no order against the quarry.
Gardaí must be present in all cases where explosives are used, said a Garda source.
Meanwhile the High Court has directed Wicklow County Council’s ethics registrar to carry out a fresh inquiry into a complaint by Green Party Senator Deirdre de Búrca that former Fianna Fáil councillor Facthna Whittle, who is a solicitor, breached ethics legislation by proposing and voting to rezone the quarry, without disclosing his law firm had acted for the quarry owner in legal proceedings.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wind farm windfall for Clare families
THIRTY FARM families who will have a majority stakeholding in a company seeking planning permission for a €200 million wind farm in west Clare will share just under €1 million each year in earnings from the project when it becomes operational.
West Clare Renewable Energy has announced plans for 30,410ft 3MW turbines on 3,000 acres of upland on the 1,280ft Mount Callan owned by the farmers overlooking Clare’s west coast.
The group’s chairman, Pádraig Howard, said yesterday that giving the farm families a majority stake in the company “will have a transformational effect on rural Ireland”.
He said each family would receive €30,000 per annum when the project became operational.
“This will be an iconic project,” he said, adding that he hoped construction on the project would get under way in 2011 to provide 250- 300 jobs during the three-year construction phase.
Mr Howard said that when operational, the project would sustain 50 to 100 jobs. He was including in his calculations the €30,000 to be earned by each of the 30 families as 30 jobs.
The project is expected to deliver a community fund for the four parishes in the area that will amount to between €60,000 and €80,000 in the early phase of the project “and a multiple of that after five to 10 years when the debt is paid down on the scheme”.
Mr Howard noted that the proposed wind farm would be only 1km from a grid connection.
The Clare businessman said that it would generate sufficient energy to power all homes and businesses in Co Clare and meet the Limerick-Clare Energy Agency’s 2010 targets for emissions reductions and renewable energy production.
He expected a formal planning application to be lodged in late summer.
“We have been carrying out work connected to the environmental impact statement for almost three years and it has shown that the area doesn’t have the deep bog that other upland areas have so that isn’t an issue in this case.
“Farm families are struggling and many face a very bleak future,” Mr Howard said. “Food prices are not what they were 20 years ago and farmers depend on subsidies and direct farm payments. This project will provide farmers with a new source of income and allow farm families to remain on the land.”
He added that this project would “empower local communities and empower local families”.
John Talty, one of the 30 landowners concerned, said yesterday: “We can’t wait for someone else to do this for us. We are trying to form an industry in west Clare that will keep the locals in west Clare . . . We want to get jobs back in west Clare.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
West Clare Renewable Energy has announced plans for 30,410ft 3MW turbines on 3,000 acres of upland on the 1,280ft Mount Callan owned by the farmers overlooking Clare’s west coast.
The group’s chairman, Pádraig Howard, said yesterday that giving the farm families a majority stake in the company “will have a transformational effect on rural Ireland”.
He said each family would receive €30,000 per annum when the project became operational.
“This will be an iconic project,” he said, adding that he hoped construction on the project would get under way in 2011 to provide 250- 300 jobs during the three-year construction phase.
Mr Howard said that when operational, the project would sustain 50 to 100 jobs. He was including in his calculations the €30,000 to be earned by each of the 30 families as 30 jobs.
The project is expected to deliver a community fund for the four parishes in the area that will amount to between €60,000 and €80,000 in the early phase of the project “and a multiple of that after five to 10 years when the debt is paid down on the scheme”.
Mr Howard noted that the proposed wind farm would be only 1km from a grid connection.
The Clare businessman said that it would generate sufficient energy to power all homes and businesses in Co Clare and meet the Limerick-Clare Energy Agency’s 2010 targets for emissions reductions and renewable energy production.
He expected a formal planning application to be lodged in late summer.
“We have been carrying out work connected to the environmental impact statement for almost three years and it has shown that the area doesn’t have the deep bog that other upland areas have so that isn’t an issue in this case.
“Farm families are struggling and many face a very bleak future,” Mr Howard said. “Food prices are not what they were 20 years ago and farmers depend on subsidies and direct farm payments. This project will provide farmers with a new source of income and allow farm families to remain on the land.”
He added that this project would “empower local communities and empower local families”.
John Talty, one of the 30 landowners concerned, said yesterday: “We can’t wait for someone else to do this for us. We are trying to form an industry in west Clare that will keep the locals in west Clare . . . We want to get jobs back in west Clare.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley outlines planning reforms
THE JAILING this week of lobbyist Frank Dunlop “brings into sharp focus” the need for new planning legislation aimed at ensuring that local plans will be consistent with national policy, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said.
Speaking yesterday to The Irish Times, he said the Planning (Amendment) Bill due to be published shortly would “ensure that the powers that councillors have are exercised in a responsible way in accordance with good planning practice”.
He said it was “on the record that Dunlop gave money to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party councillors” and urged people to “reflect on that in terms of who they will vote for in next week’s local elections”.
“From now on, there will have to be consistency between a local authority’s development plan and the National Spatial Strategy, regional planning guidelines and ministerial directives, such as those I have issued to a number of councils”, Mr Gormley said.
His Bill would “ensure that the sort of bad planning we’ve seen over the past 15 years or so will not re-occur”, he said, adding that this had “led in many ways to inflated house prices, the property bubble and the economic difficulties we’re now experiencing”.
Bad planning in the past – particularly in relation to land rezoning against planning advice – had also led to a “marked deterioration in people’s quality of life through the lack of facilities such as schools, sewage treatment plants and proper public transport”.
The new legislation would give the Minister of the day a greater legal role in making local authorities’ development plans.
Since taking office, Mr Gormley has been forced to intervene where councillors zoned far more land for development than was required. In Monaghan and Mayo he used his powers to overturn zonings that conflicted with national planning policy. The new Bill will give greater legal force to ministerial guidelines in relation to areas such as development planning, flood risk management and sustainable residential development.
Local authorities will be required to show how their policies and plans are consistent with national policies and objectives as well as ministerial guidelines. The city or county manager’s report on the development plan must state the extent to which the plan complies with these guidelines.
To be passed, a development plan must be ratified by at least two-thirds of the councillors on any authority as opposed to the current majority vote. After development plans have been subject to public consultation, any changes made to them can only be minor.
Mr Gormley is also giving greater powers to local authorities to deal with rogue developers. A new provision will let an authority refuse permission where the applicant has carried out a substantial unauthorised development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Speaking yesterday to The Irish Times, he said the Planning (Amendment) Bill due to be published shortly would “ensure that the powers that councillors have are exercised in a responsible way in accordance with good planning practice”.
He said it was “on the record that Dunlop gave money to Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour Party councillors” and urged people to “reflect on that in terms of who they will vote for in next week’s local elections”.
“From now on, there will have to be consistency between a local authority’s development plan and the National Spatial Strategy, regional planning guidelines and ministerial directives, such as those I have issued to a number of councils”, Mr Gormley said.
His Bill would “ensure that the sort of bad planning we’ve seen over the past 15 years or so will not re-occur”, he said, adding that this had “led in many ways to inflated house prices, the property bubble and the economic difficulties we’re now experiencing”.
Bad planning in the past – particularly in relation to land rezoning against planning advice – had also led to a “marked deterioration in people’s quality of life through the lack of facilities such as schools, sewage treatment plants and proper public transport”.
The new legislation would give the Minister of the day a greater legal role in making local authorities’ development plans.
Since taking office, Mr Gormley has been forced to intervene where councillors zoned far more land for development than was required. In Monaghan and Mayo he used his powers to overturn zonings that conflicted with national planning policy. The new Bill will give greater legal force to ministerial guidelines in relation to areas such as development planning, flood risk management and sustainable residential development.
Local authorities will be required to show how their policies and plans are consistent with national policies and objectives as well as ministerial guidelines. The city or county manager’s report on the development plan must state the extent to which the plan complies with these guidelines.
To be passed, a development plan must be ratified by at least two-thirds of the councillors on any authority as opposed to the current majority vote. After development plans have been subject to public consultation, any changes made to them can only be minor.
Mr Gormley is also giving greater powers to local authorities to deal with rogue developers. A new provision will let an authority refuse permission where the applicant has carried out a substantial unauthorised development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 28 May 2009
New wind turbine park opens in Dublin
A NEW public park which will generate its own electricity from wind turbines has been opened in north Dublin.
The 52 acre Fr Collins Park in Donaghmede has been described as Ireland’s first sustainable park. It will derive all its power from five wind turbines which have been installed at a cost of €1.2 million.
The five turbines will generate about 250KW an hour when the wind is blowing or the equivalent of €400,000 worth of electricity a year at full price, though the actual figure will be less than that.
It is hoped, however, that the turbines will pay for themselves by generating enough power to floodlight Fr Collins Park while also powering the five dressing rooms, maintenance buildings and its water features.
It was opened yesterday by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne and the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.
The archbishop noted that the community had named the park after local parish priest Fr Joe Collins, who died 30 years ago.
“That sort of witness has been relativised in the eyes of many,” he said in reference to the scandals involving the clergy in recent weeks.
Dublin City Council will monitor the wind turbines over the next year to see if they can meet targets. It is seeking to power as many of its services as possible in the future through renewable sources, a key part of its new energy strategy.
One proposal being actively looked at is to use wind turbines to power the city’s water services in Blessington. Another is to provide energy for the greenhouses in St Anne’s Park using wind turbines.
Gerry Wardell, the director of the City of Dublin Energy Management Agency, said the five wind turbines would have “huge community and educational value” locally.
“The concept of wind turbines in cities is quite new. This is one of the leading examples anywhere,” Mr Wardell said.
The park will contain a 1.5 kilometre cycling track and an amphitheatre for outdoor theatre and concerts.
The Fr Collins Park project began in September 2007 and was designed by the Argentinian architects Abelleyro and Romero. They delivered the €20 million project on time and within budget.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 52 acre Fr Collins Park in Donaghmede has been described as Ireland’s first sustainable park. It will derive all its power from five wind turbines which have been installed at a cost of €1.2 million.
The five turbines will generate about 250KW an hour when the wind is blowing or the equivalent of €400,000 worth of electricity a year at full price, though the actual figure will be less than that.
It is hoped, however, that the turbines will pay for themselves by generating enough power to floodlight Fr Collins Park while also powering the five dressing rooms, maintenance buildings and its water features.
It was opened yesterday by the Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne and the Archbishop of Dublin, Dr Diarmuid Martin.
The archbishop noted that the community had named the park after local parish priest Fr Joe Collins, who died 30 years ago.
“That sort of witness has been relativised in the eyes of many,” he said in reference to the scandals involving the clergy in recent weeks.
Dublin City Council will monitor the wind turbines over the next year to see if they can meet targets. It is seeking to power as many of its services as possible in the future through renewable sources, a key part of its new energy strategy.
One proposal being actively looked at is to use wind turbines to power the city’s water services in Blessington. Another is to provide energy for the greenhouses in St Anne’s Park using wind turbines.
Gerry Wardell, the director of the City of Dublin Energy Management Agency, said the five wind turbines would have “huge community and educational value” locally.
“The concept of wind turbines in cities is quite new. This is one of the leading examples anywhere,” Mr Wardell said.
The park will contain a 1.5 kilometre cycling track and an amphitheatre for outdoor theatre and concerts.
The Fr Collins Park project began in September 2007 and was designed by the Argentinian architects Abelleyro and Romero. They delivered the €20 million project on time and within budget.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Regeneration of housing estate starts
THE REGENERATION of one of the State’s oldest housing estates got under way in Limerick yesterday when workers moved in to demolish houses in the St Mary’s Park estate.
It is one of four housing estates in Limerick city included in the €3.1 billion regeneration project which, since 2007, has led to the demolition of 250 homes in Moyross, Southill and Weston areas.
The demolition of 1 Columcille Street in St Mary’s Park began at 9am yesterday. Up to 20 houses in the area could be knocked by the end of the year to facilitate the building of new houses in 2010.
Built in 1935, St Mary’s Park is one of the oldest housing estates in the State and is located in a historic part of the city close to King John’s Castle that is known as the “island field”.
The estate comprises in the region of 465 houses and was the State’s first major public housing initiative in Limerick.
The last resident at the property which was demolished yesterday was Geraldine Long, who now lives in Corbally, but was there when workers began the demolition.
“I’m a bit sad because we had lovely neighbours and it was a lovely place to live and we had happy times in the house, so it is sad to see it being knocked,” Ms Long said.
Jason Murphy of the housing department at Limerick City Council said yesterday marked an important step for the regeneration of Limerick.
“This is a milestone for St Mary’s Park in terms of regeneration, but it is a milestone for the city as well, given the community that’s here and the strong community in St Mary’s Park,” Mr Murphy said.
“It’s a big step for the residents and we are delighted we have had huge support from them. We have identified six to eight houses but by the end of the year, we may have 15 houses taken down.”
Mayor of Limerick John Gilligan has welcomed the beginning of the demolition.
It is believed that €725 million is needed for the regeneration of St Mary’s Park.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning
It is one of four housing estates in Limerick city included in the €3.1 billion regeneration project which, since 2007, has led to the demolition of 250 homes in Moyross, Southill and Weston areas.
The demolition of 1 Columcille Street in St Mary’s Park began at 9am yesterday. Up to 20 houses in the area could be knocked by the end of the year to facilitate the building of new houses in 2010.
Built in 1935, St Mary’s Park is one of the oldest housing estates in the State and is located in a historic part of the city close to King John’s Castle that is known as the “island field”.
The estate comprises in the region of 465 houses and was the State’s first major public housing initiative in Limerick.
The last resident at the property which was demolished yesterday was Geraldine Long, who now lives in Corbally, but was there when workers began the demolition.
“I’m a bit sad because we had lovely neighbours and it was a lovely place to live and we had happy times in the house, so it is sad to see it being knocked,” Ms Long said.
Jason Murphy of the housing department at Limerick City Council said yesterday marked an important step for the regeneration of Limerick.
“This is a milestone for St Mary’s Park in terms of regeneration, but it is a milestone for the city as well, given the community that’s here and the strong community in St Mary’s Park,” Mr Murphy said.
“It’s a big step for the residents and we are delighted we have had huge support from them. We have identified six to eight houses but by the end of the year, we may have 15 houses taken down.”
Mayor of Limerick John Gilligan has welcomed the beginning of the demolition.
It is believed that €725 million is needed for the regeneration of St Mary’s Park.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
Protester leaves Corrib hearing
A CORRIB gas protester removed himself from the oral hearing of An Bord Pleanála on the modified pipeline, branding it “nonsense” after the board’s chairman refused to entertain a submission on its jurisdiction.
Edward Moran was the third local resident to leave the Belmullet hearing after telling the board that Shell had commenced work on the onshore section at Glengad, which was above the high water mark, encroaching on the board’s jurisdiction.
Chairman Martin Nolan refused to entertain Mr Moran’s intervention, saying he would have an opportunity during the second week of the hearing to raise issues. However, he did say the board was looking after the area from the high water mark to the Corrib terminal at Bellanaboy.
Mr Moran said he would return to the hearing next week to make his point.
Landowners Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin of the Rossport Five group withdrew from the hearing on Tuesday over the same issue.
Local resident Imelda Moran also sought unsuccessfully for the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Safety Authority to be put on notice to attend the hearing. Neither body made submissions to the board, she said.
The stability of peat along the proposed route, the need for a compulsory acquisition order (CAO) and the proposed construction methodology were all dealt with on day two of the hearing.
After taking a walkover survey and the results of a stability assessment into consideration, Geotechnical expert Turlough Johnston of Applied Ground Engineering Consultants (AGEC) said the pipeline could be “safely constructed” along the proposed route. He identified “no evidence of peat failure” that would pose a risk to the route.
AGEC provided specialist geotechnical advice on the landslides at Pollathomas in 2004.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Edward Moran was the third local resident to leave the Belmullet hearing after telling the board that Shell had commenced work on the onshore section at Glengad, which was above the high water mark, encroaching on the board’s jurisdiction.
Chairman Martin Nolan refused to entertain Mr Moran’s intervention, saying he would have an opportunity during the second week of the hearing to raise issues. However, he did say the board was looking after the area from the high water mark to the Corrib terminal at Bellanaboy.
Mr Moran said he would return to the hearing next week to make his point.
Landowners Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin of the Rossport Five group withdrew from the hearing on Tuesday over the same issue.
Local resident Imelda Moran also sought unsuccessfully for the Environmental Protection Agency and Health and Safety Authority to be put on notice to attend the hearing. Neither body made submissions to the board, she said.
The stability of peat along the proposed route, the need for a compulsory acquisition order (CAO) and the proposed construction methodology were all dealt with on day two of the hearing.
After taking a walkover survey and the results of a stability assessment into consideration, Geotechnical expert Turlough Johnston of Applied Ground Engineering Consultants (AGEC) said the pipeline could be “safely constructed” along the proposed route. He identified “no evidence of peat failure” that would pose a risk to the route.
AGEC provided specialist geotechnical advice on the landslides at Pollathomas in 2004.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Hearing chairman 'ignored' key question
THE CHAIRMAN of an An Bord Pleanála hearing was yesterday accused of “obfuscation” and “failing to answer questions” about issues relating to its jurisdiction over ongoing works by Shell at the landfall site of the Corrib gas project at Glengad.
At the opening of the third day of the hearing on the modified pipeline route, held in Belmullet, Co Mayo, Martin Nolan said it would be a matter for the board on “whether or not to seek a legal opinion” about the issues raised and he noted that the planning board had powers to reopen the hearing.
He also referred to the general parameters of the Strategic Infrastructure Act and said these issues could be raised by any party at the appropriate junctures in the hearing.
However, he did not specifically refer to a section of the proposed pipeline route – above the mean high water mark at Glengad that Shell is already working on.
This is the location where a series of clashes occurred between protesters, gardaí and Shell security men over recent weeks.
Expert speakers for Shell have – during the first two days of the hearing – included this 500m section of the 9.2km pipeline in submissions for determination.
Responding last night, Micheál Ó Seighin, of the Rossport Five, accused the chairman of not answering a key question he had been asked on a number of occasions over the previous days. The issue already has led to three people – Brendan Philbin, Bríd McGarry and Ed Moran – withdrawing from the hearing.
“The chairman has ignored my question, which is: what is the overlap of jurisdiction between a ministerial consent [Frank Fahey] in 2002 and the present An Bord Pleanála hearing under the Strategic Infrastructure Act?”
Mr Ó Seighin continued: “The fact is that Shell is doing work at present that is being considered by An Bord Pleanála.”
In response to other issues raised by local resident Imelda Moran earlier, the chairman also said he would neither compel the Health and Safety Authority nor the Environmental Protection Agency to attend.
However, he said that, if necessary, the hearing could be reopened and the bodies could then be compelled to attend.
An addendum to a presentation on the Glenamoy Bog Complex (special area of conservation) by Eileen McCarthy, an eco-hydrology and eco-hydrogeology consultant, was adjourned until next week so it could be translated into non-technical language.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
At the opening of the third day of the hearing on the modified pipeline route, held in Belmullet, Co Mayo, Martin Nolan said it would be a matter for the board on “whether or not to seek a legal opinion” about the issues raised and he noted that the planning board had powers to reopen the hearing.
He also referred to the general parameters of the Strategic Infrastructure Act and said these issues could be raised by any party at the appropriate junctures in the hearing.
However, he did not specifically refer to a section of the proposed pipeline route – above the mean high water mark at Glengad that Shell is already working on.
This is the location where a series of clashes occurred between protesters, gardaí and Shell security men over recent weeks.
Expert speakers for Shell have – during the first two days of the hearing – included this 500m section of the 9.2km pipeline in submissions for determination.
Responding last night, Micheál Ó Seighin, of the Rossport Five, accused the chairman of not answering a key question he had been asked on a number of occasions over the previous days. The issue already has led to three people – Brendan Philbin, Bríd McGarry and Ed Moran – withdrawing from the hearing.
“The chairman has ignored my question, which is: what is the overlap of jurisdiction between a ministerial consent [Frank Fahey] in 2002 and the present An Bord Pleanála hearing under the Strategic Infrastructure Act?”
Mr Ó Seighin continued: “The fact is that Shell is doing work at present that is being considered by An Bord Pleanála.”
In response to other issues raised by local resident Imelda Moran earlier, the chairman also said he would neither compel the Health and Safety Authority nor the Environmental Protection Agency to attend.
However, he said that, if necessary, the hearing could be reopened and the bodies could then be compelled to attend.
An addendum to a presentation on the Glenamoy Bog Complex (special area of conservation) by Eileen McCarthy, an eco-hydrology and eco-hydrogeology consultant, was adjourned until next week so it could be translated into non-technical language.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Bord rejects Lidl's Navan plan
The issue of whether German discounters should be allowed to trade out of retail parks has surfaced again, this time in Navan where An Bord Pleanála has blocked a plan by Lidl to open a store in a newly completed park on the outskirts of the town.
The decision will be a major blow to the park which is struggling to assemble a line-up of tenants. With some planning authorities in favour of German discounters and fashion outlets in retail parks, and the appeals board failing to maintain a consistent line on these issues, developers are frustrated by the lack of clarity.
In the case of the Navan Retail Park, the board cited the retail planning guidelines set down by the Department of the Environment in 2005, cautioning against out-of-town retailing of goods other than bulky goods. The Navan town development plan also favoured retail development within the town centre.
An interesting projection by the board’s inspector in this case was that Lidl would have a turnover of €9 million by 2012 out of “an estimated catchment surplus expenditure capacity” of €29.8 million. What gobbledegook!
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The decision will be a major blow to the park which is struggling to assemble a line-up of tenants. With some planning authorities in favour of German discounters and fashion outlets in retail parks, and the appeals board failing to maintain a consistent line on these issues, developers are frustrated by the lack of clarity.
In the case of the Navan Retail Park, the board cited the retail planning guidelines set down by the Department of the Environment in 2005, cautioning against out-of-town retailing of goods other than bulky goods. The Navan town development plan also favoured retail development within the town centre.
An interesting projection by the board’s inspector in this case was that Lidl would have a turnover of €9 million by 2012 out of “an estimated catchment surplus expenditure capacity” of €29.8 million. What gobbledegook!
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Delay to Dublin Bay infill plan
Dublin Port Company faces significant delays to its plans to infill 52 acres of Dublin Bay following a decision by An Bord Pleanála to re-open public consultation on the application.
The company made its application for permission to construct new deep-water berths at the 21-hectare northeastern part of Dublin Port, which is located in Dublin Bay, last August.
In addition to the proposed infill, there would be additional dredging or other works on a further 17 hectares of the bay.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The company made its application for permission to construct new deep-water berths at the 21-hectare northeastern part of Dublin Port, which is located in Dublin Bay, last August.
In addition to the proposed infill, there would be additional dredging or other works on a further 17 hectares of the bay.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Corrib gas pipeline hearing seeks report on infrastructure
THE CHAIRMAN of An Bord Pleanála’s hearing into the modified pipeline route for the Corrib gas project has asked Mayo County Council for a report on key infrastructural developments being proposed for north-west Mayo.
Under the remit of a development forum, established last November by Government Ministers Éamon Ó Cuív and Eamon Ryan, this report will identify key developments for the area, the hearing was told.
Ian Douglas, a senior county council planner, said he understood the report would be ready soon.
At yesterday’s hearing in Belmullet, the negative impact of the project on the Glenamoy bog complex, which is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as outlined in the Department of Environment submission, was strongly challenged by counsel for Shell, Esmonde Keane.
Earlier, speaking for the county council, Mr Douglas said that the modified pipeline will have “a negligible impact on the landscape”, on drinking water schemes and on designated conservation sites. He observed that mitigation measures will be undertaken at the landfall site and along the route of the pipeline after its construction.
The chairman, Martin Nolan, asked him to identify what body had primary responsibility for the safety of the pipeline, its related regulatory regime and if the council intended retaining experts to monitor the implementation of this safety system.
Mr Nolan also observed that he wanted to establish what role Mayo County Council and the fire services would play in its implementation.
Responding, chief fire officer Seamus Murphy said “the matter of the safety of the pipeline was for the Department of Energy”.
“If the project gets approval, we will draw up a site-specific plan for an emergency response – like, for example, we have done for Knock airport,” said Mr Murphy.
In a submission by the Department of the Environment, Caitriona Douglas said insufficient evidence had been provided in the environmental impact statement Addendum by the developer. She referred specifically to the impact of the construction of a stone road on “the mosaic” of bog pools which are “highly sensitive” to surface and sub-surface groundwater in the Glenamoy bog complex.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Under the remit of a development forum, established last November by Government Ministers Éamon Ó Cuív and Eamon Ryan, this report will identify key developments for the area, the hearing was told.
Ian Douglas, a senior county council planner, said he understood the report would be ready soon.
At yesterday’s hearing in Belmullet, the negative impact of the project on the Glenamoy bog complex, which is a Special Area of Conservation (SAC), as outlined in the Department of Environment submission, was strongly challenged by counsel for Shell, Esmonde Keane.
Earlier, speaking for the county council, Mr Douglas said that the modified pipeline will have “a negligible impact on the landscape”, on drinking water schemes and on designated conservation sites. He observed that mitigation measures will be undertaken at the landfall site and along the route of the pipeline after its construction.
The chairman, Martin Nolan, asked him to identify what body had primary responsibility for the safety of the pipeline, its related regulatory regime and if the council intended retaining experts to monitor the implementation of this safety system.
Mr Nolan also observed that he wanted to establish what role Mayo County Council and the fire services would play in its implementation.
Responding, chief fire officer Seamus Murphy said “the matter of the safety of the pipeline was for the Department of Energy”.
“If the project gets approval, we will draw up a site-specific plan for an emergency response – like, for example, we have done for Knock airport,” said Mr Murphy.
In a submission by the Department of the Environment, Caitriona Douglas said insufficient evidence had been provided in the environmental impact statement Addendum by the developer. She referred specifically to the impact of the construction of a stone road on “the mosaic” of bog pools which are “highly sensitive” to surface and sub-surface groundwater in the Glenamoy bog complex.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Bord says yes to apartments for Hatch Hall
Permission has been given to turn Hatch Hall, bought in 2004 for over €16m, into a scheme of 36 apartments
THE FORMER Jesuit student residence – Hatch Hall at Lower Hatch Street in Dublin 2 – is to be converted into 36 apartments under a new planning permission ratified by An Bord Pleanála.
Galway developer Gerry Barrett, who bought the early 20th century building in 2004 for over €16 million, was previously refused planning permission to convert the complex into a hotel.
The three to five-storey Gothic revival building is to be retained in its entirety with the exception of a two-storey section at the rear south-east corner which links a four-storey building along Hatch Lane with the chapel. This section will be replaced by a six-storey block which will link to the proposed two-storey roof-top extension over an adjoining four-storey building along Hatch Lane.
An inspector for the planning appeals board said the proposed demolition of a small section of the existing buildings was considered acceptable as the proposal would define the corner of Hatch Place and Hatch Lane, as well as provide access to a basement car-park with 37 spaces.
The conversion will also involve internal alterations to the Gothic-style building, including the removal of internal partitions and screens, and the amalgamation of existing rooms to create apartments.
The rearrangement of the rooms will not affect the existing window arrangement or floor-to-ceiling heights. It is planned to provide a lift for residents.
The board ruled that the first floor chapel should be used as a health and fitness centre for residents of Hatch Hall.
One of Mr Barrett’s companies, Edward Residential Assets, has undertaken to retain the internal courtyard and to enhance it through refurbishment works and landscaping.
The building has twin turrets flanking a three-storey grand central bay with stone oriels. A circular oriel window is on the north-eastern corner of the building. Starting from the first to the third floor, this section is roofed in copper, as are the dormer windows in the fourth floor. The roof is steeply pitched with clay ridge tiles.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
THE FORMER Jesuit student residence – Hatch Hall at Lower Hatch Street in Dublin 2 – is to be converted into 36 apartments under a new planning permission ratified by An Bord Pleanála.
Galway developer Gerry Barrett, who bought the early 20th century building in 2004 for over €16 million, was previously refused planning permission to convert the complex into a hotel.
The three to five-storey Gothic revival building is to be retained in its entirety with the exception of a two-storey section at the rear south-east corner which links a four-storey building along Hatch Lane with the chapel. This section will be replaced by a six-storey block which will link to the proposed two-storey roof-top extension over an adjoining four-storey building along Hatch Lane.
An inspector for the planning appeals board said the proposed demolition of a small section of the existing buildings was considered acceptable as the proposal would define the corner of Hatch Place and Hatch Lane, as well as provide access to a basement car-park with 37 spaces.
The conversion will also involve internal alterations to the Gothic-style building, including the removal of internal partitions and screens, and the amalgamation of existing rooms to create apartments.
The rearrangement of the rooms will not affect the existing window arrangement or floor-to-ceiling heights. It is planned to provide a lift for residents.
The board ruled that the first floor chapel should be used as a health and fitness centre for residents of Hatch Hall.
One of Mr Barrett’s companies, Edward Residential Assets, has undertaken to retain the internal courtyard and to enhance it through refurbishment works and landscaping.
The building has twin turrets flanking a three-storey grand central bay with stone oriels. A circular oriel window is on the north-eastern corner of the building. Starting from the first to the third floor, this section is roofed in copper, as are the dormer windows in the fourth floor. The roof is steeply pitched with clay ridge tiles.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dunlop gets 18 months in jail for corruption
FORMER GOVERNMENT press secretary Frank Dunlop has been jailed for two years and fined €30,000 for corruption after admitting bribing councillors to rezone land in Carrickmines, Co Dublin.
Judge Frank O’Donnell said the public interest required a custodial sentence for Dunlop but suspended the final six months of the jail term in light of his admissions before the court and the planning tribunal.
Dunlop (62), of Rathbeggan, Dunboyne, Co Meath, kissed his wife Sheila and hugged his daughter Sinead before prison officers led him away from Dublin Central Criminal Court. His lawyers are expected to appeal the sentence.
“The word must go out from this court that the corruption of politicians, or anyone in public life, must attract significant penalties,” Judge O’Donnell told Dunlop before imposing sentence.
The public interest required a custodial sentence that amounted to more than a rap on the knuckles, he said.
The judge said there was no such thing as a victimless crime. Although there was no readily identifiable victim in this case, he had no doubt that Dunlop by his actions had actively undermined the confidence of the public in the democratic system. In the case, the public, the institutions of State and the democratic system were the victims, he continued. Judge O’Donnell said Dunlop was motivated by gain and, as a former Fianna Fáil and government press secretary, was in a dominant position. He was perceived as a person with the power to influence people in higher authority over a long period of time.
Pointing out that the charges related to separate acts of corruption in 1992 and 1997, the judge said Dunlop had had no hesitation in renewing his corrupt practices after a long gap. “You have every opportunity to reflect on what you were about.
“Some people who come before me knowingly commit crimes through a haze of addiction. What you did, you did with a long-range, focused, criminal intent.”
Last January, Dunlop pleaded guilty to five sample charges, having originally been charged with 16 counts of bribing Dublin county councillors.
Judge O’Donnell imposed terms of between one and two years for each of the five counts of bribery, all of them to run concurrently. The other counts were taken into consideration.
He suspended the final six months and gave Dunlop six months to pay the fine. Judge O’Donnell noted Dunlop’s co-operation with gardaí and willingness to give evidence against former councillors in any future corruption cases. He said he took into account the evidence of the head of Dunlop’s legal team during the tribunal which stated that he was now a “social pariah”. He also considered the evidence of a leading cardiologist who said Dunlop suffered from a serious heart condition which will affect his longevity.
“No doubt the present criminal charges have contributed to this,” the judge commented. “All these are the natural and foreseeable consequences of your actions, not the penalties for them.” Judge O’Donnell refused an application for permission to appeal.
Dunlop pleaded guilty to giving £3,000 to former Fianna Fáil senator Don Lydon at St John of God’s Hospital in Dublin; £2,000 to Fianna Fáil councillor Colm McGrath and £1,000 to Fianna Fáil councillor Seán Gilbride, all in 1992, in relation to the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines for development.
He also pleaded guilty to giving money to former Fine Gael senator Liam Cosgrave at Buswells Hotel in Dublin in 1997, and a further sum of money to Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fox the same year, also in relation to Carrickmines.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Judge Frank O’Donnell said the public interest required a custodial sentence for Dunlop but suspended the final six months of the jail term in light of his admissions before the court and the planning tribunal.
Dunlop (62), of Rathbeggan, Dunboyne, Co Meath, kissed his wife Sheila and hugged his daughter Sinead before prison officers led him away from Dublin Central Criminal Court. His lawyers are expected to appeal the sentence.
“The word must go out from this court that the corruption of politicians, or anyone in public life, must attract significant penalties,” Judge O’Donnell told Dunlop before imposing sentence.
The public interest required a custodial sentence that amounted to more than a rap on the knuckles, he said.
The judge said there was no such thing as a victimless crime. Although there was no readily identifiable victim in this case, he had no doubt that Dunlop by his actions had actively undermined the confidence of the public in the democratic system. In the case, the public, the institutions of State and the democratic system were the victims, he continued. Judge O’Donnell said Dunlop was motivated by gain and, as a former Fianna Fáil and government press secretary, was in a dominant position. He was perceived as a person with the power to influence people in higher authority over a long period of time.
Pointing out that the charges related to separate acts of corruption in 1992 and 1997, the judge said Dunlop had had no hesitation in renewing his corrupt practices after a long gap. “You have every opportunity to reflect on what you were about.
“Some people who come before me knowingly commit crimes through a haze of addiction. What you did, you did with a long-range, focused, criminal intent.”
Last January, Dunlop pleaded guilty to five sample charges, having originally been charged with 16 counts of bribing Dublin county councillors.
Judge O’Donnell imposed terms of between one and two years for each of the five counts of bribery, all of them to run concurrently. The other counts were taken into consideration.
He suspended the final six months and gave Dunlop six months to pay the fine. Judge O’Donnell noted Dunlop’s co-operation with gardaí and willingness to give evidence against former councillors in any future corruption cases. He said he took into account the evidence of the head of Dunlop’s legal team during the tribunal which stated that he was now a “social pariah”. He also considered the evidence of a leading cardiologist who said Dunlop suffered from a serious heart condition which will affect his longevity.
“No doubt the present criminal charges have contributed to this,” the judge commented. “All these are the natural and foreseeable consequences of your actions, not the penalties for them.” Judge O’Donnell refused an application for permission to appeal.
Dunlop pleaded guilty to giving £3,000 to former Fianna Fáil senator Don Lydon at St John of God’s Hospital in Dublin; £2,000 to Fianna Fáil councillor Colm McGrath and £1,000 to Fianna Fáil councillor Seán Gilbride, all in 1992, in relation to the rezoning of lands at Carrickmines for development.
He also pleaded guilty to giving money to former Fine Gael senator Liam Cosgrave at Buswells Hotel in Dublin in 1997, and a further sum of money to Fianna Fáil councillor Tony Fox the same year, also in relation to Carrickmines.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Some politicians set to face corruption charges
POLITICIANS ARE likely to face corruption charges in relation to the same rezoning decision for which Frank Dunlop was jailed yesterday, according to Garda sources.
Files sent by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) contain recommendations that “a handful” of politicians be prosecuted, The Irish Times has learned.
Dunlop has undertaken to give evidence in any proceedings that are taken if the Director of Public Prosecutions decides there are grounds for prosecutions.
Dunlop will also be a key State witness in the Cab’s efforts to confiscate the Jackson Way lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin. The lands were frozen by court order in 2006. The Cab wants to confiscate and sell the land. The case, which is being fought, is expected to come before the High Court in the near future.
Cab officers have given evidence that the land increased in value by €53 million after it was corruptly rezoned.
That valuation is roughly equal in value to all of the cash and assets taken from gangland criminals since the Cab’s inception in 1996.
Reacting yesterday to the sentence imposed on Dunlop, anti-corruption organisation Transparency International called on the Government to tackle systemic corruption rather than satisfy itself with prosecuting an individual.
Its chief executive, John Devitt, called for the prosecution of all alleged bribe takers where there was sufficient evidence to bring a case.
He also pointed to the need for whistleblower protection and a register of lobbyists to “shine more light” on the role of money on government policy making.
He said corruption was believed to have badly damaged the country’s reputation overseas.
Ireland’s score on the worldwide Corruption Perceptions Index had worsened dramatically in the wake of revelations of corruption at the planning tribunal.
Dublin Lord Mayor and European election candidate Eibhlín Byrne said Dunlop should have been made do community service rather than being jailed.
“He has been found guilty of a serious offence, but by putting him behind bars he will cost the tax payer thousands of euro. He is not what we call ‘a threat to society’ and therefore we should make him pay for his crime by working within the community.”
The Green Party welcomed the 18-month sentence imposed on Dunlop as “fully justified”. “This must not represent the end of this process.
Others who contributed to this situation similarly have to account for their role in planning corruption,” said Senator Deirdre de Burca, who is also a European election candidate.
“I hope that this will be the first of a series of imprisonments for the widespread corruption that poisoned the Irish political system in the 1980s and 1990s.”
Des Peelo, financial adviser to former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, told Newstalk FM the sentence was “actually quite lenient”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Files sent by the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) contain recommendations that “a handful” of politicians be prosecuted, The Irish Times has learned.
Dunlop has undertaken to give evidence in any proceedings that are taken if the Director of Public Prosecutions decides there are grounds for prosecutions.
Dunlop will also be a key State witness in the Cab’s efforts to confiscate the Jackson Way lands at Carrickmines in south Dublin. The lands were frozen by court order in 2006. The Cab wants to confiscate and sell the land. The case, which is being fought, is expected to come before the High Court in the near future.
Cab officers have given evidence that the land increased in value by €53 million after it was corruptly rezoned.
That valuation is roughly equal in value to all of the cash and assets taken from gangland criminals since the Cab’s inception in 1996.
Reacting yesterday to the sentence imposed on Dunlop, anti-corruption organisation Transparency International called on the Government to tackle systemic corruption rather than satisfy itself with prosecuting an individual.
Its chief executive, John Devitt, called for the prosecution of all alleged bribe takers where there was sufficient evidence to bring a case.
He also pointed to the need for whistleblower protection and a register of lobbyists to “shine more light” on the role of money on government policy making.
He said corruption was believed to have badly damaged the country’s reputation overseas.
Ireland’s score on the worldwide Corruption Perceptions Index had worsened dramatically in the wake of revelations of corruption at the planning tribunal.
Dublin Lord Mayor and European election candidate Eibhlín Byrne said Dunlop should have been made do community service rather than being jailed.
“He has been found guilty of a serious offence, but by putting him behind bars he will cost the tax payer thousands of euro. He is not what we call ‘a threat to society’ and therefore we should make him pay for his crime by working within the community.”
The Green Party welcomed the 18-month sentence imposed on Dunlop as “fully justified”. “This must not represent the end of this process.
Others who contributed to this situation similarly have to account for their role in planning corruption,” said Senator Deirdre de Burca, who is also a European election candidate.
“I hope that this will be the first of a series of imprisonments for the widespread corruption that poisoned the Irish political system in the 1980s and 1990s.”
Des Peelo, financial adviser to former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, told Newstalk FM the sentence was “actually quite lenient”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 25 May 2009
Gormley ready to slap €150 fines on noisy party hosts
NOISY party-throwers will be hit with on-the-spot fines of €150 when new laws clamping down on noise pollution are enacted later this year.
The Green Party unveiled details of the nuisance noise bill yesterday, which will also give gardai and local authorities the power to switch off alarms when they sound incessantly.
Environment Minister John Gormley said the Government had found a way around the constitutional legal issues of gardai going into a house to shut off an alarm -- that avoided entering the premises.
"The alarms are usually located on the outside, so they can go into the property, as such, and then turn off the alarm from the outside," Mr Gormley said.
"That's the easiest way to do it. Otherwise you are into very serious constitutional difficulties."
The bill, which has been spearheaded by Dun Laoghaire TD Ciaran Cuffe, will also penalise businesses that breach decibel limits with €1,000 fines.
"This law will improve people's quality of life," Mr Cuffe said. "It will finally give local authorities the power to deal with nuisance noise quickly and effectively.
"Under the current system council officials are not able to take action immediately to stop sources of noise pollution. They can go through the courts, but this takes weeks," he added.
A survey published by Dublin City Council in 2007 found that half a million people living in the capital were subjected to excessive noise levels above World Health Organisation guidelines. The noisiest parts were Dublin 1, 2 and 8, with traffic the main cause.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The Green Party unveiled details of the nuisance noise bill yesterday, which will also give gardai and local authorities the power to switch off alarms when they sound incessantly.
Environment Minister John Gormley said the Government had found a way around the constitutional legal issues of gardai going into a house to shut off an alarm -- that avoided entering the premises.
"The alarms are usually located on the outside, so they can go into the property, as such, and then turn off the alarm from the outside," Mr Gormley said.
"That's the easiest way to do it. Otherwise you are into very serious constitutional difficulties."
The bill, which has been spearheaded by Dun Laoghaire TD Ciaran Cuffe, will also penalise businesses that breach decibel limits with €1,000 fines.
"This law will improve people's quality of life," Mr Cuffe said. "It will finally give local authorities the power to deal with nuisance noise quickly and effectively.
"Under the current system council officials are not able to take action immediately to stop sources of noise pollution. They can go through the courts, but this takes weeks," he added.
A survey published by Dublin City Council in 2007 found that half a million people living in the capital were subjected to excessive noise levels above World Health Organisation guidelines. The noisiest parts were Dublin 1, 2 and 8, with traffic the main cause.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
New motorway section for Co Cork
A new stretch of motorway linking Fermoy and Mitchelstown in Co Cork has opened this afternoon.
The motorway which cost €174 million involved construction of 16 km of dual carriageway, with three grade separated junctions, three riverbridges and seven road bridges.
Construction on the road, which runs between Carrigane north of Mitchelstown and Moorepark north of Fermoy, began in December 2007.
The road, which is funded under the National Development Plan 2007 – 2013, is opening nine months ahead of schedule.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey officially opened the road to traffic at a ceremony today. He said the completion of the project represented the achievement of a number of important targets.
"This road has opened nine months ahead of target, it provides improved access to the region, improved road safety and it is a further significant step towards the development of the entirety of the Cork-Dublin motorway identified in the NDP 2007-2013 and Transport 21," he said.
"The benefits of this scheme to the whole region will be very significant. Expected travel times for motorists will be reduced by up to 10 minutes saving time and hassle. The improved accessibility of the region will stimulate further development and economic activity and it will also improve access to recreational and cultural facilities."
It is expected that 16,000 vehicles will use the road every day and that it will cut at least 10 minutes off average journey times from Cork to Dublin.
Just 14km of the M8 remains unopened to traffic and the final link is on schedule for completion next year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The motorway which cost €174 million involved construction of 16 km of dual carriageway, with three grade separated junctions, three riverbridges and seven road bridges.
Construction on the road, which runs between Carrigane north of Mitchelstown and Moorepark north of Fermoy, began in December 2007.
The road, which is funded under the National Development Plan 2007 – 2013, is opening nine months ahead of schedule.
Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey officially opened the road to traffic at a ceremony today. He said the completion of the project represented the achievement of a number of important targets.
"This road has opened nine months ahead of target, it provides improved access to the region, improved road safety and it is a further significant step towards the development of the entirety of the Cork-Dublin motorway identified in the NDP 2007-2013 and Transport 21," he said.
"The benefits of this scheme to the whole region will be very significant. Expected travel times for motorists will be reduced by up to 10 minutes saving time and hassle. The improved accessibility of the region will stimulate further development and economic activity and it will also improve access to recreational and cultural facilities."
It is expected that 16,000 vehicles will use the road every day and that it will cut at least 10 minutes off average journey times from Cork to Dublin.
Just 14km of the M8 remains unopened to traffic and the final link is on schedule for completion next year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 24 May 2009
Metro West and Luas extension plan 'delayed indefinitely'
PLANS to build Dublin's proposed Metro West line and the Luas line from Lucan to the city centre have been delayed indefinitely due to budgetary difficulties.
The government has removed the construction and opening target dates for both projects from its latest progress report for potential developers, stating that these were now "under review".
The report also said the construction start and completion dates for both projects were now subject to the "public consultation, statutory planning process, PPP procurement process and funding availability".
Previous updates had indicated that Metro West would be completed by 2014 while the Lucan Luas line was due to have been finished by 2015.
The revelation comes just weeks after transport minister Noel Dempsey reaffirmed his commitment to building the next two phases of the Western Rail Corridor in advance of next month's local elections.
These phases, which run between Athenry and Claremorris, still have firm target dates, even though many commentators believe they are unlikely to attract significant numbers of passengers; a similar stretch of line between Waterford and Limerick Junction is dubbed the "ghost train" in railway circles.
Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland said the two phases were "a political potato" and that the apparent granting of priority to them over Metro West in particular raised issues about the government's decision-making.
Gleeson said Metro West was an important project for Dublin because it was an orbital route which would connect Metro North, the capital's railway lines and the proposed Luas lines without forcing passengers into the city centre to change services.
"It's worry that people are not taking a clinical view of projects in light of the budgetary issues involved. This decision raises serious questions about whether projects are being prioritised in a fair and transparent manner," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport admitted that the target dates for Metro West and the Lucan Luas had been dropped. She claimed, however, that the projects hadn't been delayed and said the Railway Procurement Agency had been told to seek planning permission.
"Once these projects have the necessary planning permission, progress can be made on their delivery as economic circumstances allow," she said. "This will be decided on a case-by-case basis as projects become 'shovel ready'."
She added Metro North was a priority for the minister.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The government has removed the construction and opening target dates for both projects from its latest progress report for potential developers, stating that these were now "under review".
The report also said the construction start and completion dates for both projects were now subject to the "public consultation, statutory planning process, PPP procurement process and funding availability".
Previous updates had indicated that Metro West would be completed by 2014 while the Lucan Luas line was due to have been finished by 2015.
The revelation comes just weeks after transport minister Noel Dempsey reaffirmed his commitment to building the next two phases of the Western Rail Corridor in advance of next month's local elections.
These phases, which run between Athenry and Claremorris, still have firm target dates, even though many commentators believe they are unlikely to attract significant numbers of passengers; a similar stretch of line between Waterford and Limerick Junction is dubbed the "ghost train" in railway circles.
Mark Gleeson of Rail Users Ireland said the two phases were "a political potato" and that the apparent granting of priority to them over Metro West in particular raised issues about the government's decision-making.
Gleeson said Metro West was an important project for Dublin because it was an orbital route which would connect Metro North, the capital's railway lines and the proposed Luas lines without forcing passengers into the city centre to change services.
"It's worry that people are not taking a clinical view of projects in light of the budgetary issues involved. This decision raises serious questions about whether projects are being prioritised in a fair and transparent manner," he said.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Transport admitted that the target dates for Metro West and the Lucan Luas had been dropped. She claimed, however, that the projects hadn't been delayed and said the Railway Procurement Agency had been told to seek planning permission.
"Once these projects have the necessary planning permission, progress can be made on their delivery as economic circumstances allow," she said. "This will be decided on a case-by-case basis as projects become 'shovel ready'."
She added Metro North was a priority for the minister.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
D4 incinerator construction 'to begin shortly'
CONSTRUCTION works on a controversial Dublin incinerator are to begin within weeks in a move that opponents claim will prove "fatal" to the political life of environment minister and local TD John Gormley.
Despite recent reports that banking finance was not available, Covanta, the US company behind the project, insists funding is in place and construction will proceed.
A reliable source also told the Sunday Tribune that, barring any unexpected delays, construction work is due to begin in a matter of weeks. A contractor is also understood to be in place.
"We are in the final stages of pre-construction activity. The financing to construct the facility is available and we expect to commence construction shortly," Scott Whitney, president of Covanta Europe, said in a statement issued to the Sunday Tribune.
Nobody connected to the project would be drawn on the exact schedule for development.
Local protestors claim that not only will it be "fatal" to the political life of environment minister John Gormley, but that it could lead to substantial local protests.
Damien Cassidy, chairman of the Ringsend Irishtown & Sandymount Environmental Group (RISEG), said that while he would not like to see a repeat of the Shell to Sea protests, it could not be ruled out.
While stressing his belief that the environment minister was personally against the incinerator, Cassidy added that the situation would have a catastrophic effect on his next election bid. "I am satisfied that Minister Gormley is personally not in favour of the incinerator and he never was," he said. "It will be fatal for their candidate Claire Wheeler [in the local elections].
"[Gormley] wouldn't get a seat [in the next general election]. People will not stand for this."
Wheeler defended her party's stance on the issue saying it had "consistently opposed incineration. Covanta has been saying the start of construction was imminent for some time now," she said.
"Considering that Minister Gormley is introducing new incineration levies, and has changed government policy to further reduce waste volumes using Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT), it is clear that this project will not be financially viable, and will collapse."
A spokesman for the minister declined to comment on whether the matter could threaten his seat but said that he had a track record on incineration that was second to none. "He has done more than anybody... to move this country away from incineration," he said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Despite recent reports that banking finance was not available, Covanta, the US company behind the project, insists funding is in place and construction will proceed.
A reliable source also told the Sunday Tribune that, barring any unexpected delays, construction work is due to begin in a matter of weeks. A contractor is also understood to be in place.
"We are in the final stages of pre-construction activity. The financing to construct the facility is available and we expect to commence construction shortly," Scott Whitney, president of Covanta Europe, said in a statement issued to the Sunday Tribune.
Nobody connected to the project would be drawn on the exact schedule for development.
Local protestors claim that not only will it be "fatal" to the political life of environment minister John Gormley, but that it could lead to substantial local protests.
Damien Cassidy, chairman of the Ringsend Irishtown & Sandymount Environmental Group (RISEG), said that while he would not like to see a repeat of the Shell to Sea protests, it could not be ruled out.
While stressing his belief that the environment minister was personally against the incinerator, Cassidy added that the situation would have a catastrophic effect on his next election bid. "I am satisfied that Minister Gormley is personally not in favour of the incinerator and he never was," he said. "It will be fatal for their candidate Claire Wheeler [in the local elections].
"[Gormley] wouldn't get a seat [in the next general election]. People will not stand for this."
Wheeler defended her party's stance on the issue saying it had "consistently opposed incineration. Covanta has been saying the start of construction was imminent for some time now," she said.
"Considering that Minister Gormley is introducing new incineration levies, and has changed government policy to further reduce waste volumes using Mechanical and Biological Treatment (MBT), it is clear that this project will not be financially viable, and will collapse."
A spokesman for the minister declined to comment on whether the matter could threaten his seat but said that he had a track record on incineration that was second to none. "He has done more than anybody... to move this country away from incineration," he said.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Greens demand climate change law in new coalition deal
The Green Party is to demand the introduction of climate change legislation as its price for continuing in government with Fianna Fáil.
Green ministers will propose the plan for the legislation at talks on a new programme for government in the aftermath of the June 5 local and European elections.
A climate change bill would make government commitments to reduce carbon emissions and other measures to combat global warming legally binding. A similar law has been introduced in Britain.
Commitments in the existing programme for government to reduce carbon emissions are likely to be met, but mainly because of the economic contraction - particularly in the construction industry - rather than because of reduction measures.
The Greens want to enshrine further reductions in law before the economy recovers and the emissions begin to climb again.
The Greens’ calls for a renegotiation of the programme for government are thought to be more than just an effort by the party to distance itself from an unpopular Fianna Fáil for the duration of the election campaign.
According to senior party sources, the smaller coalition party believes that Fianna Fáil’s weakness - and desperation to avoid a general election - places the Green Party in a stronger position to secure its own policy priorities.
In effect, the Greens intend to raise the price for their continued participation in government, securing guarantees on key issues such as reducing carbon emissions. The greatest sources of carbon emissions in Ireland are the transport and agricultural sectors - or ‘‘cars and cows’’, as policy makers have dubbed them.
The government has already committed to a 20 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by the year 2020.
If the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December is successful, that could increase further. A climate change bill would set down steps which industries would have to take, in order to reduce emissions in line with this target.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Green ministers will propose the plan for the legislation at talks on a new programme for government in the aftermath of the June 5 local and European elections.
A climate change bill would make government commitments to reduce carbon emissions and other measures to combat global warming legally binding. A similar law has been introduced in Britain.
Commitments in the existing programme for government to reduce carbon emissions are likely to be met, but mainly because of the economic contraction - particularly in the construction industry - rather than because of reduction measures.
The Greens want to enshrine further reductions in law before the economy recovers and the emissions begin to climb again.
The Greens’ calls for a renegotiation of the programme for government are thought to be more than just an effort by the party to distance itself from an unpopular Fianna Fáil for the duration of the election campaign.
According to senior party sources, the smaller coalition party believes that Fianna Fáil’s weakness - and desperation to avoid a general election - places the Green Party in a stronger position to secure its own policy priorities.
In effect, the Greens intend to raise the price for their continued participation in government, securing guarantees on key issues such as reducing carbon emissions. The greatest sources of carbon emissions in Ireland are the transport and agricultural sectors - or ‘‘cars and cows’’, as policy makers have dubbed them.
The government has already committed to a 20 per cent reduction in carbon emissions from 2005 levels by the year 2020.
If the climate change summit in Copenhagen this December is successful, that could increase further. A climate change bill would set down steps which industries would have to take, in order to reduce emissions in line with this target.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley criticises zoning 'frenzy'
Those voting in the forthcoming elections needed to be aware of the role of councillors from the main political parties in “excessive rezonings”, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said today.
The Green Party leader said he would publish a new Planning Bill very shortly and that he had been supported by Fianna Fáil in his efforts to improve local government, and that the party had not attempted to prevent his intervention in rezoning cases.
He called for a full debate on the role that local councillors have played in creating the so-called ‘property bubble’.
Mr Gormley said “serious, excessive and inappropriate re-zonings” over the last decade had been “a big factor in inflating development land prices around the country”.
“Fine Gael and Labour have been very quick to point fingers of blame about the property boom. Yet with 44 per cent of all council seats, they bear a responsibility they have yet to acknowledge,” Mr Gormley said.
He said the lands involved were sold on “for massive sums on the strength of these questionable re-zonings”.
“The single most important powers councillors have are the drawing up of development plans and the zoning of land.”
He said there was “no attempt to prevent his intervention in council zoning cases in Mayo, Monaghan and Dungarvan”.
“People in the forthcoming elections need to be aware that many of the councillors from the main political parties were behind these excessive re-zonings - taken against the advice of planners – and benefited small groups of landowners and speculators in their local areas.”
Mr Gormley said Fine Gael councillors in particular had been “embroiled in rezoning controversies across the country, and have embarked on nothing short of a rezoning frenzy in some cases”.
“Yet the party leadership has been utterly silent on this behaviour with one case in Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny’s home base of Mayo.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Green Party leader said he would publish a new Planning Bill very shortly and that he had been supported by Fianna Fáil in his efforts to improve local government, and that the party had not attempted to prevent his intervention in rezoning cases.
He called for a full debate on the role that local councillors have played in creating the so-called ‘property bubble’.
Mr Gormley said “serious, excessive and inappropriate re-zonings” over the last decade had been “a big factor in inflating development land prices around the country”.
“Fine Gael and Labour have been very quick to point fingers of blame about the property boom. Yet with 44 per cent of all council seats, they bear a responsibility they have yet to acknowledge,” Mr Gormley said.
He said the lands involved were sold on “for massive sums on the strength of these questionable re-zonings”.
“The single most important powers councillors have are the drawing up of development plans and the zoning of land.”
He said there was “no attempt to prevent his intervention in council zoning cases in Mayo, Monaghan and Dungarvan”.
“People in the forthcoming elections need to be aware that many of the councillors from the main political parties were behind these excessive re-zonings - taken against the advice of planners – and benefited small groups of landowners and speculators in their local areas.”
Mr Gormley said Fine Gael councillors in particular had been “embroiled in rezoning controversies across the country, and have embarked on nothing short of a rezoning frenzy in some cases”.
“Yet the party leadership has been utterly silent on this behaviour with one case in Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny’s home base of Mayo.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley criticises FG over 'rezoning frenzy'
THE GREEN Party yesterday accused the two main Opposition parties of being responsible for some of the worst rezoning excesses in Ireland in recent times.
Party leader John Gormley said yesterday that Fine Gael and Labour, with 44 per cent of all council seats, must share their burden of blame for creating the conditions that led to a property bubble.
When asked about the role of his party’s Coalition partner, Fianna Fáil, Mr Gormley accepted that it too had played a major part in rezonings that had been taken against advice.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin organised as part of the Greens’ local election campaign, Mr Gormley said a debate was needed on the role councillors had played in the “property bubble we are now trying to clean up”.
He said that inappropriate rezonings had been a significant contributory factor in inflating development land prices around the country.
In a specific reference to the Opposition parties, he said: “Fine Gael and Labour have been very quick to point fingers of blame on the property boom, yet with 44 per cent of all council seats their elected members, they bear a responsibility they have yet to acknowledge.
“In particular Fine Gael councillors have been embroiled in rezoning controversies across the country, and have embarked on nothing short of a rezoning frenzy in some cases. Yet the party leadership has been utterly silent on this behaviour.”
Mr Gormley said he had been forced to intervene when local authorities had drawn up development plans that ran contrary to good planning.
He instanced what he said were excesses in Monaghan, Dungarvan and Co Mayo.
“In [Fine Gael leader] Enda Kenny’s home town of Castlebar, Fine Gael councillors were attempting to rezone enough land to triple the population within five years.
“I had no choice but to intervene in this case. It is a town of 10,000 people, and is expected to grow by another 3,000 over the next five years. Yet Mayo councillors sought to rezone enough land for a further 25,000 people,” he said.
However, Mr Kenny rejected the claim saying the Greens did not understand the true level of anger at the Government’s performance. “I think he [Mr Gormley] should concentrate on holding on to his own seat. Fine Gael have published a very detailed document on what we will do when we have the authority of the people to run local authority effectively for the next five years.”
He said it was no coincidence that poorly planned commuter towns that were subjected to “a rezoning gold rush” were now suffering from some of the highest jumps in unemployment.
Mr Gormley yesterday also unveiled eight candidates from immigrant backgrounds who are running for the Green Party in local elections, saying better representation was the key to progressing immigrant issues.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Party leader John Gormley said yesterday that Fine Gael and Labour, with 44 per cent of all council seats, must share their burden of blame for creating the conditions that led to a property bubble.
When asked about the role of his party’s Coalition partner, Fianna Fáil, Mr Gormley accepted that it too had played a major part in rezonings that had been taken against advice.
Speaking at a press conference in Dublin organised as part of the Greens’ local election campaign, Mr Gormley said a debate was needed on the role councillors had played in the “property bubble we are now trying to clean up”.
He said that inappropriate rezonings had been a significant contributory factor in inflating development land prices around the country.
In a specific reference to the Opposition parties, he said: “Fine Gael and Labour have been very quick to point fingers of blame on the property boom, yet with 44 per cent of all council seats their elected members, they bear a responsibility they have yet to acknowledge.
“In particular Fine Gael councillors have been embroiled in rezoning controversies across the country, and have embarked on nothing short of a rezoning frenzy in some cases. Yet the party leadership has been utterly silent on this behaviour.”
Mr Gormley said he had been forced to intervene when local authorities had drawn up development plans that ran contrary to good planning.
He instanced what he said were excesses in Monaghan, Dungarvan and Co Mayo.
“In [Fine Gael leader] Enda Kenny’s home town of Castlebar, Fine Gael councillors were attempting to rezone enough land to triple the population within five years.
“I had no choice but to intervene in this case. It is a town of 10,000 people, and is expected to grow by another 3,000 over the next five years. Yet Mayo councillors sought to rezone enough land for a further 25,000 people,” he said.
However, Mr Kenny rejected the claim saying the Greens did not understand the true level of anger at the Government’s performance. “I think he [Mr Gormley] should concentrate on holding on to his own seat. Fine Gael have published a very detailed document on what we will do when we have the authority of the people to run local authority effectively for the next five years.”
He said it was no coincidence that poorly planned commuter towns that were subjected to “a rezoning gold rush” were now suffering from some of the highest jumps in unemployment.
Mr Gormley yesterday also unveiled eight candidates from immigrant backgrounds who are running for the Green Party in local elections, saying better representation was the key to progressing immigrant issues.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 22 May 2009
O’Callaghan looks to build €80m Cork hospital
A NEW €80 million private hospital is being proposed for Cork city centre.
Developers O’Callaghan Properties (OCP) this week are to go for planning permission for a new 100-bed, 140,000sq ft private facility alongside their Lancaster Gate apartment development and the new Jurys Hotel, on the Western Road.
The hospital will be just half a mile from the Bon Secours where planning was granted last month by An Bord Pleanála for a €100 million expansion.
The proposed hospital, to be run by an international health group, would be built on a two-acre portion of a site on part of the old Jurys Hotel. More than 100 apartments have recently been built here, with underground parking and a leisure centre. Developers OCP are now seeking an alternative use for the balance of their costly city site, by the River Lee’s southern channel and near UCC.
The hospital building’s outline and height would be in line with a permission already granted for further apartments on the site, noted a company spokesperson.
If permission is secured, building would start right away, and the hospital could be completed by autumn 2010. The proposal is for a 100-bed hospital with six operating theatres and 20 consulting suites. It would create 350 construction jobs and 300 within the finished hospital.
The plan has the support of several national and international healthcare operators, including the Health Partnership, who were involved in developing Dublin’s Beacon Hospital and Waterford’s Whitfield Clinic, and are developing the Wyndale Clinic in Letterkenny and the Wellwood Clinic in Tullamore.
A number of private healthcare locations are mooted for Cork city, including a co-located hospital at CUH, while the Sheehan Medical Group are understood to have shifted their focus from the western suburbs to a building at City Gate, Mahon.
Architects for the OCP proposed hospital site are Henry J Lyons and Partners, with support from an international healthcare operator, backed by a European private equity fund, added the company spokesperson.
According to Owen O’Callaghan, "the Western Road site is the premium location for a private hospital in Cork city. It is close to a number of existing hospitals and clinics, is near University College Cork, has ample onsite parking already developed, is on a public transport route, is adjacent to two hotels and is now backed by experienced specialist health care operators."
The 343-bed Bon Secours hospital on Cork’s College Road was recently given the green light for an extension to include a multi-storey car park and a new five-storey wing with 80 private rooms. The Bons says a detailed design and tendering process will take place over the next three or four months, ahead of a two-year build period.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Developers O’Callaghan Properties (OCP) this week are to go for planning permission for a new 100-bed, 140,000sq ft private facility alongside their Lancaster Gate apartment development and the new Jurys Hotel, on the Western Road.
The hospital will be just half a mile from the Bon Secours where planning was granted last month by An Bord Pleanála for a €100 million expansion.
The proposed hospital, to be run by an international health group, would be built on a two-acre portion of a site on part of the old Jurys Hotel. More than 100 apartments have recently been built here, with underground parking and a leisure centre. Developers OCP are now seeking an alternative use for the balance of their costly city site, by the River Lee’s southern channel and near UCC.
The hospital building’s outline and height would be in line with a permission already granted for further apartments on the site, noted a company spokesperson.
If permission is secured, building would start right away, and the hospital could be completed by autumn 2010. The proposal is for a 100-bed hospital with six operating theatres and 20 consulting suites. It would create 350 construction jobs and 300 within the finished hospital.
The plan has the support of several national and international healthcare operators, including the Health Partnership, who were involved in developing Dublin’s Beacon Hospital and Waterford’s Whitfield Clinic, and are developing the Wyndale Clinic in Letterkenny and the Wellwood Clinic in Tullamore.
A number of private healthcare locations are mooted for Cork city, including a co-located hospital at CUH, while the Sheehan Medical Group are understood to have shifted their focus from the western suburbs to a building at City Gate, Mahon.
Architects for the OCP proposed hospital site are Henry J Lyons and Partners, with support from an international healthcare operator, backed by a European private equity fund, added the company spokesperson.
According to Owen O’Callaghan, "the Western Road site is the premium location for a private hospital in Cork city. It is close to a number of existing hospitals and clinics, is near University College Cork, has ample onsite parking already developed, is on a public transport route, is adjacent to two hotels and is now backed by experienced specialist health care operators."
The 343-bed Bon Secours hospital on Cork’s College Road was recently given the green light for an extension to include a multi-storey car park and a new five-storey wing with 80 private rooms. The Bons says a detailed design and tendering process will take place over the next three or four months, ahead of a two-year build period.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Ballsbridge house wins RIBA award
A house in Dublin 4 by Niall McLaughlin Architects has won one of Europe’s prestigious architectural awards, writes EMMA CULLINAN .
A HOUSE WITH a granite base and glass upper floor by Niall McLaughlin Architects is based on the work of Californian architect Craig Ellwood and Mies van der Rohe but is very much of its place – Dublin 4.
The 490sq m (5,274sq ft) house, which won an RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) award last night, sits in a garden behind a Victorian house on Ailesbury Road. The owners bought the site with planning permission for a traditional-style house. But they had different ideas: “They were keen to have a modern building,” says McLaughlin, who designed a much-featured house in Cork and is working on two more houses there.
The design of the Dublin house takes from local materials and combines it with two extremes of Mies’ work: his inward-looking courtyard houses and the outward looking, glassy Farnsworth House.
These are reflected in the Dublin house’s glass upper floor and its granite base, incorporating two courtyards.
Yet each material has been used in varying ways to create texture and degrees of privacy and openness. The architect took from the granite garden walls in the area as well as the granite Dublin mountains seen in the distance. “I was keen to use the granite in different ways,” says McLaughlin, in places it has been bonded with resin to achieve very fine joints.
The two-storey house sits on a basement/plinth to lift it from flooding: in here are storage and utility areas, a games room and accommodation for guests (presumably during dry seasons).
Surprisingly the main livingroom is in the stone-enclosed ground floor rather than on the bright upper level, but the clients were sold on being private and secluded, albeit having access to courtyards at each end of the room. Two bedrooms and the kitchen are on this level which borrows natural light from the top floor at various points, including through a baffled opening above the livingroom that throws linear shadows, and above the hallway which, along with the stairs, takes centre space in the plan.
Upstairs, given over to parents living and sleeping quarters, the frameless glazing is in multiple layers (flitting between single and double glazed), some with linen embedded between; all allowing for fuzzy or clear views and even a complete blackout. The house’s materials speak to Dublin: “The green glass and crystalline grey granite walls were imagined under Stratus clouds on days that never quite dry out,” says McLaughlin.
Other RIBA award winners include Wexford Opera House by Keith Williams Architects and OPW; a Coleraine house by McGarry-Moon Architects and a Belfast health centre by Penoyre Prasad with Todd Architects.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A HOUSE WITH a granite base and glass upper floor by Niall McLaughlin Architects is based on the work of Californian architect Craig Ellwood and Mies van der Rohe but is very much of its place – Dublin 4.
The 490sq m (5,274sq ft) house, which won an RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) award last night, sits in a garden behind a Victorian house on Ailesbury Road. The owners bought the site with planning permission for a traditional-style house. But they had different ideas: “They were keen to have a modern building,” says McLaughlin, who designed a much-featured house in Cork and is working on two more houses there.
The design of the Dublin house takes from local materials and combines it with two extremes of Mies’ work: his inward-looking courtyard houses and the outward looking, glassy Farnsworth House.
These are reflected in the Dublin house’s glass upper floor and its granite base, incorporating two courtyards.
Yet each material has been used in varying ways to create texture and degrees of privacy and openness. The architect took from the granite garden walls in the area as well as the granite Dublin mountains seen in the distance. “I was keen to use the granite in different ways,” says McLaughlin, in places it has been bonded with resin to achieve very fine joints.
The two-storey house sits on a basement/plinth to lift it from flooding: in here are storage and utility areas, a games room and accommodation for guests (presumably during dry seasons).
Surprisingly the main livingroom is in the stone-enclosed ground floor rather than on the bright upper level, but the clients were sold on being private and secluded, albeit having access to courtyards at each end of the room. Two bedrooms and the kitchen are on this level which borrows natural light from the top floor at various points, including through a baffled opening above the livingroom that throws linear shadows, and above the hallway which, along with the stairs, takes centre space in the plan.
Upstairs, given over to parents living and sleeping quarters, the frameless glazing is in multiple layers (flitting between single and double glazed), some with linen embedded between; all allowing for fuzzy or clear views and even a complete blackout. The house’s materials speak to Dublin: “The green glass and crystalline grey granite walls were imagined under Stratus clouds on days that never quite dry out,” says McLaughlin.
Other RIBA award winners include Wexford Opera House by Keith Williams Architects and OPW; a Coleraine house by McGarry-Moon Architects and a Belfast health centre by Penoyre Prasad with Todd Architects.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Quarry registration system deficient
LEGISLATION TO control the development of quarries is to be amended following the failure of a registration system which was introduced in 2005.
The obligation to register a quarry with the local authority was aimed at bringing all quarry operations within the planning process and minimising their environmental impact.
Thousands of quarrying operations applied for registration and public notices naming the quarries and inviting submissions and observations were published.
Where a quarry was deemed to be compliant, conditions, including the payment of development contributions, were imposed by the authorities.
But an 18-month investigation by Friends of the Irish Environment revealed a widespread lack of enforcement on quarries which failed to be compliant.
A subsequent complaint about the lack of enforcement by local authorities, to Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, resulted in the Department of the Environment determining that the process was in fact unenforceable, as “the Act did not provide a mechanism for pursuing legal proceedings for non-compliance”. In relation to the test case in Co Cork, the Ombudsman explained she could not make a finding of maladministration against a local authority if they could not take a legal remedy.
A spokesman for Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he was “concerned that there are significant deficiencies in section 261 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 . . . The plan is to address these deficiencies within the proposed Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The obligation to register a quarry with the local authority was aimed at bringing all quarry operations within the planning process and minimising their environmental impact.
Thousands of quarrying operations applied for registration and public notices naming the quarries and inviting submissions and observations were published.
Where a quarry was deemed to be compliant, conditions, including the payment of development contributions, were imposed by the authorities.
But an 18-month investigation by Friends of the Irish Environment revealed a widespread lack of enforcement on quarries which failed to be compliant.
A subsequent complaint about the lack of enforcement by local authorities, to Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, resulted in the Department of the Environment determining that the process was in fact unenforceable, as “the Act did not provide a mechanism for pursuing legal proceedings for non-compliance”. In relation to the test case in Co Cork, the Ombudsman explained she could not make a finding of maladministration against a local authority if they could not take a legal remedy.
A spokesman for Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he was “concerned that there are significant deficiencies in section 261 of the Planning and Development Act 2000 . . . The plan is to address these deficiencies within the proposed Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 21 May 2009
Development plan deadlines
There are a number of critical deadlines approaching for submissions to draft development plans. These include:
1. Fingal County Development Plan – 26th June
2. Bray Town Development Plan – Deadline 3rd July
3. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Development Plan – 3rd July
4. Kildare County Development Plan – 10th July
5. Naas Town Development Plan – 10th July
If you need to make a submission prior to these deadlines, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
1. Fingal County Development Plan – 26th June
2. Bray Town Development Plan – Deadline 3rd July
3. Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown Development Plan – 3rd July
4. Kildare County Development Plan – 10th July
5. Naas Town Development Plan – 10th July
If you need to make a submission prior to these deadlines, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Naas Town Council intends to review the Naas Town Development Plan 2005-2011
Naas Town Council intends to review the Naas Town Development Plan 2005-2011 and prepare a new Naas Town Development Plan for its functional area. To assist this process an “Issues Paper” which identifies the key planning issues that the next Town Development Plan could address, has been prepared. This Issues Paper is available from the Town Council and on their website. A public information workshop has been arranged for the Tuesday 9th June in Áras Chill Dara between the hours of 7.30pm and 9.00pm.
All members of the public and other interested groups are invited to attend.
Observations and submissions regarding the review of the current Naas Town Development Plan and the preparation of a new Naas Town Development Plan are invited from members of the public and other interested parties during the period Friday 15th May and 4.00 pm on Friday, 10th July 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
All members of the public and other interested groups are invited to attend.
Observations and submissions regarding the review of the current Naas Town Development Plan and the preparation of a new Naas Town Development Plan are invited from members of the public and other interested parties during the period Friday 15th May and 4.00 pm on Friday, 10th July 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Kildare County Council intends to review the County Development Plan 2005-2011
Kildare County Council has published their intention to review the County Development Plan 2005-2011 and prepare a new County Development Plan for its function area. In this regard, an ‘Issues Paper’ has been prepared which identified the key planning issues that the next County Development Plan could address. This paper is available from the Councils offices and on their website. A series of public information workshops will be held during the month of June to which members of the public and other interested groups are invited to attend.
Observations and submissions regarding the review of the current County Development Plan and the preparation of a new County Development Plan are now invited from members of the public and other interested parties. The consultation period runs from Friday 15th May to 4.00 pm on Friday, 10th July 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Observations and submissions regarding the review of the current County Development Plan and the preparation of a new County Development Plan are now invited from members of the public and other interested parties. The consultation period runs from Friday 15th May to 4.00 pm on Friday, 10th July 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
South Dublin County Council commences preparation of a new Development Plan for 2010-20
South Dublin County Council commenced preparation of a new Development Plan for the plan period 2010-2016 on 4th November 2008. The first step in the process was a public consultation period which ran until 8th January 2009, following which a Managers Report was prepared and circulated to the Elected Members. The Elected Members of South Dublin County Council then met to consider the report on the pre-draft stage of the Development Plan 2010-1016 on 20th April 2009.
Work will now commence on the drafting of the new Development Plan 2010-2016, and the Council anticipate that the public consultation on the Draft Plan will commence in October 2009. The adoption of the Final Plan will follow in 2010.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Work will now commence on the drafting of the new Development Plan 2010-2016, and the Council anticipate that the public consultation on the Draft Plan will commence in October 2009. The adoption of the Final Plan will follow in 2010.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Fingal County Council has commenced preparation of a new County Development Plan
Fingal County Council commenced preparation of a new Development Plan for the County on 1st May 2009. The first of three key stages has now commenced in which the broad issues affecting the Development Plan will be examined. The Council have prepared a public consultation booklet entitled “Your Fingal – The future in your hands” which is available on the Councils website. The Council will also be hosting number of public meetings to discuss the Development Plan.
Submissions and observations are now invited for this first stage of the Development Plan process between 1st May and 26th June 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Submissions and observations are now invited for this first stage of the Development Plan process between 1st May and 26th June 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council - Draft County Development Plan 2010-2016
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has now published the Draft County Development Plan 2010-2016. The Draft Plan sets out Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council’s policies for the sustainable development of the County to 2016 and beyond and has been formulated following a period of consultation on issues to be included in the Plan. The consultation process included public displays and open days, various meetings with stakeholder groups and service providers and a series of workshops for elected representatives. The Draft Plan is available from the Council and on the DLR website.
Submissions and observations regarding the Draft Plan are now invited from members of the public and other interested parties. The final date for receipt of submissions is Friday 3rd July 2009 at 5pm.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Submissions and observations regarding the Draft Plan are now invited from members of the public and other interested parties. The final date for receipt of submissions is Friday 3rd July 2009 at 5pm.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin City Council intends to review the current Development Plan
Dublin City Council have published their intention to review the current Development Plan and produce a new Development Plan for the plan period 2011-2017. The initial consultation period on the ‘Big Picture’ Issues Paper remains open. A Managers Report will now be prepared and circulated to the Elected Members. This report will include a summary of the issues raised in written submissions and through public consultation.
The Elected Members will consider this report, and may give directions in relation to the preparation of a Proposed Draft Development Plan. The Manager will then prepare a Proposed Draft Development Plan for circulation to the Elected Members. The Elected Members will then consider the Proposed Draft Development Plan 2011 - 2017, which will be put on public display mid-December 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
The Elected Members will consider this report, and may give directions in relation to the preparation of a Proposed Draft Development Plan. The Manager will then prepare a Proposed Draft Development Plan for circulation to the Elected Members. The Elected Members will then consider the Proposed Draft Development Plan 2011 - 2017, which will be put on public display mid-December 2009.
If you require any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Review of the Bray Town Development Plan
Bray Town Council have announced their intention to review the Town Development Plan 2005-2011 and prepare a new Town Development Plan for the period 2011-2017. The Council have prepared an ‘Issues’ document, copies of which are available from Bray Town Council offices and on their website. The Town Council will also arrange a series of public meetings during this consultation period, details of which may be obtained directly from the Council.
Submissions are now invited to the drafting of the new Town Development Plan. The closing date for making written submission with respect to the preparation of the draft Town Development Plan and Environmental Report is the 3rd July 2009.
There will also be further opportunities later in the Development Plan process for members of the public to further express their views and make additional submissions. Bray Town Council envisage that the draft plan will be on public display in March – June 2010.
If you need any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Submissions are now invited to the drafting of the new Town Development Plan. The closing date for making written submission with respect to the preparation of the draft Town Development Plan and Environmental Report is the 3rd July 2009.
There will also be further opportunities later in the Development Plan process for members of the public to further express their views and make additional submissions. Bray Town Council envisage that the draft plan will be on public display in March – June 2010.
If you need any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Review of Wicklow County Council County Development Plan 2004-2010
Wicklow County Council published notice of their intention to review the County Development Plan 2004-2010 and prepare a new County Development Plan for the period 2010-2016 on 29th October 2008. A consultation period was then held in which submissions were invited with regard to the new Development Plan by 23rd December 2008.
Following the end of this consultation period, a Manager’s report was prepared, which is currently available on the Council’s website. The Manager’s Report was issued to the members of Wicklow County Council for their consideration on the 17th February 2009, after which time the members issued direction to the Manager for the preparation of the draft Development Plan by 28th April 2009. Preparation of the draft Development Plan is now underway running for a 12 weeks period from 28th April, following which the Draft Plan will be submitted to members for their consideration on 21st July 2009. An 8-week period will follow when this draft will be considered by the members and the Draft Plan may be adopted or amended by resolution.
Wicklow County Council has stipulated that the draft plan is expected to be made on 15th September, when a notice of preparation of draft will be published in local newspapers. At this time a draft of the plan will be sent to the Minister and any relevant Government bodies for their consideration. The Draft Plan will then be on display for not less than 10 weeks, during which time further written submissions will be invited from members of the public. This consultation period is expected to run from 29th September to 8th December. The County Manager will then prepare a further report on the submissions received, and submit the report to the Council Members for consideration. This report is expected to be issues on 2nd March 2010.
If you need any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Following the end of this consultation period, a Manager’s report was prepared, which is currently available on the Council’s website. The Manager’s Report was issued to the members of Wicklow County Council for their consideration on the 17th February 2009, after which time the members issued direction to the Manager for the preparation of the draft Development Plan by 28th April 2009. Preparation of the draft Development Plan is now underway running for a 12 weeks period from 28th April, following which the Draft Plan will be submitted to members for their consideration on 21st July 2009. An 8-week period will follow when this draft will be considered by the members and the Draft Plan may be adopted or amended by resolution.
Wicklow County Council has stipulated that the draft plan is expected to be made on 15th September, when a notice of preparation of draft will be published in local newspapers. At this time a draft of the plan will be sent to the Minister and any relevant Government bodies for their consideration. The Draft Plan will then be on display for not less than 10 weeks, during which time further written submissions will be invited from members of the public. This consultation period is expected to run from 29th September to 8th December. The County Manager will then prepare a further report on the submissions received, and submit the report to the Council Members for consideration. This report is expected to be issues on 2nd March 2010.
If you need any further details, please contact bps on 0404-66060.
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 20 May 2009
Law to transfer foreshore licensing duty approved
The Government has approved legislation that will transfer responsibility for granting foreshore licences from the Department of Agriculture and Marine to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government (DEHLG).
The transfer, approved by the Cabinet, is seen as giving a significant boost to the wind-power industry.
Many of the massive wind farms in planning are to be located offshore. By assuming responsibility for both planning permission and the foreshore licence, the DEHLG will be in a position to streamline and quicken the Government’s renewable and wind-energy policies.
Since 2007, according to sources, the Government has taken the view that the foreshore licence was a function that was more appropriate to Environment. The integration of the consent process was seen as vital to the development of wind power.
The Government has set out a target of 30 per cent of all energy coming from renewable sources by 2020 - wind power is expected to make up the bulk of that.
The other important aspect of the draft legislation is that powers under the Dumping at Sea Acts are also being transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Marine, with the support of the Minister, Brendan Smith.
However, Environment Minister John Gormley has requested that the dumping-at-sea legislation should be handled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rather than his Department. This has been agreed by Minister Smith.
The Department of Agriculture and Marine will retain all the other marine functions - including harbours, piers and aquaculture.
Some of the functions have already been transferred since 2008, as no legislation was required. These included integrated coastal zone management and quality of shellfish waters. However, the foreshore licence transfer requires the drafting of primary legislation.
The Foreshore Act dates from 1933 and requires that a licence must be obtained from the Minister for Agriculture in advance of any works on foreshore that is owned by the State.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The transfer, approved by the Cabinet, is seen as giving a significant boost to the wind-power industry.
Many of the massive wind farms in planning are to be located offshore. By assuming responsibility for both planning permission and the foreshore licence, the DEHLG will be in a position to streamline and quicken the Government’s renewable and wind-energy policies.
Since 2007, according to sources, the Government has taken the view that the foreshore licence was a function that was more appropriate to Environment. The integration of the consent process was seen as vital to the development of wind power.
The Government has set out a target of 30 per cent of all energy coming from renewable sources by 2020 - wind power is expected to make up the bulk of that.
The other important aspect of the draft legislation is that powers under the Dumping at Sea Acts are also being transferred from the Department of Agriculture and Marine, with the support of the Minister, Brendan Smith.
However, Environment Minister John Gormley has requested that the dumping-at-sea legislation should be handled by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rather than his Department. This has been agreed by Minister Smith.
The Department of Agriculture and Marine will retain all the other marine functions - including harbours, piers and aquaculture.
Some of the functions have already been transferred since 2008, as no legislation was required. These included integrated coastal zone management and quality of shellfish waters. However, the foreshore licence transfer requires the drafting of primary legislation.
The Foreshore Act dates from 1933 and requires that a licence must be obtained from the Minister for Agriculture in advance of any works on foreshore that is owned by the State.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Significant land acquisition for Wicklow Mountains National Park
Mr. John Gormley TD, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, today has announced a significant new land acquisition for Wicklow Mountains National Park.
It brings the total area of Wicklow Mountains National Park to some 20,483 hectares. This purchase substantially expands the size of the Wicklow Mountains National Park on its western boundary, adjacent to the Wicklow gap mountain lands on either side of the Laragh Hollywood Road (R756).
The acquisition consolidates existing public access to the area - which, in the context of the expansion of Dublin, will enable the National Park to remain a most valuable resource on the Capital’s doorstep.
The Minister, who has overseen a period of sustained investment in nature conservation since coming to office, said that the area in question is 2,833 hectares (7,100 acres) and equates to some four times the size of the Phoenix Park in Dublin - making it one of the most important acquisitions by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in recent times.
“This addition to the National Park will serve to support nature conservation in an area which continues to attract huge volumes of visitors. Furthermore, it shows the Government’s commitment to investing in sustainable eco-tourism, which is a vital component in promoting our economic fortunes.”
The area, being part of the Wicklow Mountains area, is very popular with hill walkers, day-trippers and picnic-goers. It includes - or has access to - mountains such as Mullaghcleevaun, Moanbane and Table Mountain. The land is a Special Area of Conservation (protected by EU Habitats Regulations) and is designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by Wicklow County Council. The lands are of a high conservation quality and contain a mixture of Blanket Bog, Wet Heath and Dry Heath habitats. They are also important for many bird species - including Merlin and Red Grouse.
The Minister added - “in these tough economic times, more and more people are turning to inexpensive outdoor recreational activities and this acquisition provides further opportunity for such healthy pursuits. Our national parks are also a great tourist attraction and, in these difficult times, we must all do our bit to encourage that all-important tourist spend.”
Minister Gormley also mentioned the potential of the Red Kite project to attract tourists to the Wicklow area. “It is a well known fact that people will travel from afar to try and catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds. In Scotland, Sea Eagles attract thousands of visitors and have been shown to be worth up to €3 million annually. Eco-tourism is the way forward and all we need do is make these areas exciting and vibrant areas to visit.”
In conclusion, the Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to all those involved in bringing this initiative to a successful conclusion - and, in particular, the vendor - Lord Waterford - for having the vision to give the State first option on the disposal of these important lands.
www.buckplanning.ie
It brings the total area of Wicklow Mountains National Park to some 20,483 hectares. This purchase substantially expands the size of the Wicklow Mountains National Park on its western boundary, adjacent to the Wicklow gap mountain lands on either side of the Laragh Hollywood Road (R756).
The acquisition consolidates existing public access to the area - which, in the context of the expansion of Dublin, will enable the National Park to remain a most valuable resource on the Capital’s doorstep.
The Minister, who has overseen a period of sustained investment in nature conservation since coming to office, said that the area in question is 2,833 hectares (7,100 acres) and equates to some four times the size of the Phoenix Park in Dublin - making it one of the most important acquisitions by the National Parks and Wildlife Service in recent times.
“This addition to the National Park will serve to support nature conservation in an area which continues to attract huge volumes of visitors. Furthermore, it shows the Government’s commitment to investing in sustainable eco-tourism, which is a vital component in promoting our economic fortunes.”
The area, being part of the Wicklow Mountains area, is very popular with hill walkers, day-trippers and picnic-goers. It includes - or has access to - mountains such as Mullaghcleevaun, Moanbane and Table Mountain. The land is a Special Area of Conservation (protected by EU Habitats Regulations) and is designated as an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty by Wicklow County Council. The lands are of a high conservation quality and contain a mixture of Blanket Bog, Wet Heath and Dry Heath habitats. They are also important for many bird species - including Merlin and Red Grouse.
The Minister added - “in these tough economic times, more and more people are turning to inexpensive outdoor recreational activities and this acquisition provides further opportunity for such healthy pursuits. Our national parks are also a great tourist attraction and, in these difficult times, we must all do our bit to encourage that all-important tourist spend.”
Minister Gormley also mentioned the potential of the Red Kite project to attract tourists to the Wicklow area. “It is a well known fact that people will travel from afar to try and catch a glimpse of these magnificent birds. In Scotland, Sea Eagles attract thousands of visitors and have been shown to be worth up to €3 million annually. Eco-tourism is the way forward and all we need do is make these areas exciting and vibrant areas to visit.”
In conclusion, the Minister expressed his thanks and appreciation to all those involved in bringing this initiative to a successful conclusion - and, in particular, the vendor - Lord Waterford - for having the vision to give the State first option on the disposal of these important lands.
www.buckplanning.ie
Controversial €1.2bn development gets go-ahead
A MASSIVE €1.2bn development opposed by a Labour Party TD was given the go-ahead last night -- and the developer behind the plan is confident it will be built, despite the collapse in the property market, writes Fiach Kelly.
The redevelopment of the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock in Dublin was thrown into doubt after two objections were lodged to An Bord Pleanala, one of which came from Tommy Broughan, Labour's transport spokesperson.
However, a 16-storey tower at the centre of the 30-hectare scheme has been omitted from the permitted plan, with a stipulation that permission for a revised "landmark" be lodged within two years.
Brian O'Farrell, who bought the site from a Treasury Holdings subsidiary, says that an eight-storey tower will be included.
The scheme, one of the biggest to come before planning authorities for years, had been the subject of an oral hearing, but Mr O'Farrell, of N1 Property Developments, is hopeful that work will begin within 12 months.
The plan includes 1,340 apartments, libraries, medical centres and huge retail outlets, and Mr O'Farrell is confident it can still be a success despite the severe economic slowdown.
He says that the development will be built in phases over a five-year period.
Mr Broughan said last night that "it was very important to have an independent planning report" on the development.
"Dublin City Council is involved with the housing through a public private partnership so the council was basically a partner in the development, and residents wanted an independent planning process," he said.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The redevelopment of the Northside Shopping Centre in Coolock in Dublin was thrown into doubt after two objections were lodged to An Bord Pleanala, one of which came from Tommy Broughan, Labour's transport spokesperson.
However, a 16-storey tower at the centre of the 30-hectare scheme has been omitted from the permitted plan, with a stipulation that permission for a revised "landmark" be lodged within two years.
Brian O'Farrell, who bought the site from a Treasury Holdings subsidiary, says that an eight-storey tower will be included.
The scheme, one of the biggest to come before planning authorities for years, had been the subject of an oral hearing, but Mr O'Farrell, of N1 Property Developments, is hopeful that work will begin within 12 months.
The plan includes 1,340 apartments, libraries, medical centres and huge retail outlets, and Mr O'Farrell is confident it can still be a success despite the severe economic slowdown.
He says that the development will be built in phases over a five-year period.
Mr Broughan said last night that "it was very important to have an independent planning report" on the development.
"Dublin City Council is involved with the housing through a public private partnership so the council was basically a partner in the development, and residents wanted an independent planning process," he said.
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Corrib gas pipeline hearing opens
PLANNING chiefs opened a public hearing into the controversial Corrib gas pipeline route as a prominent protestor was jailed for the second time in less than two months.
Energy giant Shell and local environmentalists disagree on plans to extract massive stores of gas off the Mayo coast.
An Bord Pleanála opened its hearings into a revised onshore pipeline route yesterday amid claims by its designers that it was safer for local residents.
The hearings into the route are expected to last for possibly four weeks. Shell wants to lay 9.2km of onshore pipeline which will help will pump the raw gas ashore.
Shell’s engineers say the new onshore route is twice the distance from houses as the original design – 140 metres as opposed to the original 70. Shell also maintains the pipeline pressure is half what was originally put forth by the energy consortium for the last route.
The original pipeline route was exempt from planning nine years ago.
Shell and objectors drew up a schedule for hearings yesterday. The board’s inspector could complete a report on the hearings up to eight weeks after they are finished. It will then be up to board members to approve or reject Shell’s revised route.
Meanwhile, long-time Corrib protester and retired school principal Maura Harrington has been jailed for a second time in just two months. The 55-year-old has been jailed for 14 days for refusing to pay a €3,000 fine after being charged earlier this year with assaulting a garda.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Energy giant Shell and local environmentalists disagree on plans to extract massive stores of gas off the Mayo coast.
An Bord Pleanála opened its hearings into a revised onshore pipeline route yesterday amid claims by its designers that it was safer for local residents.
The hearings into the route are expected to last for possibly four weeks. Shell wants to lay 9.2km of onshore pipeline which will help will pump the raw gas ashore.
Shell’s engineers say the new onshore route is twice the distance from houses as the original design – 140 metres as opposed to the original 70. Shell also maintains the pipeline pressure is half what was originally put forth by the energy consortium for the last route.
The original pipeline route was exempt from planning nine years ago.
Shell and objectors drew up a schedule for hearings yesterday. The board’s inspector could complete a report on the hearings up to eight weeks after they are finished. It will then be up to board members to approve or reject Shell’s revised route.
Meanwhile, long-time Corrib protester and retired school principal Maura Harrington has been jailed for a second time in just two months. The 55-year-old has been jailed for 14 days for refusing to pay a €3,000 fine after being charged earlier this year with assaulting a garda.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Aerodrome can challenge rejection
WESTON AERODROME has been given High Court permission to challenge An Bord Pleanála’s rejection of its application to turn former farmyard buildings on its lands into light aircraft hangars.
Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe said Weston had established a substantial argument that the board, in refusing the permission, misinterpreted the meaning and effect of a previous permission for construction of buildings on the northeast of the aerodrome.
Weston claims the board misinterpreted the previous permission as having ruled out development involving intensification of use of the aerodrome.
The judge refused leave to Weston to pursue arguments that the refusal of permission was based on a material error or that the board had not complied with its obligations to state the reasons upon which the refusal was based.
He also ruled Weston had advanced no authority to indicate there was a presumption in the Kildare county development plan in favour of extending the aerodrome.
The private licensed aerodrome – between Lucan and Leixlip – got planning permission from Kildare County Council in 2005 for the change of use of farmyard buildings for storage of light aircraft. This was subject to a number of conditions, one of which Weston appealed.
An Bord Pleanála refused the appeal saying the development was unacceptable because it was intensification of the aerodrome in a piecemeal way and the location of the proposed hangars were likely to create a traffic hazard.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe said Weston had established a substantial argument that the board, in refusing the permission, misinterpreted the meaning and effect of a previous permission for construction of buildings on the northeast of the aerodrome.
Weston claims the board misinterpreted the previous permission as having ruled out development involving intensification of use of the aerodrome.
The judge refused leave to Weston to pursue arguments that the refusal of permission was based on a material error or that the board had not complied with its obligations to state the reasons upon which the refusal was based.
He also ruled Weston had advanced no authority to indicate there was a presumption in the Kildare county development plan in favour of extending the aerodrome.
The private licensed aerodrome – between Lucan and Leixlip – got planning permission from Kildare County Council in 2005 for the change of use of farmyard buildings for storage of light aircraft. This was subject to a number of conditions, one of which Weston appealed.
An Bord Pleanála refused the appeal saying the development was unacceptable because it was intensification of the aerodrome in a piecemeal way and the location of the proposed hangars were likely to create a traffic hazard.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Revised Corrib route is 'safe'
Corrib gas consultants have said that a re-routed onshore pipeline is “safe” and meets all “relevant” codes and standards.
RPS Consultants for Shell E&P Ireland have told Bord Pleanála that the proposed new onshore pipeline route achieves “the optimum balance of community, environmental and technical criteria” developed by the consultants.
The consultants are among 17 witnesses for Shell E&P Ireland and partners Statoil and Marathon, listed to speak at an oral hearing which opened today in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
Some 78 submissions are to be heard for and against the application, which has been made under the Strategic
Infrastructure Act. The revised route for the 9.2 km onshore pipeline was selected as a result of a recommendation by Government mediator Peter Cassells in 2006.
Health and safety concerns about the original high pressure onshore pumping gas from the Corrib field off the Mayo coast into a refinery at Bellanaboy route led to the jailing of the five men known as the Rossport five for 94 days in 2005.
Opening the hearing, Mr Nolan expressed condolences to the families of the Belmullet-based Achill garda Terence Dever and Inver resident Stephen Conway, who both lost their lives in a car collision outside Belmullet ten days ago
Mr Nolan also appealed to parties at the hearing to engage in “reasoned point by point arguments” and making “heated contributions” would be less effective.
The hearing is expected to last three to four weeks with target decision take by mid-August.
Retired schoolteacher and Shell to Sea activist Maura Harrington was jailed for 14 days last night for
non-payment of fines related to her imprisonment for 30 days earlier this year. Ms Harrington has made a submission to the oral hearing.
Shell to Sea said it condemned “the continued persecution through political policing of protesters seeking to oppose the giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources through the Corrib Gas Project, and to protect the safety of the local area and its people.”
Erris fishermen who have not secured an agreement with Shell on laying the offshore pipeline in Broadhaven Bay have accused the company of breach of promise. Some of the fishermen staged a protest tie-up at Ballyglass pier this evening.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
RPS Consultants for Shell E&P Ireland have told Bord Pleanála that the proposed new onshore pipeline route achieves “the optimum balance of community, environmental and technical criteria” developed by the consultants.
The consultants are among 17 witnesses for Shell E&P Ireland and partners Statoil and Marathon, listed to speak at an oral hearing which opened today in Belmullet, Co Mayo.
Some 78 submissions are to be heard for and against the application, which has been made under the Strategic
Infrastructure Act. The revised route for the 9.2 km onshore pipeline was selected as a result of a recommendation by Government mediator Peter Cassells in 2006.
Health and safety concerns about the original high pressure onshore pumping gas from the Corrib field off the Mayo coast into a refinery at Bellanaboy route led to the jailing of the five men known as the Rossport five for 94 days in 2005.
Opening the hearing, Mr Nolan expressed condolences to the families of the Belmullet-based Achill garda Terence Dever and Inver resident Stephen Conway, who both lost their lives in a car collision outside Belmullet ten days ago
Mr Nolan also appealed to parties at the hearing to engage in “reasoned point by point arguments” and making “heated contributions” would be less effective.
The hearing is expected to last three to four weeks with target decision take by mid-August.
Retired schoolteacher and Shell to Sea activist Maura Harrington was jailed for 14 days last night for
non-payment of fines related to her imprisonment for 30 days earlier this year. Ms Harrington has made a submission to the oral hearing.
Shell to Sea said it condemned “the continued persecution through political policing of protesters seeking to oppose the giveaway of Ireland’s natural resources through the Corrib Gas Project, and to protect the safety of the local area and its people.”
Erris fishermen who have not secured an agreement with Shell on laying the offshore pipeline in Broadhaven Bay have accused the company of breach of promise. Some of the fishermen staged a protest tie-up at Ballyglass pier this evening.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Oral hearing into new Corrib pipeline route opens today
ONE OF the last pieces in the complex jigsaw of statutory approvals needed for the Corrib gas project is due to be addressed in a Bord Pleanála hearing which opens today in north Mayo.
The oral hearing into a revised onshore pipeline route, linking the landfall at Broadhaven Bay to the Corrib gas refinery at Bellanaboy, is to be heard under the Strategic Infrastructure Act and is expected to last three to four weeks.
However, plans by Shell EP Ireland to resume attempts to lay the offshore pipeline with the ship Solitaire appear to have hit an obstacle, with failure to secure an agreement with Erris fishermen.
The Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says that the company has not lived up to its promise in relation to discharges from an outfall pipe, which could harm sensitive marine areas.
“This is not about compensation or money – there is a principle involved here,” Eddie Diver, a spokesman for the Erris fishermen, told The Irish Times . Fishermen will remain at all times within the law, but will continue to fish in Broadhaven Bay, as is their legal right, he said.
An agreement secured by Shell last year had involved compensation for lost fishing time during pipelaying, but hinged on commitments to deal with the outfall pipe.
An Bord Pleanála inspector Martin Nolan is expected to hear some 78 submissions on a revised onshore pipeline routing, which represents the first ever planning application for any part of the pipeline. A second application by Shell EP Ireland and partners Statoil and Marathon for a compulsory acquisition order for access to private lands will also be handled at the hearing.
The original onshore pipeline route was exempted from planning approval under the Gas Acts. It was sanctioned by former marine minister Frank Fahey before the 2002 general election.
The hearing to open today will hear objections from a number of local residents and groupings. Statutory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency will also be represented.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The oral hearing into a revised onshore pipeline route, linking the landfall at Broadhaven Bay to the Corrib gas refinery at Bellanaboy, is to be heard under the Strategic Infrastructure Act and is expected to last three to four weeks.
However, plans by Shell EP Ireland to resume attempts to lay the offshore pipeline with the ship Solitaire appear to have hit an obstacle, with failure to secure an agreement with Erris fishermen.
The Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says that the company has not lived up to its promise in relation to discharges from an outfall pipe, which could harm sensitive marine areas.
“This is not about compensation or money – there is a principle involved here,” Eddie Diver, a spokesman for the Erris fishermen, told The Irish Times . Fishermen will remain at all times within the law, but will continue to fish in Broadhaven Bay, as is their legal right, he said.
An agreement secured by Shell last year had involved compensation for lost fishing time during pipelaying, but hinged on commitments to deal with the outfall pipe.
An Bord Pleanála inspector Martin Nolan is expected to hear some 78 submissions on a revised onshore pipeline routing, which represents the first ever planning application for any part of the pipeline. A second application by Shell EP Ireland and partners Statoil and Marathon for a compulsory acquisition order for access to private lands will also be handled at the hearing.
The original onshore pipeline route was exempted from planning approval under the Gas Acts. It was sanctioned by former marine minister Frank Fahey before the 2002 general election.
The hearing to open today will hear objections from a number of local residents and groupings. Statutory bodies such as the Environmental Protection Agency will also be represented.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gas pipeline safety defended
CORRIB GAS project consultants have told an oral hearing of An Bord Pleanála that a modified onshore pipeline route is safe, meets all relevant codes and standards, and selection was open and transparent.
RPS Consulting Engineers technical director Ciarán Butler told the first day of the bilingual oral hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo, that the proposed route achieves “the optimum balance of community, environmental and technical criteria” developed by the consultants.
However, the hearing heard confirmation that the Health and Safety Authority has no remit in the pipeline’s safety. The agency informed the appeals board that off-site gas pipelines are not controlled by the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 2006.
Two objectors, landowners Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin of the “Rossport Five” group, also withdrew from the hearing after local residents sought unsuccessfully to clarify the jurisdiction of An Bord Pleanála in relation to the pipeline.
Michéal Ó Seighin, who was one of the men also imprisoned with Mr Philbin in 2005 over opposition to the original pipeline route, said clarification was important.
The appeals board, as an independent body, would be deciding whether people lose their land to the pipeline in a few months’ time, he said. Environmental consultant Peter Sweetman requested that one member of the inspection team from An Bord Pleanála hearing submissions should absent himself due to conflict of interest.
An Bord Pleanála presiding inspector Martin Nolan is hearing Shell EP Ireland’s revised onshore pipeline route application, and a separate application for compulsory acquisition orders to land on the route, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.
His supporting team includes An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Stephen O’Sullivan, pipeline expert Nigel Wright and geotechnical engineering expert Conor O’Donnell. The new route, identified by RPS, acting as consultants for Shell, runs a minimum 140 metres from occupied housing, according to Shell – twice the minimum separation distance of 70 metres from housing in the original pipeline route.
The route runs through special areas of conservation as protected under the EU habitats directive. It arose as a result of a recommendation by Government mediator Peter Cassells in 2006.
Describing the selection procedure for the 9.2km high pressure pipeline route from the landfall at Glengad to the gas refinery at Bellanaboy, RPS engineering expert Ciarán Butler said it included a more complex landfall valve installation at the shoreline at Glengad.
This was because a “fail safe” isolation valve had been designed to comply with the relevant codes and standards, as part of a commitment to reduce pressure in the pipeline to 144 bar.
The hearing is one of the last stages in the series of statutory approvals sought for the project. Shell EP Ireland is currently preparing to proceed with laying the offshore pipeline in advance of onshore approval, but has not secured agreement with fishermen who staged a peaceful protest at Ballyglass pier last night.
Witnesses at the hearing will include a number of Government departments and agencies. Local residents and groupings opposed to the routing include An Taisce, the Rossport Solidarity Camp, and Erris community groups Pobal Chill Chomáin and Pobal Le Chéile.
Pobal Chill Chomáin has successfully sought the intervention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development due to alleged breaches of guidelines. Pro-Gas Mayo, Chambers Ireland, the Irish Offshore Operators’ Association, Goodbody Economic Consultants and the Council for the West have made submissions in favour.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
RPS Consulting Engineers technical director Ciarán Butler told the first day of the bilingual oral hearing in Belmullet, Co Mayo, that the proposed route achieves “the optimum balance of community, environmental and technical criteria” developed by the consultants.
However, the hearing heard confirmation that the Health and Safety Authority has no remit in the pipeline’s safety. The agency informed the appeals board that off-site gas pipelines are not controlled by the Control of Major Accident Hazard Regulations 2006.
Two objectors, landowners Bríd McGarry and Brendan Philbin of the “Rossport Five” group, also withdrew from the hearing after local residents sought unsuccessfully to clarify the jurisdiction of An Bord Pleanála in relation to the pipeline.
Michéal Ó Seighin, who was one of the men also imprisoned with Mr Philbin in 2005 over opposition to the original pipeline route, said clarification was important.
The appeals board, as an independent body, would be deciding whether people lose their land to the pipeline in a few months’ time, he said. Environmental consultant Peter Sweetman requested that one member of the inspection team from An Bord Pleanála hearing submissions should absent himself due to conflict of interest.
An Bord Pleanála presiding inspector Martin Nolan is hearing Shell EP Ireland’s revised onshore pipeline route application, and a separate application for compulsory acquisition orders to land on the route, under the Strategic Infrastructure Act.
His supporting team includes An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Stephen O’Sullivan, pipeline expert Nigel Wright and geotechnical engineering expert Conor O’Donnell. The new route, identified by RPS, acting as consultants for Shell, runs a minimum 140 metres from occupied housing, according to Shell – twice the minimum separation distance of 70 metres from housing in the original pipeline route.
The route runs through special areas of conservation as protected under the EU habitats directive. It arose as a result of a recommendation by Government mediator Peter Cassells in 2006.
Describing the selection procedure for the 9.2km high pressure pipeline route from the landfall at Glengad to the gas refinery at Bellanaboy, RPS engineering expert Ciarán Butler said it included a more complex landfall valve installation at the shoreline at Glengad.
This was because a “fail safe” isolation valve had been designed to comply with the relevant codes and standards, as part of a commitment to reduce pressure in the pipeline to 144 bar.
The hearing is one of the last stages in the series of statutory approvals sought for the project. Shell EP Ireland is currently preparing to proceed with laying the offshore pipeline in advance of onshore approval, but has not secured agreement with fishermen who staged a peaceful protest at Ballyglass pier last night.
Witnesses at the hearing will include a number of Government departments and agencies. Local residents and groupings opposed to the routing include An Taisce, the Rossport Solidarity Camp, and Erris community groups Pobal Chill Chomáin and Pobal Le Chéile.
Pobal Chill Chomáin has successfully sought the intervention of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development due to alleged breaches of guidelines. Pro-Gas Mayo, Chambers Ireland, the Irish Offshore Operators’ Association, Goodbody Economic Consultants and the Council for the West have made submissions in favour.
The hearing continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 18 May 2009
Major security operation planned for Corrib pipe-laying
A SHIP that will lay the underwater pipeline for Shell EP Ireland’s controversial Corrib gas project in Co Mayo is due to recommence work there within a month.
Gardaí are planning a major security operation to ensure the ship’s work is not interrupted by protesters. Security sources have told The Irish Times that while the policing plans are still being formulated, the Garda is expected to seek assistance from the Naval Service in protecting the Solitaire pipe-laying vessel.
The Navy’s ships are expected to patrol Broadhaven Bay, near Belmullet, in an attempt to deter protesters from paddling up the Solitaire and disrupting its work, as they did last year.
The Solitaire was damaged last September as work began laying the pipeline from the Corrib gas fields to the landfall site at Glengad beach near Belmullet. A 100m section of the Solitaire’s pipe-laying apparatus, known as “the stinger”, became detached in high winds and heavy swell.
The work was abandoned for the winter in mid-September but not before protesters in kayaks repeatedly clashed with gardaí patrolling the bay in small vessels. Naval vessels were also drafted in to patrol the area.
Tensions between locals and the Garda and Shell’s private security staff were heightened when one local protester, Maura Harrington, went on hunger strike. The 55-year-old retired school teacher called off her action when the Solitaire was forced to leave Irish waters for repairs.
The 300-metre Solitaire, the largest pipe-laying vessel in the world, is due back in Co Mayo as early as the second week in June. However, that arrival date is provisional because the vessel will only be able to lay the underwater pipeline if weather conditions permit.
The vessel’s arrival is likely to result in further protests in the area. Gardaí believe that, like last year, the ship’s presence will attract protesters from the UK and mainland Europe.
Recent protests at the Glengad landfall site have become increasingly robust. Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy visited Belmullet Garda station last week to address gardaí there. Sources said he told those present that while people opposed to the project had a right to protest, local gardaí had his support and the support of the public in keeping those protests within the law. Mr Murphy was in Mayo to attend the funeral of Garda Terry Devers, who was killed in a road collision while travelling to work in Belmullet last Sunday morning. Local teenager Stephen Conway, who was driving the other vehicle, was also killed.
Three weeks ago trouble flared almost immediately Shell began works at the landfall site in Glengad after the winter break.
Gardaí said on April 22nd about 15 masked men carrying chains and iron bars gained access to the construction site. One of the men started a digger and used it to damage the site’s perimeter fence.
One security worker sustained an arm injury before he and has colleagues fled the site.
A number of hours later protester Willie Corduff was hospitalised after he was removed from the site, where he had climbed under the wheels of a lorry to prevent it from being used.
Mr Corduff said he had been held down and beaten by a group of men after he emerged from under the lorry to stretch his legs.
Last weekend seven protesters were arrested and charged after attempts were made to pull down fencing. Protesters believe the State has negotiated a poor deal that will benefit Shell with little benefit for the public coffers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gardaí are planning a major security operation to ensure the ship’s work is not interrupted by protesters. Security sources have told The Irish Times that while the policing plans are still being formulated, the Garda is expected to seek assistance from the Naval Service in protecting the Solitaire pipe-laying vessel.
The Navy’s ships are expected to patrol Broadhaven Bay, near Belmullet, in an attempt to deter protesters from paddling up the Solitaire and disrupting its work, as they did last year.
The Solitaire was damaged last September as work began laying the pipeline from the Corrib gas fields to the landfall site at Glengad beach near Belmullet. A 100m section of the Solitaire’s pipe-laying apparatus, known as “the stinger”, became detached in high winds and heavy swell.
The work was abandoned for the winter in mid-September but not before protesters in kayaks repeatedly clashed with gardaí patrolling the bay in small vessels. Naval vessels were also drafted in to patrol the area.
Tensions between locals and the Garda and Shell’s private security staff were heightened when one local protester, Maura Harrington, went on hunger strike. The 55-year-old retired school teacher called off her action when the Solitaire was forced to leave Irish waters for repairs.
The 300-metre Solitaire, the largest pipe-laying vessel in the world, is due back in Co Mayo as early as the second week in June. However, that arrival date is provisional because the vessel will only be able to lay the underwater pipeline if weather conditions permit.
The vessel’s arrival is likely to result in further protests in the area. Gardaí believe that, like last year, the ship’s presence will attract protesters from the UK and mainland Europe.
Recent protests at the Glengad landfall site have become increasingly robust. Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy visited Belmullet Garda station last week to address gardaí there. Sources said he told those present that while people opposed to the project had a right to protest, local gardaí had his support and the support of the public in keeping those protests within the law. Mr Murphy was in Mayo to attend the funeral of Garda Terry Devers, who was killed in a road collision while travelling to work in Belmullet last Sunday morning. Local teenager Stephen Conway, who was driving the other vehicle, was also killed.
Three weeks ago trouble flared almost immediately Shell began works at the landfall site in Glengad after the winter break.
Gardaí said on April 22nd about 15 masked men carrying chains and iron bars gained access to the construction site. One of the men started a digger and used it to damage the site’s perimeter fence.
One security worker sustained an arm injury before he and has colleagues fled the site.
A number of hours later protester Willie Corduff was hospitalised after he was removed from the site, where he had climbed under the wheels of a lorry to prevent it from being used.
Mr Corduff said he had been held down and beaten by a group of men after he emerged from under the lorry to stretch his legs.
Last weekend seven protesters were arrested and charged after attempts were made to pull down fencing. Protesters believe the State has negotiated a poor deal that will benefit Shell with little benefit for the public coffers.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sligo's main street may re-open to traffic
SLIGO’S MAIN Street may re-open to traffic almost three years after it was pedestrianised – despite the fact that close to €500,000 has already been spent on the project.
Local city councillors have directed the county manager to re-open O’Connell Street to traffic on the basis that the estimated €4.5 million cost of carrying out the long-awaited enhancement works is unlikely to become available in the current economic climate.
Councillors unanimously backed a Section 140 motion at this week’s meeting of the council directing county manager Hubert Kearns to re-open the street.
But Mr Kearns is now seeking legal advice on the basis that the motion may be in contravention of the local development plan. In a report to councillors, officials said that any decision to open the street to traffic might require legal advice, because pedestrianisation was included in the Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010.
Mr Kearns has pointed out that there was no motion on the agenda to vary the plan. He has also questioned whether funds will be available to reopen the street.
According to officials €453,120 has been spent so far on pedestrianisation, while another €224,404 has been committed in 2009. Elected members were told that it will cost an additional €100,000 to re-open the street to traffic, given the cost of upgrading footpaths, re-surfacing the street and putting in pedestrian crossings.
Elected members argued that it was premature to close the street before funding was in place to provide the necessary street furniture and to enhance the amenities.
Communities living in the riverside communities of Doorly Park and Martin Savage Terrace have welcomed the decision to reopen the street, while others have argued that returning traffic to the city centre would be a backward step. Residents in the east ward have argued that they are cut off from the other side of the city because of the current traffic flow.
It has also been suggested that failure to complete the necessary refurbishment works has meant that many people still keep to the footpaths and do not perceive the street as an amenity for pedestrians.
The street was closed to traffic in August 2006.
Before that, an estimated 600 vehicles per hour at peak times and 7,000 vehicles per day travelled down O’Connell Street.
Officials argued that before O’Connell Street was closed, it was pedestrian unfriendly because narrow footpaths forced pedestrians on to the road surface and hindered mobility for wheelchair and pushchair users.
They also argued that enhancement works can take a long time to complete; pointing out that, for example, the enhancement of Grafton Street in Dublin took eight years.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Local city councillors have directed the county manager to re-open O’Connell Street to traffic on the basis that the estimated €4.5 million cost of carrying out the long-awaited enhancement works is unlikely to become available in the current economic climate.
Councillors unanimously backed a Section 140 motion at this week’s meeting of the council directing county manager Hubert Kearns to re-open the street.
But Mr Kearns is now seeking legal advice on the basis that the motion may be in contravention of the local development plan. In a report to councillors, officials said that any decision to open the street to traffic might require legal advice, because pedestrianisation was included in the Sligo and Environs Development Plan 2004-2010.
Mr Kearns has pointed out that there was no motion on the agenda to vary the plan. He has also questioned whether funds will be available to reopen the street.
According to officials €453,120 has been spent so far on pedestrianisation, while another €224,404 has been committed in 2009. Elected members were told that it will cost an additional €100,000 to re-open the street to traffic, given the cost of upgrading footpaths, re-surfacing the street and putting in pedestrian crossings.
Elected members argued that it was premature to close the street before funding was in place to provide the necessary street furniture and to enhance the amenities.
Communities living in the riverside communities of Doorly Park and Martin Savage Terrace have welcomed the decision to reopen the street, while others have argued that returning traffic to the city centre would be a backward step. Residents in the east ward have argued that they are cut off from the other side of the city because of the current traffic flow.
It has also been suggested that failure to complete the necessary refurbishment works has meant that many people still keep to the footpaths and do not perceive the street as an amenity for pedestrians.
The street was closed to traffic in August 2006.
Before that, an estimated 600 vehicles per hour at peak times and 7,000 vehicles per day travelled down O’Connell Street.
Officials argued that before O’Connell Street was closed, it was pedestrian unfriendly because narrow footpaths forced pedestrians on to the road surface and hindered mobility for wheelchair and pushchair users.
They also argued that enhancement works can take a long time to complete; pointing out that, for example, the enhancement of Grafton Street in Dublin took eight years.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Harney exempted Phoenix Park plan
PLANNING PERMISSION for two 50-bed community nursing units in the Phoenix Park in Dublin was bypassed by ministerial order in 2006.
Minister for Health Mary Harney made three orders in July and August 2006 exempting the development at St Mary’s Hospital, off Acres Road in Phoenix Park, from the need for planning permission. The whole of Phoenix Park is a designated national monument and legislation conserving its landscape, nature and biodiversity dates from 1925.
Ms Harney used a provision in the 2000 Planning and Development Act which effectively exempts a State authority from the need for planning permission by reason of an accident or by reason of an emergency.
The Department of Health said the Minister’s action was based on her department’s “emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time”.
The community nursing units at St Mary’s Hospital are used primarily for care of the elderly, as a step-down facility for acute hospitals. They have been operational since May 2008 and, according to the Health Service Executive, have “added increased long-stay capacity for older persons within north Dublin”.
A new day hospital was also built alongside the new facilities but a spokesman for the Minister said she had not exempted herself under section 181(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in respect of this building.
He said, however, that “she did sign an order in respect of the two new 50-bed community nursing units in July/August 2006 as part of the emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time and in order to fast track these developments”.
Section 181(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act provides: “Where development is proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government . . . by reason of an accident or an emergency . . . the requirements of [planning] regulations shall not apply”. The spokesman said the relevant regulation that would have normally applied was Part 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. “There are no plans at present for any further use of this provision.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Minister for Health Mary Harney made three orders in July and August 2006 exempting the development at St Mary’s Hospital, off Acres Road in Phoenix Park, from the need for planning permission. The whole of Phoenix Park is a designated national monument and legislation conserving its landscape, nature and biodiversity dates from 1925.
Ms Harney used a provision in the 2000 Planning and Development Act which effectively exempts a State authority from the need for planning permission by reason of an accident or by reason of an emergency.
The Department of Health said the Minister’s action was based on her department’s “emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time”.
The community nursing units at St Mary’s Hospital are used primarily for care of the elderly, as a step-down facility for acute hospitals. They have been operational since May 2008 and, according to the Health Service Executive, have “added increased long-stay capacity for older persons within north Dublin”.
A new day hospital was also built alongside the new facilities but a spokesman for the Minister said she had not exempted herself under section 181(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act 2000 in respect of this building.
He said, however, that “she did sign an order in respect of the two new 50-bed community nursing units in July/August 2006 as part of the emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time and in order to fast track these developments”.
Section 181(2)(a) of the Planning and Development Act provides: “Where development is proposed to be carried out by or on behalf of a Minister of the Government . . . by reason of an accident or an emergency . . . the requirements of [planning] regulations shall not apply”. The spokesman said the relevant regulation that would have normally applied was Part 9 of the Planning and Development Regulations 2001. “There are no plans at present for any further use of this provision.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 17 May 2009
Poolbeg consortium can’t get bank finance
The international consortium selected to build and operate the Poolbeg incinerator has been unable to secure bank finance to fund the first phase of the controversial project.
The group, Dublin Waste to Energy Limited, headed by US energy giant Covanta, is considering self-financing phase one of the project. A number of lenders, including Bank of Ireland, have informed the consortium that they may consider part-financing latter aspects of the project.
However, no institution was willing to act as primary banker, due to the lack of liquidity on the international credit markets. The planned Dublin incinerator is a central element of the country’s waste management strategy.
When complete, it is expected to burn 600,000 tonnes of waste annually, creating electricity for some 50,000 homes and hot water for a further 60,000 households. Dublin Waste to Energy concluded an agreement with Dublin City Council two years ago, and construction work is due to begin shortly, Covanta said.
The Poolbeg development, which would be one of Europe’s largest waste incinerators, has been dogged by controversy since Dublin City Council agreed to seek a private sector partner to construct and operate the facility some years ago.
A number of large infrastructure projects have struggled to raise finance as a result of the credit crunch. The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has warned finance minister Brian Lenihan that banks are either unable or unwilling to finance large-scale projects in the current economic climate.
The state agency said that the global financial crisis was hitting funding for PPPs, a finance model by which the state teams up with private businesses to co-fund projects.
A statement issued to The Sunday Business Post on behalf of Covanta Europe president Scott Whitney said the company was ‘‘in the final stages of pre-construction activity, the financing to construct the facility is available and we expect to commence construction when the remaining statutory approvals have been received’’.
Seamus Lyons, Dublin Assistant City Manager, who heads the council’s environmental and engineering department, said that Dublin City Council was ‘‘satisfied that Covanta has finance in place’’.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The group, Dublin Waste to Energy Limited, headed by US energy giant Covanta, is considering self-financing phase one of the project. A number of lenders, including Bank of Ireland, have informed the consortium that they may consider part-financing latter aspects of the project.
However, no institution was willing to act as primary banker, due to the lack of liquidity on the international credit markets. The planned Dublin incinerator is a central element of the country’s waste management strategy.
When complete, it is expected to burn 600,000 tonnes of waste annually, creating electricity for some 50,000 homes and hot water for a further 60,000 households. Dublin Waste to Energy concluded an agreement with Dublin City Council two years ago, and construction work is due to begin shortly, Covanta said.
The Poolbeg development, which would be one of Europe’s largest waste incinerators, has been dogged by controversy since Dublin City Council agreed to seek a private sector partner to construct and operate the facility some years ago.
A number of large infrastructure projects have struggled to raise finance as a result of the credit crunch. The National Development Finance Agency (NDFA) has warned finance minister Brian Lenihan that banks are either unable or unwilling to finance large-scale projects in the current economic climate.
The state agency said that the global financial crisis was hitting funding for PPPs, a finance model by which the state teams up with private businesses to co-fund projects.
A statement issued to The Sunday Business Post on behalf of Covanta Europe president Scott Whitney said the company was ‘‘in the final stages of pre-construction activity, the financing to construct the facility is available and we expect to commence construction when the remaining statutory approvals have been received’’.
Seamus Lyons, Dublin Assistant City Manager, who heads the council’s environmental and engineering department, said that Dublin City Council was ‘‘satisfied that Covanta has finance in place’’.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin Sites at a standstill
Mother Redcap's
The boarded-up building off Thomas Street pegged was to form part of a €2.6bn Covent Garden-style revamp for the Liberties, taking in the DCC-owned Lord Iveagh Market. A Martin Keane-led company formed a joint venture with DCC and an epic round of planning, public consultation and legal process began. Six years on, the development is now on hold as it is "not currently viable", said a DCC source.
The Markets
Closed and disused for over a decade, a €400m redevelopment for the huge former Victorian fish and vegetable markets site between Henry Street and Smithfield is part of DCC's development plan 2005-2011 for a commercial and residential complex reaching up to six storeys. A preferred bidder for phase 1 was selected in 2007 but "no contracts have been signed to date", the DCC said.
New Garda Headquarters, Kevin Street
A planned five-storey plus two-level basement build over a 5,000sq m site beside the existing garda station was to be a new Garda Divisional HQ replacing Harcourt Terrace. The OPW said "in the current economic climate it is doubtful if tenders will be sought in the near future".
Seven Adelaide Road
The fire-damaged Georgian shell at 7 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, is a one-acre registered derelict site which has been for sale for over a year at €1.195m. Owner David Grant of 61 Haddington Road, Dublin 4, was the subject of an RTE Prime Time programme in 2005 and later pleaded guilty in court to allowing dangerous buildings to be used as hostel accommodation and carrying out unauthorised works on the protected buildings on Gardiner Street. He committed to selling Adelaide Road and his Haddington Road home to pay to improve the hostel and rectify the illegal works.
Boland's Mill
The Dublin 4 landmark site is owned by Sean Kelly's Benton Property Holding, which beat Treasury Holdings and Danninger with a €42m winning bid for the site in 2004. Permission is being sought to turn it into Boland's Mill Wharf, a 41,000sq m office and hotel complex.
However "while it's still in the pipeline, it may not proceed in the current climate", a spokeswoman at Benton said. The three massive 1940s silos (one is 21 storeys) and Victorian former storehouse stand between Grand Canal Dock and Barrow Street in what has become a major business district.
Carry on regardless sites...
Vicar Street/Molyneux Yard
Harry Crosbie said last month he'll go ahead with his eight-storey 194-bed 'no star' hotel at the vacant lot behind his Vicar Street music venue on Thomas Street, Dublin 8.
Carlton building
Under hoarding and a vacant cause célèbre for years, the art deco fronted building is part of Chartered Land's Dublin Central development, some of which is still in planning process. Planning approved development has started on the former Royal Dublin Hotel next door, which is part of the same project, and Chartered Lands chief executive Dominic Deeny says the scheme will proceed as planned, with "the next economic upturn" in mind.
The Irish Bottle Factory site, Poolbeg Peninsula, Ringsend
Bought for a price tag of €412m in 2006 by a consortium including the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) and headed by developer Bernard McNamara, the 24-acre site will be part of the first phase of a new Poolbeg urban quarter development proposal by the DDDA that finished its public consultation stage
recently.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The boarded-up building off Thomas Street pegged was to form part of a €2.6bn Covent Garden-style revamp for the Liberties, taking in the DCC-owned Lord Iveagh Market. A Martin Keane-led company formed a joint venture with DCC and an epic round of planning, public consultation and legal process began. Six years on, the development is now on hold as it is "not currently viable", said a DCC source.
The Markets
Closed and disused for over a decade, a €400m redevelopment for the huge former Victorian fish and vegetable markets site between Henry Street and Smithfield is part of DCC's development plan 2005-2011 for a commercial and residential complex reaching up to six storeys. A preferred bidder for phase 1 was selected in 2007 but "no contracts have been signed to date", the DCC said.
New Garda Headquarters, Kevin Street
A planned five-storey plus two-level basement build over a 5,000sq m site beside the existing garda station was to be a new Garda Divisional HQ replacing Harcourt Terrace. The OPW said "in the current economic climate it is doubtful if tenders will be sought in the near future".
Seven Adelaide Road
The fire-damaged Georgian shell at 7 Adelaide Road, Dublin 2, is a one-acre registered derelict site which has been for sale for over a year at €1.195m. Owner David Grant of 61 Haddington Road, Dublin 4, was the subject of an RTE Prime Time programme in 2005 and later pleaded guilty in court to allowing dangerous buildings to be used as hostel accommodation and carrying out unauthorised works on the protected buildings on Gardiner Street. He committed to selling Adelaide Road and his Haddington Road home to pay to improve the hostel and rectify the illegal works.
Boland's Mill
The Dublin 4 landmark site is owned by Sean Kelly's Benton Property Holding, which beat Treasury Holdings and Danninger with a €42m winning bid for the site in 2004. Permission is being sought to turn it into Boland's Mill Wharf, a 41,000sq m office and hotel complex.
However "while it's still in the pipeline, it may not proceed in the current climate", a spokeswoman at Benton said. The three massive 1940s silos (one is 21 storeys) and Victorian former storehouse stand between Grand Canal Dock and Barrow Street in what has become a major business district.
Carry on regardless sites...
Vicar Street/Molyneux Yard
Harry Crosbie said last month he'll go ahead with his eight-storey 194-bed 'no star' hotel at the vacant lot behind his Vicar Street music venue on Thomas Street, Dublin 8.
Carlton building
Under hoarding and a vacant cause célèbre for years, the art deco fronted building is part of Chartered Land's Dublin Central development, some of which is still in planning process. Planning approved development has started on the former Royal Dublin Hotel next door, which is part of the same project, and Chartered Lands chief executive Dominic Deeny says the scheme will proceed as planned, with "the next economic upturn" in mind.
The Irish Bottle Factory site, Poolbeg Peninsula, Ringsend
Bought for a price tag of €412m in 2006 by a consortium including the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA) and headed by developer Bernard McNamara, the 24-acre site will be part of the first phase of a new Poolbeg urban quarter development proposal by the DDDA that finished its public consultation stage
recently.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Not A Pretty Site
Properties all over Dublin are in 'limbo land' as the downturn worsens. Dublin City Council is even mulling over what uses its own vacant sites can be put to, writes Roisin Burke.
Mill on the loss: permission is being sought to turn the old Boland's Mill site into Boland's Mill Wharf, a 41,000sq m office and hotel complex. However 'while it's still in the pipeline, it may not proceed in the current climate'
Derelict and disused sites will be a feature of Dublin's cityscape, as ambitious developments are mothballed as no longer viable. Such sites could cost their owners tens or even hundreds of thousands of euro if listed on Dublin City Council's (DCC) Derelict Sites Register, as a levy of 3% of their value per annum can then be imposed.
Even well-appointed properties are in a disused limbo, having little chance of either being sold on or built on now.
Hotel and pub owner Martin Keane said development of the famous Mother Redcap's site, a former pub and market, is on hold due to a quadruple hike in the loan terms his bank approved 18 months ago.
"Now after the exceptional expense – engineering, archaeological digs, conservation measures, I can't get the [loan] terms I was getting," the owner of the Oliver St John Gogarty, The Left Bank and Blooms Hotel in Temple Bar said. "I agreed a margin of 1%, but the bank now wants 4% over.
"Hand on heart I'd have to say it wouldn't be viable to do it just yet, but I think in three years it'll be different," a slightly exasperated Keane concluded, jokingly invoking St Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases.
Halted residential developments take up swathes of Cork Street in Dublin 8, some with advertising hoarding featuring aspirational shots of the gilded young executive types who might have snapped up units off the plans before. There hasn't been a flicker of movement at these sites for months.
Dilapidated eyesores line both Thomas Street and James's Street, also in Dublin 8, including the DCC derelict site registered 162, 163, and 164 on James Street and 112 and 113 on Thomas Street.
Other disused properties in the area are earmarked as part of the Digital Hub Development/SoHo development plan which. like the nearby Cathedral Quarter plan, is going nowhere fast at present.
Now DCC is mulling over what temporary uses some of its own vacant sites could be put to until conditions improve for development.
A site or property can be listed on the derelict sites register by DCC if it is "in a neglected or unsightly condition" or contains dangerous or ruined structures or litter and waste. The owner then has six weeks to restore the site to a "non-derelict condition" and can face financial penalty if they fail to do so.
The DCC can compulsorily purchase a site, but a development unit source said this would be a last resort in a climate where there is little potential to either sell it on or develop it.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Mill on the loss: permission is being sought to turn the old Boland's Mill site into Boland's Mill Wharf, a 41,000sq m office and hotel complex. However 'while it's still in the pipeline, it may not proceed in the current climate'
Derelict and disused sites will be a feature of Dublin's cityscape, as ambitious developments are mothballed as no longer viable. Such sites could cost their owners tens or even hundreds of thousands of euro if listed on Dublin City Council's (DCC) Derelict Sites Register, as a levy of 3% of their value per annum can then be imposed.
Even well-appointed properties are in a disused limbo, having little chance of either being sold on or built on now.
Hotel and pub owner Martin Keane said development of the famous Mother Redcap's site, a former pub and market, is on hold due to a quadruple hike in the loan terms his bank approved 18 months ago.
"Now after the exceptional expense – engineering, archaeological digs, conservation measures, I can't get the [loan] terms I was getting," the owner of the Oliver St John Gogarty, The Left Bank and Blooms Hotel in Temple Bar said. "I agreed a margin of 1%, but the bank now wants 4% over.
"Hand on heart I'd have to say it wouldn't be viable to do it just yet, but I think in three years it'll be different," a slightly exasperated Keane concluded, jokingly invoking St Jude, the patron saint of hopeless cases.
Halted residential developments take up swathes of Cork Street in Dublin 8, some with advertising hoarding featuring aspirational shots of the gilded young executive types who might have snapped up units off the plans before. There hasn't been a flicker of movement at these sites for months.
Dilapidated eyesores line both Thomas Street and James's Street, also in Dublin 8, including the DCC derelict site registered 162, 163, and 164 on James Street and 112 and 113 on Thomas Street.
Other disused properties in the area are earmarked as part of the Digital Hub Development/SoHo development plan which. like the nearby Cathedral Quarter plan, is going nowhere fast at present.
Now DCC is mulling over what temporary uses some of its own vacant sites could be put to until conditions improve for development.
A site or property can be listed on the derelict sites register by DCC if it is "in a neglected or unsightly condition" or contains dangerous or ruined structures or litter and waste. The owner then has six weeks to restore the site to a "non-derelict condition" and can face financial penalty if they fail to do so.
The DCC can compulsorily purchase a site, but a development unit source said this would be a last resort in a climate where there is little potential to either sell it on or develop it.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Liffey crossing a bridge too far for residents
IN a week that saw the new Beckett bridge float into the capital, a slightly more controversial River Liffey crossing was also given the green light.
A report on a footbridge for the river at Chapelizod – estimated to cost around €2m – was circulated last Monday at Dublin City Council, as news of Beckett's arrival was announced to fanfare.
Beckett's smaller cousin, a 40-metre structure, was first mooted in 2004 and quickly attracted objections from local residents who branded it a "bridge to nowhere".
Angered at the perceived cost of the structure, the Chapelizod Residents Association said last year that the money would be better spent in other areas.
Last week, a final report was circulated to local officials, but virtually buried under the greater glory of the capital's newest traffic crossing.
Observations, received by city planners, also criticised it saying that it would not be as beneficial as the proposed Lutyens bridge, a separate project under the guise of the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Objectors complained that the structure would lead to increases in anti-social behaviour, and one noted that it "would have no tourist usage and limited pedestrian usage compared with the proposed Lutyens bridge".
There were also submissions of support for the project, commenting that its provision would open up the area to the benefit of the community.
Local councillor Eric Byrne said that the bridge would be a welcome addition to the Liffey.
"There has been a public consultation process and now it's got the go ahead," he said.
"I think it will be a wonderful development and a beautiful bridge."
Denying any suggestion it would be seen as a waste of money given the current economy, he added: "Bridges are very important infrastructure.
"The money has been earmarked for this and it is very important."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
A report on a footbridge for the river at Chapelizod – estimated to cost around €2m – was circulated last Monday at Dublin City Council, as news of Beckett's arrival was announced to fanfare.
Beckett's smaller cousin, a 40-metre structure, was first mooted in 2004 and quickly attracted objections from local residents who branded it a "bridge to nowhere".
Angered at the perceived cost of the structure, the Chapelizod Residents Association said last year that the money would be better spent in other areas.
Last week, a final report was circulated to local officials, but virtually buried under the greater glory of the capital's newest traffic crossing.
Observations, received by city planners, also criticised it saying that it would not be as beneficial as the proposed Lutyens bridge, a separate project under the guise of the Office of Public Works (OPW).
Objectors complained that the structure would lead to increases in anti-social behaviour, and one noted that it "would have no tourist usage and limited pedestrian usage compared with the proposed Lutyens bridge".
There were also submissions of support for the project, commenting that its provision would open up the area to the benefit of the community.
Local councillor Eric Byrne said that the bridge would be a welcome addition to the Liffey.
"There has been a public consultation process and now it's got the go ahead," he said.
"I think it will be a wonderful development and a beautiful bridge."
Denying any suggestion it would be seen as a waste of money given the current economy, he added: "Bridges are very important infrastructure.
"The money has been earmarked for this and it is very important."
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Safety fears as pitstops shelved
Long-awaited plans to build fully-equipped service stations on the country's motorways have fallen victim to government cuts, despite one in seven drivers saying they have fallen asleep at the wheel due to driver fatigue.
A spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA) has confirmed that nine of the 12 'truck stops' which it had hoped to build are now being reviewed due to the current economic climate.
The revelation has prompted the AA to raise concerns about the potential impact on road safety due to driver fatigue, with motorists unable to make a 'pitstop' when this proves necessary.
The nine projects which are being reviewed are the M6 east of Athlone; the M6/M17 at Rathmorrissey, Co Galway; the M7 at Mountrath; the N7 east of the N8 at Cashel; the N8 at Kilworth; the N9 at Kilcullen; the N9 north of Kilkenny; and the N11 north of Gorey. The NRA spokesman said the projects are now in a "holding pattern" and are "to be rescheduled for completion". However, he could not say when this will happen.
"We are committed to the projects. We absolutely see them as vital," he told the Sunday Tribune. "As soon as the funding is there, we will go forward with this. Our expectations are that we are going forward with this, we just don't know when."
The spokesman confirmed that three other projects, at the M1 South near Lusk, Co Dublin, the M1 North near Domiskin/Castlebellingham and the M4 west of Enfield will be proceeding. It is hoped that these will be completed by next year.
Conor Faughnan, public affairs manager with AA Roadwatch, said it was "deeply disappointed" with the news.
"These should have been provided years ago. They are an important part of the safety infrastructure and are not just a luxury," he said. "We have to have safe areas where people can rest. Currently you could very easily find yourself running dry of petrol or stranded between Portlaoise and Cork, for example.
"You don't have funding issues preventing safety features on aircraft, or fire escapes on buildings. The NRA's line on this is totally unsatisfactory."
However, locals in some of the proposed locations are likely to greet the revelation with some relief, having in the past expressed concerns about the potential impact on their communities.
The NRA originally argued that there was no need for service stations on motorways, but later changed its view.
It remains unclear what will happen to a number of sites which it has purchased should the plans not go ahead.
Just last month, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) launched a year-long campaign aimed at tackling driver fatigue, which it describes as a "silent killer" which may have been responsible for over 350 road deaths during the past five years.
An RSA survey of 800 motorists found that 14% of people said they had nodded off when driving, with men between 35 and 54 years most likely to fall asleep.
Half of all incidents occurred between 9pm and 6am, with one in five cars drifting out of its lane of traffic.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
A spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA) has confirmed that nine of the 12 'truck stops' which it had hoped to build are now being reviewed due to the current economic climate.
The revelation has prompted the AA to raise concerns about the potential impact on road safety due to driver fatigue, with motorists unable to make a 'pitstop' when this proves necessary.
The nine projects which are being reviewed are the M6 east of Athlone; the M6/M17 at Rathmorrissey, Co Galway; the M7 at Mountrath; the N7 east of the N8 at Cashel; the N8 at Kilworth; the N9 at Kilcullen; the N9 north of Kilkenny; and the N11 north of Gorey. The NRA spokesman said the projects are now in a "holding pattern" and are "to be rescheduled for completion". However, he could not say when this will happen.
"We are committed to the projects. We absolutely see them as vital," he told the Sunday Tribune. "As soon as the funding is there, we will go forward with this. Our expectations are that we are going forward with this, we just don't know when."
The spokesman confirmed that three other projects, at the M1 South near Lusk, Co Dublin, the M1 North near Domiskin/Castlebellingham and the M4 west of Enfield will be proceeding. It is hoped that these will be completed by next year.
Conor Faughnan, public affairs manager with AA Roadwatch, said it was "deeply disappointed" with the news.
"These should have been provided years ago. They are an important part of the safety infrastructure and are not just a luxury," he said. "We have to have safe areas where people can rest. Currently you could very easily find yourself running dry of petrol or stranded between Portlaoise and Cork, for example.
"You don't have funding issues preventing safety features on aircraft, or fire escapes on buildings. The NRA's line on this is totally unsatisfactory."
However, locals in some of the proposed locations are likely to greet the revelation with some relief, having in the past expressed concerns about the potential impact on their communities.
The NRA originally argued that there was no need for service stations on motorways, but later changed its view.
It remains unclear what will happen to a number of sites which it has purchased should the plans not go ahead.
Just last month, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) launched a year-long campaign aimed at tackling driver fatigue, which it describes as a "silent killer" which may have been responsible for over 350 road deaths during the past five years.
An RSA survey of 800 motorists found that 14% of people said they had nodded off when driving, with men between 35 and 54 years most likely to fall asleep.
Half of all incidents occurred between 9pm and 6am, with one in five cars drifting out of its lane of traffic.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork incinerator hearing adjourned
An oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála into a proposed €150 million incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour has been adjourned for three weeks following presentations from members of the local community.
Indaver Ireland has applied under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 for both a hazardous industrial waste incinerator and a municipal waste incinerator, each capable of taking 100,000 tonnes per annum, at the 12 hectare Ringaskiddy site.
According to Indaver’s planning application, the plant will incorporate a four storey high process building, an 85 metre high flue stack, a turbine hall, an aerocondenser structure, a sampling laboratory and a transfer station and other units at the site.
A number of groups have come together under the banner of Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment to oppose the plan.
Following presentations from members of the local community last night at a special evening session, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Ms Oznur Yukel-Finn has adjourned the hearing for three weeks to allow time for consideration of extra information presented during the hearing.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Indaver Ireland has applied under the Planning and Development (Strategic Infrastructure) Act 2006 for both a hazardous industrial waste incinerator and a municipal waste incinerator, each capable of taking 100,000 tonnes per annum, at the 12 hectare Ringaskiddy site.
According to Indaver’s planning application, the plant will incorporate a four storey high process building, an 85 metre high flue stack, a turbine hall, an aerocondenser structure, a sampling laboratory and a transfer station and other units at the site.
A number of groups have come together under the banner of Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment to oppose the plan.
Following presentations from members of the local community last night at a special evening session, An Bord Pleanála senior inspector Ms Oznur Yukel-Finn has adjourned the hearing for three weeks to allow time for consideration of extra information presented during the hearing.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Curves of steel
PROFILE SANTIAGO CALATRAVA: IS IT A harp? Is it a sail? No, it’s a bridge. And, having battled high winds to cross seas and head up the Liffey to its final resting place, the Beckett Bridge’s arrival this week means that Dublin’s docklands is finally landing some of the international starchitect-designed structures it has been fishing for, writes EMMA CULLINAN
This is just the start for the city. The new bridge will be followed by an undulating Future Systems-designed Luas bridge; a lean-to conference centre by Irish-born, US-based architect Kevin Roche; and a bendy, deconstructed theatre by Daniel Libeskind. And maybe, one day, we will have a U2 tower.
The curves in these designs were made possible the day that architects began to drop their pencils, Rotrings and rulers, and logged on to computers in order to bend buildings into the type of blobby shapes that have defined early noughties structures.
The designer of Dublin’s Beckett Bridge, Spanish engineer and architect Santiago Calatrava, might protest at the computer imagery, because he is also a painter and sculptor. “I see architecture as an art. Architecture and sculpture are two rivers in which the same water flows,” Calatrava once said. Now we have two of his sculptural, architectural bridges under which the Liffey flows: Calatrava also designed the James Joyce bridge, which sits on the west side of Dublin city centre.
We saw the artist at work early in 2008 when he came to Dublin to launch the Chicago Spire, the tallest residential building in the world. He designed this for Irishman Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development. Before his audience in a marquee in Fitzwilliam Square, he drew its shell-like form on the big screen, lest we fail to recognise the symbolism behind the design. This was architecture as showmanship.
He has since filed a lien (a legal claim to part of the property) against the developer, alleging unpaid fees of $11.3 million (€8.3m). He also went to court citing violation of copyright when another architect proposed to adapt his steel-and-glass footbridge in the Spanish city of Bilbao to enable a new building project nearby.
This bridge was near Frank Gehry’s sparkling, undulating art gallery in Bilbao, which set the international trend for “iconic” blobby buildings. Calatrava has built many bridges since then, and has achieved much in his 58 years, especially since he came to architecture relatively late, having first studied architecture and then engineering.
His undoubted talent has been combined with some luck. In 1992 he created the Montjuic Communications tower for the Barcelona Olympics, which enjoyed a lot of small-screen time. He got into bridge design when they were again seen as real architecture, after years in the “functional infrastructure” category. He was ahead of the curve when architectural shapes went into flexi-time.
CALATRAVA WAS born in Valencia, Spain in 1951 and studied drawing and painting from the age of eight before going to architecture college. After getting to grips with aesthetics, he wanted to do the math, and studied civil engineering in Zurich. He met his wife, Robertina Marangoni, there and stayed in the Swiss city while she completed her law course. The couple’s three sons and daughter are pursuing careers in either art, architecture, engineering and law.
While there, in 1982, Calatrava won a competition to design a station, which resulted in his setting up his first office in Zurich. He opened another office in Paris in 1989 when he was commissioned to design Lyon Airport Station. A third office was added in Valencia when he was called home by his native city to design a vast arts and sciences complex (beginning in the late 1990s), made up of museums, galleries and an opera house. This was followed by an office in New York, when he was commissioned to design a station for the Ground Zero site.
This New York design was unveiled recently – after years of design and budget conversations – with Calatrava saying that it was inspired by “a bird being released by a child’s hand”.
Nature has been a huge influence on his design, with people, animals, plants and shells all finding a symbolic place in Calatrava structures (and eco issues are so very now). In his building for the Valencia City of Arts and Sciences, there are structures that look like large dinosaur skeletons, topped with bird beaks, and giant eyes.
Calatrava’s Turning Torso tower in Malmö, Sweden (finished in 2004), is inspired by a male body, and the Barcelona communications tower is based on a human kneeling and making an offering, although the more literal-minded saw it as someone throwing a javelin.
Such zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, botanical and marine shapes work very well because nature both resonates with humans and they also give buildings a storyline.
MANY SUCCESSFUL architects have learned that if a building comes with a simple story, it helps to sell it. As luck would have it, many of the starchitects who are invited to Irish shores are well versed in our history and have a great knowledge of James Joyce. Go and listen to any visiting architect and you can play count-the-minutes until they mention Ulysses. Then you can take bets on which bits of Celtic or Viking history have influenced their design. Foster and Partners have a scheme in Greystones whose layout is inspired by Celtic swirls, while Libeskind’s theatre has incorporated Viking ship imagery.
Calatrava knows the city of Joyce: he used to frequent the same restaurant that Joyce did in Zurich and sat in the same chair as the writer.
Tim Brick, executive manager (engineering) at Dublin City Council, first met Calatrava 12 years ago when he went to Zurich to discuss the Blackhall Place bridge (later named the James Joyce bridge) with him: “He was extremely affable and had an engaging personality right from the beginning of our work together which came as a bit of a surprise because you would imagine someone who is so well known and internationally famous to be austere and distant. He is a very entertaining person; very erudite and an excellent raconteur.”
“He is extraordinarily passionate about his art and work, and very, very committed. He has an interest in Joyce and was very taken by the fact that the bridge at Blackhall Place was directly in front of the building in which Joyce’s story of The Dead is set. It really intrigued him that it was Joyce’s aunt’s house,” says Brick.
Calatrava’s brushes with Ireland date back a long time. He advised on the design of the opening wall of the Ark Building in Temple Bar, by Shane O’Toole and Michael Kelly, in the early 1990s and he came to Ireland 14 years ago to hear a lecture in memory of the great Irish engineer Peter Rice, who worked on the Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre.
It’s no wonder that Calatrava admires Rice, as he was another engineer who used structural mathematics to support beauty and innovation. The title of an exhibition of Calatrava’s work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Sculpture into Architecture , sums up his approach, and Calatrava often talks about combining maths and science with art and emotion.
“He gave a bravura performance at the public inquiry for the Samuel Beckett Bridge that was part of the planning process,” says Brick. “Despite the fact that there were a number of people objecting, and that he was dealing in a foreign language, had never been at a public enquiry in Ireland and was somewhat nervous, he gave a stunning performance. He got a standing ovation which I have never seen at a public enquiry in my life.”
ALTHOUGH Calatrava’s staff are very protective of him, making him appear untouchable, once you do get through to him he comes across as kind and genial and, when I talk to him on the phone to New York, we discuss art, architecture and Ireland but the best chat we have is parent-to-parent, comparing notes on daughters who want to study fashion design and architecture.
Inevitably, with such a large workload, many structures coming from the Calatrava offices look similar to previous work, but then a signature style is inevitable in these circumstances. The James Joyce bridge, on the west side of Dublin, hasn’t really caused the kind of excitement that was probably expected of it when it arrived in 2003. Despite the elegance of much of Calatrava’s work, this looks like it would be happier stretched out over a much wider river.
Creating such soaring elegance above ground can also mean some heavy work behind the scenes. The Beckett Bridge swings open on a pivot that descends into the water and there is talk in Dublin engineering circles of large amounts of lead being hidden on the short side of the bridge to counterbalance the large structure on the other side.
This is not the first harp bridge Calatrava has designed; there’s one in the Netherlands too, but such allegorical design explanations help the public to understand the structures in their midst. Why would architects want to blind people with talk of “a folded, wrapping plane pierced with contrapuntal fenestration offering varying levels of opacity and transparency”, when they can explain their buildings as a rabbit skeleton, a bird of paradise or an upended Newgrange?
Who is he? Spanish-born architect and engineer who made his name with sculptural bridges and zoomorphic buildings.
Why is he in the news? He designed the Samuel Beckett bridge that this week sailed up the Liffey from The Netherlands.
Most appealing trait Making functional structures into something special.
Least appealing trait Sometimes the form is at the expense of function.
Least likely to say “Who cares what it looks like, just make sure it stands up.”
Most likely to say “The Sirens chapter of Ulysses inspired the harp design while I was sitting in Dún Aonghasa contemplating the history of the Celts.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This is just the start for the city. The new bridge will be followed by an undulating Future Systems-designed Luas bridge; a lean-to conference centre by Irish-born, US-based architect Kevin Roche; and a bendy, deconstructed theatre by Daniel Libeskind. And maybe, one day, we will have a U2 tower.
The curves in these designs were made possible the day that architects began to drop their pencils, Rotrings and rulers, and logged on to computers in order to bend buildings into the type of blobby shapes that have defined early noughties structures.
The designer of Dublin’s Beckett Bridge, Spanish engineer and architect Santiago Calatrava, might protest at the computer imagery, because he is also a painter and sculptor. “I see architecture as an art. Architecture and sculpture are two rivers in which the same water flows,” Calatrava once said. Now we have two of his sculptural, architectural bridges under which the Liffey flows: Calatrava also designed the James Joyce bridge, which sits on the west side of Dublin city centre.
We saw the artist at work early in 2008 when he came to Dublin to launch the Chicago Spire, the tallest residential building in the world. He designed this for Irishman Garrett Kelleher of Shelbourne Development. Before his audience in a marquee in Fitzwilliam Square, he drew its shell-like form on the big screen, lest we fail to recognise the symbolism behind the design. This was architecture as showmanship.
He has since filed a lien (a legal claim to part of the property) against the developer, alleging unpaid fees of $11.3 million (€8.3m). He also went to court citing violation of copyright when another architect proposed to adapt his steel-and-glass footbridge in the Spanish city of Bilbao to enable a new building project nearby.
This bridge was near Frank Gehry’s sparkling, undulating art gallery in Bilbao, which set the international trend for “iconic” blobby buildings. Calatrava has built many bridges since then, and has achieved much in his 58 years, especially since he came to architecture relatively late, having first studied architecture and then engineering.
His undoubted talent has been combined with some luck. In 1992 he created the Montjuic Communications tower for the Barcelona Olympics, which enjoyed a lot of small-screen time. He got into bridge design when they were again seen as real architecture, after years in the “functional infrastructure” category. He was ahead of the curve when architectural shapes went into flexi-time.
CALATRAVA WAS born in Valencia, Spain in 1951 and studied drawing and painting from the age of eight before going to architecture college. After getting to grips with aesthetics, he wanted to do the math, and studied civil engineering in Zurich. He met his wife, Robertina Marangoni, there and stayed in the Swiss city while she completed her law course. The couple’s three sons and daughter are pursuing careers in either art, architecture, engineering and law.
While there, in 1982, Calatrava won a competition to design a station, which resulted in his setting up his first office in Zurich. He opened another office in Paris in 1989 when he was commissioned to design Lyon Airport Station. A third office was added in Valencia when he was called home by his native city to design a vast arts and sciences complex (beginning in the late 1990s), made up of museums, galleries and an opera house. This was followed by an office in New York, when he was commissioned to design a station for the Ground Zero site.
This New York design was unveiled recently – after years of design and budget conversations – with Calatrava saying that it was inspired by “a bird being released by a child’s hand”.
Nature has been a huge influence on his design, with people, animals, plants and shells all finding a symbolic place in Calatrava structures (and eco issues are so very now). In his building for the Valencia City of Arts and Sciences, there are structures that look like large dinosaur skeletons, topped with bird beaks, and giant eyes.
Calatrava’s Turning Torso tower in Malmö, Sweden (finished in 2004), is inspired by a male body, and the Barcelona communications tower is based on a human kneeling and making an offering, although the more literal-minded saw it as someone throwing a javelin.
Such zoomorphic, anthropomorphic, botanical and marine shapes work very well because nature both resonates with humans and they also give buildings a storyline.
MANY SUCCESSFUL architects have learned that if a building comes with a simple story, it helps to sell it. As luck would have it, many of the starchitects who are invited to Irish shores are well versed in our history and have a great knowledge of James Joyce. Go and listen to any visiting architect and you can play count-the-minutes until they mention Ulysses. Then you can take bets on which bits of Celtic or Viking history have influenced their design. Foster and Partners have a scheme in Greystones whose layout is inspired by Celtic swirls, while Libeskind’s theatre has incorporated Viking ship imagery.
Calatrava knows the city of Joyce: he used to frequent the same restaurant that Joyce did in Zurich and sat in the same chair as the writer.
Tim Brick, executive manager (engineering) at Dublin City Council, first met Calatrava 12 years ago when he went to Zurich to discuss the Blackhall Place bridge (later named the James Joyce bridge) with him: “He was extremely affable and had an engaging personality right from the beginning of our work together which came as a bit of a surprise because you would imagine someone who is so well known and internationally famous to be austere and distant. He is a very entertaining person; very erudite and an excellent raconteur.”
“He is extraordinarily passionate about his art and work, and very, very committed. He has an interest in Joyce and was very taken by the fact that the bridge at Blackhall Place was directly in front of the building in which Joyce’s story of The Dead is set. It really intrigued him that it was Joyce’s aunt’s house,” says Brick.
Calatrava’s brushes with Ireland date back a long time. He advised on the design of the opening wall of the Ark Building in Temple Bar, by Shane O’Toole and Michael Kelly, in the early 1990s and he came to Ireland 14 years ago to hear a lecture in memory of the great Irish engineer Peter Rice, who worked on the Sydney Opera House and the Pompidou Centre.
It’s no wonder that Calatrava admires Rice, as he was another engineer who used structural mathematics to support beauty and innovation. The title of an exhibition of Calatrava’s work at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, Sculpture into Architecture , sums up his approach, and Calatrava often talks about combining maths and science with art and emotion.
“He gave a bravura performance at the public inquiry for the Samuel Beckett Bridge that was part of the planning process,” says Brick. “Despite the fact that there were a number of people objecting, and that he was dealing in a foreign language, had never been at a public enquiry in Ireland and was somewhat nervous, he gave a stunning performance. He got a standing ovation which I have never seen at a public enquiry in my life.”
ALTHOUGH Calatrava’s staff are very protective of him, making him appear untouchable, once you do get through to him he comes across as kind and genial and, when I talk to him on the phone to New York, we discuss art, architecture and Ireland but the best chat we have is parent-to-parent, comparing notes on daughters who want to study fashion design and architecture.
Inevitably, with such a large workload, many structures coming from the Calatrava offices look similar to previous work, but then a signature style is inevitable in these circumstances. The James Joyce bridge, on the west side of Dublin, hasn’t really caused the kind of excitement that was probably expected of it when it arrived in 2003. Despite the elegance of much of Calatrava’s work, this looks like it would be happier stretched out over a much wider river.
Creating such soaring elegance above ground can also mean some heavy work behind the scenes. The Beckett Bridge swings open on a pivot that descends into the water and there is talk in Dublin engineering circles of large amounts of lead being hidden on the short side of the bridge to counterbalance the large structure on the other side.
This is not the first harp bridge Calatrava has designed; there’s one in the Netherlands too, but such allegorical design explanations help the public to understand the structures in their midst. Why would architects want to blind people with talk of “a folded, wrapping plane pierced with contrapuntal fenestration offering varying levels of opacity and transparency”, when they can explain their buildings as a rabbit skeleton, a bird of paradise or an upended Newgrange?
Who is he? Spanish-born architect and engineer who made his name with sculptural bridges and zoomorphic buildings.
Why is he in the news? He designed the Samuel Beckett bridge that this week sailed up the Liffey from The Netherlands.
Most appealing trait Making functional structures into something special.
Least appealing trait Sometimes the form is at the expense of function.
Least likely to say “Who cares what it looks like, just make sure it stands up.”
Most likely to say “The Sirens chapter of Ulysses inspired the harp design while I was sitting in Dún Aonghasa contemplating the history of the Celts.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 14 May 2009
Capital welcome as Beckett makes its grand entrance slides into place after epic journey
"It's...not...stuck...is...it?" For a moment, the little boy thought old Samuel Beckett had got wedged between the quay wall and the side of the raised East Link Bridge in Dublin -- not a good thing to happen to a new €60m investment.
Thankfully, the engineers and the pilot of the tug 'Deilginnis' managed to avoid potential headlines such as 'Bridge Of Sighs' or 'A Bridge Too Far'.
Five minutes after it stopped yesterday, the tug puttered into life and things began moving again.
"Jaysus that's a relief," cried one man.
It wasn't really. The experts were just being careful and, rather than having inches to spare, the boat people had several metres to play with.
The 120-metre long 'Samuel Beckett' -- Dublin's newest bridge -- had just come upriver on the back of a vast barge from Rotterdam. The East Link is seldom lifted but it was yesterday, just before 2.30pm, when the structure arrived at the mouth of the port.
Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the city's James Joyce bridge, has created a structure officially described as 'cable-stayed, with a curving incline and steel pylon'.
Like the James Joyce, the bridge is named after another of the country's greatest writers and looks like a giant white harp.
Hundreds of Dubliners had gathered to watch along Sir John Rogerson's Quay and North Wall Quay as it was eased along at a crawl.
Among the crowd was Fianna Fail MEP Eoin Ryan, who had taken time off from campaigning to rubber neck with everyone else.
"It's an occasion isn't it?" he said, as others, including actor Barry McGovern, who has performed Beckett's one-man plays, joined the throng.
Sir John Rogerson himself would have marvelled at how much change there has been since his day.
The former Lord Mayor of Dublin built the quay in 1712 to allow deep water moorage, in a city reliant on goods being delivered by tall ships.
Now, much of the former dock area is gone and has been replaced by swanky office blocks and buildings, among them the new National Convention Centre.
Workers in the area took a few minutes to watch yesterday, their noses pressed to glass windows as the 'Deilginnis' inched forward.
The bridge had been floated across the English Channel from the Graham-Hollandia shipyard in Rotterdam and came through the East Link at high tide.
Over the next month, it will be be carefully positioned by engineers, linking north and south sides of the Liffey and, officials hope, eventually easing some traffic problems.
Yesterday, though, was all about the spectacle.
"It's amazing -- the things they can do these days," said one elderly observer, shaking his head.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Thankfully, the engineers and the pilot of the tug 'Deilginnis' managed to avoid potential headlines such as 'Bridge Of Sighs' or 'A Bridge Too Far'.
Five minutes after it stopped yesterday, the tug puttered into life and things began moving again.
"Jaysus that's a relief," cried one man.
It wasn't really. The experts were just being careful and, rather than having inches to spare, the boat people had several metres to play with.
The 120-metre long 'Samuel Beckett' -- Dublin's newest bridge -- had just come upriver on the back of a vast barge from Rotterdam. The East Link is seldom lifted but it was yesterday, just before 2.30pm, when the structure arrived at the mouth of the port.
Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava, who also designed the city's James Joyce bridge, has created a structure officially described as 'cable-stayed, with a curving incline and steel pylon'.
Like the James Joyce, the bridge is named after another of the country's greatest writers and looks like a giant white harp.
Hundreds of Dubliners had gathered to watch along Sir John Rogerson's Quay and North Wall Quay as it was eased along at a crawl.
Among the crowd was Fianna Fail MEP Eoin Ryan, who had taken time off from campaigning to rubber neck with everyone else.
"It's an occasion isn't it?" he said, as others, including actor Barry McGovern, who has performed Beckett's one-man plays, joined the throng.
Sir John Rogerson himself would have marvelled at how much change there has been since his day.
The former Lord Mayor of Dublin built the quay in 1712 to allow deep water moorage, in a city reliant on goods being delivered by tall ships.
Now, much of the former dock area is gone and has been replaced by swanky office blocks and buildings, among them the new National Convention Centre.
Workers in the area took a few minutes to watch yesterday, their noses pressed to glass windows as the 'Deilginnis' inched forward.
The bridge had been floated across the English Channel from the Graham-Hollandia shipyard in Rotterdam and came through the East Link at high tide.
Over the next month, it will be be carefully positioned by engineers, linking north and south sides of the Liffey and, officials hope, eventually easing some traffic problems.
Yesterday, though, was all about the spectacle.
"It's amazing -- the things they can do these days," said one elderly observer, shaking his head.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
€8.5m house only ambassadors can buy
"FOR SALE: One delightful embassy. Only ambassadors need apply. Ferrero Rocher optional."
That's how an ad might read in the next edition of 'Embassies under the Hammer'.
Wealthy financier Derek Quinlan thought he was really spoiling himself when he shelled out €8.5m before the property market crashed for the former Mexican embassy.
Situated in Dublin's plush Ailesbury Road, he planned to turn No 43 into a tastefully restored office development.
Now the High Court has ruled the building can only be used as an embassy, leaving Mr Quinlan with a pricey investment which can only now be recouped if it's bought by a foreign government.
The decision comes just a week after Mr Quinlan put his palatial New York townhouse on the market with a price tag of $37m (€28.3m). He paid over $26m (€19.8m) for the property in 2005.
A former tax inspector, Mr Quinlan's business vehicle has focused on property acquisition. In 2006 he paid an estimated €27m for two properties on Shrewsbury Road.
In relation to his Ailesbury Road purchase, he had challenged a strict planning requirement which stated the property could only be used as an embassy but Judge Elizabeth Dunne ruled against him.
She said the planning rule was necessary and relevant to the permitted development and proper planning of the area, and was also reasonable.
It emerged the property was the home of the German Embassy from 1962 until the mid-1990s when the Mexicans took over residence.
Mr Quinlan bought the building in October 2007 and shortly afterwards applied for permission for refurbishment works.
Significant
The wealthy developer said the purchase represented a "a very significant investment" by him and he had planned to spend €1.67m on work on it.
But things took a rather undiplomatic twist in January 2008 when Dublin City Council told Mr Quinlan the entire building "shall be solely for use as an embassy".
Explicitly, it added that its development plan laid down that the building could not be used for general offices unless he had planning permission.
Mr Quinlan unsuccessfully appealed the condition to An Bord Pleanala which in September 2008 rejected its own inspector's recommendation to omit the condition.
Dismissing his appeal yesterday on all grounds,the judge said that in imposing the condition on the entire property, it was "not disproportionate".
While planning rules did not expressly refer to embassies, the issue of what does or does not come within the scope of office use was quintessentially a matter for the planning authorities and not the court, she said.
In this case, the board was entitled to conclude the established use of the property was as an embassy.
It was also entitled to have regard to the city council's development plan and the objectives regarding embassy use, she added.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
That's how an ad might read in the next edition of 'Embassies under the Hammer'.
Wealthy financier Derek Quinlan thought he was really spoiling himself when he shelled out €8.5m before the property market crashed for the former Mexican embassy.
Situated in Dublin's plush Ailesbury Road, he planned to turn No 43 into a tastefully restored office development.
Now the High Court has ruled the building can only be used as an embassy, leaving Mr Quinlan with a pricey investment which can only now be recouped if it's bought by a foreign government.
The decision comes just a week after Mr Quinlan put his palatial New York townhouse on the market with a price tag of $37m (€28.3m). He paid over $26m (€19.8m) for the property in 2005.
A former tax inspector, Mr Quinlan's business vehicle has focused on property acquisition. In 2006 he paid an estimated €27m for two properties on Shrewsbury Road.
In relation to his Ailesbury Road purchase, he had challenged a strict planning requirement which stated the property could only be used as an embassy but Judge Elizabeth Dunne ruled against him.
She said the planning rule was necessary and relevant to the permitted development and proper planning of the area, and was also reasonable.
It emerged the property was the home of the German Embassy from 1962 until the mid-1990s when the Mexicans took over residence.
Mr Quinlan bought the building in October 2007 and shortly afterwards applied for permission for refurbishment works.
Significant
The wealthy developer said the purchase represented a "a very significant investment" by him and he had planned to spend €1.67m on work on it.
But things took a rather undiplomatic twist in January 2008 when Dublin City Council told Mr Quinlan the entire building "shall be solely for use as an embassy".
Explicitly, it added that its development plan laid down that the building could not be used for general offices unless he had planning permission.
Mr Quinlan unsuccessfully appealed the condition to An Bord Pleanala which in September 2008 rejected its own inspector's recommendation to omit the condition.
Dismissing his appeal yesterday on all grounds,the judge said that in imposing the condition on the entire property, it was "not disproportionate".
While planning rules did not expressly refer to embassies, the issue of what does or does not come within the scope of office use was quintessentially a matter for the planning authorities and not the court, she said.
In this case, the board was entitled to conclude the established use of the property was as an embassy.
It was also entitled to have regard to the city council's development plan and the objectives regarding embassy use, she added.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Meetings to gather evidence of bizarre planning
CAMPAIGNERS fighting for new planning laws in west Cork have arranged two public meetings to collect case studies of bizarre planning decisions for review by the county manager.
Anyone from the region who has faced planning hurdles or who feels they have been treated unfairly by the planning process was urged last night to attend the meetings.
The first takes place in the Cametringane Hotel in Castletownbere at 9pm on Friday. The second takes place at 9pm next Tuesday in the Harbour View Hotel in Schull.
The Bantry electoral area’s five sitting councillors, as well as candidates for the June 5 local elections, have been invited to attend.
The meetings have been organised by a group which led a major protest at County Hall in April over the planned designation of vast areas of west Cork as Special Scenic Landscape.
The Special Scenic Landscape committee led 300 protesters in a rally outside council headquarters to vent their anger at planning guidelines, which they say are destroying rural communities.
The campaigners, mainly from the peninsula areas of Beara, Mizen and Sheep’s Head, took over the council’s chamber.
Committee secretary Finbarr Harrington said people in the region face restrictive planning guidelines. The Special Scenic Landscape designation would have made "a bad situation many times worse", said Mr Harrington.
He cited one case of a man in his 40s, who lives on the family farm with his elderly mother and wheelchair-bound father, but who has been unable to get planning permission over the last three years for a small wheelchair accessible bungalow on a site on the farm.
"This is a genuine case if ever there was one but the planners have done everything in their power to block it," said Mr Harrington.
In another case, Mr Harrington said a couple, who returned from the US to Urhan five years ago to raise their children, still haven’t been able to get planning permission for a house on the family farm.
One of the reasons for refusal, Mr Harrington said, was because the site is outside the village nuclei of Urhan.
"But there is no village of Urhan," he said.
Following the April protest, county manager Martin Riordan said he would review 100 cases.
Mr Harrington urged anyone who thinks their planning case should be reviewed to come to the public meetings.
"We accept that guidelines have to be there but they have to be transparent," he said.
"We don’t want uncontrolled planning.
"The system must be open, transparent, fair and equal to everyone."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Anyone from the region who has faced planning hurdles or who feels they have been treated unfairly by the planning process was urged last night to attend the meetings.
The first takes place in the Cametringane Hotel in Castletownbere at 9pm on Friday. The second takes place at 9pm next Tuesday in the Harbour View Hotel in Schull.
The Bantry electoral area’s five sitting councillors, as well as candidates for the June 5 local elections, have been invited to attend.
The meetings have been organised by a group which led a major protest at County Hall in April over the planned designation of vast areas of west Cork as Special Scenic Landscape.
The Special Scenic Landscape committee led 300 protesters in a rally outside council headquarters to vent their anger at planning guidelines, which they say are destroying rural communities.
The campaigners, mainly from the peninsula areas of Beara, Mizen and Sheep’s Head, took over the council’s chamber.
Committee secretary Finbarr Harrington said people in the region face restrictive planning guidelines. The Special Scenic Landscape designation would have made "a bad situation many times worse", said Mr Harrington.
He cited one case of a man in his 40s, who lives on the family farm with his elderly mother and wheelchair-bound father, but who has been unable to get planning permission over the last three years for a small wheelchair accessible bungalow on a site on the farm.
"This is a genuine case if ever there was one but the planners have done everything in their power to block it," said Mr Harrington.
In another case, Mr Harrington said a couple, who returned from the US to Urhan five years ago to raise their children, still haven’t been able to get planning permission for a house on the family farm.
One of the reasons for refusal, Mr Harrington said, was because the site is outside the village nuclei of Urhan.
"But there is no village of Urhan," he said.
Following the April protest, county manager Martin Riordan said he would review 100 cases.
Mr Harrington urged anyone who thinks their planning case should be reviewed to come to the public meetings.
"We accept that guidelines have to be there but they have to be transparent," he said.
"We don’t want uncontrolled planning.
"The system must be open, transparent, fair and equal to everyone."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Elected mayor for Dublin next year, says Gormley
DUBLIN WILL have a directly elected mayor next year for the first time since the foundation of the State, Minister for the Environment John Gormley has announced.
The mayor, will be paid the same salary as a Government Minister, will have responsibility for transport, planning and waste management across the four Dublin local authorities.
“2010 will see the direct election by the people of the Dublin region of a highly visible and accountable mayor who will have the authority and powers to deliver real leadership for the city and region,” said Mr Gormley.
“The mayor’s leadership will derive from a suite of substantial powers across the functions of local government.
“I also believe that by virtue of the breadth of the mayor’s democratic mandate, he or she will be an extremely strong political voice speaking on behalf of Dubliners in local, regional and national politics,” he added.
Mr Gormley said that the directly elected mayor, who will have powers similar to those of the London mayor, will be chair of the Dublin Transport Authority with a direct role in the development of transport strategy in the capital.
He added that the mayor would oversee the implementation by the four Dublin local authorities of agreed regional strategies. The mayor would also be responsible for bringing key public and private sector partners together to promote a dynamic and enterprising city region.
“I am confident that the mayor will raise the profile of Dublin, enhance local democracy and accountability and lead to the provision of a more effective and integrated public service across the city and region,” said Mr Gormley.
He added that the election would take place next year in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to bring in the new system for Dublin by 2011.
Mr Gormley said the issue of funding local government would be dealt with by the Commission on Taxation which was due to report in the summer.
The White Paper on the future of local government would be delayed until the commission’s recommendations could be considered.
The Minister’s announcement was dismissed by Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan.
“Instead of giving Dublin what it needs, John Gormley’s proposals are little more than half-baked and will fail miserably.” Mr Hogan said the mayor had no clearly, defined responsibilities and questions about which decisions would be made by the mayor, or the councils or central government were still up in the air.
“Holding the election in 2010, out of line with the regular local and European elections, makes absolutely no sense. The election for the mayor should coincide with local elections, to do otherwise is farcical and will, at the very least, only depress turnout,” said Mr Hogan.
“Meanwhile the people of Dublin still suffer from a lack of services from local government. In contrast to John Gormley’s spin, Fine Gael set out a comprehensive reform package for local government in our document, ‘Power to the People’, that included plans for a directly-elected Dublin mayor with real powers from 2014.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The mayor, will be paid the same salary as a Government Minister, will have responsibility for transport, planning and waste management across the four Dublin local authorities.
“2010 will see the direct election by the people of the Dublin region of a highly visible and accountable mayor who will have the authority and powers to deliver real leadership for the city and region,” said Mr Gormley.
“The mayor’s leadership will derive from a suite of substantial powers across the functions of local government.
“I also believe that by virtue of the breadth of the mayor’s democratic mandate, he or she will be an extremely strong political voice speaking on behalf of Dubliners in local, regional and national politics,” he added.
Mr Gormley said that the directly elected mayor, who will have powers similar to those of the London mayor, will be chair of the Dublin Transport Authority with a direct role in the development of transport strategy in the capital.
He added that the mayor would oversee the implementation by the four Dublin local authorities of agreed regional strategies. The mayor would also be responsible for bringing key public and private sector partners together to promote a dynamic and enterprising city region.
“I am confident that the mayor will raise the profile of Dublin, enhance local democracy and accountability and lead to the provision of a more effective and integrated public service across the city and region,” said Mr Gormley.
He added that the election would take place next year in line with the commitment in the Programme for Government to bring in the new system for Dublin by 2011.
Mr Gormley said the issue of funding local government would be dealt with by the Commission on Taxation which was due to report in the summer.
The White Paper on the future of local government would be delayed until the commission’s recommendations could be considered.
The Minister’s announcement was dismissed by Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan.
“Instead of giving Dublin what it needs, John Gormley’s proposals are little more than half-baked and will fail miserably.” Mr Hogan said the mayor had no clearly, defined responsibilities and questions about which decisions would be made by the mayor, or the councils or central government were still up in the air.
“Holding the election in 2010, out of line with the regular local and European elections, makes absolutely no sense. The election for the mayor should coincide with local elections, to do otherwise is farcical and will, at the very least, only depress turnout,” said Mr Hogan.
“Meanwhile the people of Dublin still suffer from a lack of services from local government. In contrast to John Gormley’s spin, Fine Gael set out a comprehensive reform package for local government in our document, ‘Power to the People’, that included plans for a directly-elected Dublin mayor with real powers from 2014.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Green energies give rise to 'eco-bling'
ATTEMPTS TO make buildings more energy-efficient by installing expensive “green technologies” have resulted in the rise of “eco-bling”, a symposium in Trinity College heard yesterday.
Academics and practitioners of sustainable energies said much money was being spent on micro-renewable energy systems when extra insulation and draught-proofing would be more effective.
The symposium heard some expensive technologies such as photo-voltaic cells, which take energy from sunshine, can take up to 50 years to pay for themselves in saved energy costs. However, photo-voltaic cells often have a useful life of just 20 years, making them effectively “eco-bling”.
Howard Liddell of Gaia Architects, which has been working on eco-design in Scotland and Norway since 1984, said heat pumps, photo-voltaic cells, solar panels, even in some instances wind turbines, were types of renewable energies which frequently did not stand up to “crunching the numbers”.
In his lecture, “Nega Watts – the antidote to Eco-bling” Mr Liddell said preventing heat loss was by definition among the best ways to achieve energy efficiency.
He said he had never seen a heat pump in operation which offered a return as good as three units of energy output for each unit which went in, yet these were regularly advertised as “four units of output for one unit in”.
Photo-voltaic cells which make energy from sunshine offered a 50-year payback, but all too often have a 20-year useful life.
He was critical of new housing schemes which advertised “10 percent of energy from renewables” when research showed clearly the best way to achieve energy efficiency was simply to reduce waste.
The optimum measure was “super insulation”, making a house air-tight, “instead of heating the sky”. However, he asked, “How do you make insulation and air-tightness sound as sexy as 10 per cent from renewables?”
He said “green” buildings with micro-renewable energies tended to be lived in by environmentalists, and cost more to build. Super-insulated buildings with only air tightness and passive solar gain tended to be lived in by “ordinary people” and did not cost more to build.
In his address, “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air” Prof David MacKay of the department of physics at Cambridge University, England, asked whether renewable energy has the capacity to meet society’s demands. He concluded that Britain, as an example, could survive on renewable energies alone – but only with massive societal changes and most of its land mass utilised by biofuel crops, alongside tidal, wind and wave energy farms.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Academics and practitioners of sustainable energies said much money was being spent on micro-renewable energy systems when extra insulation and draught-proofing would be more effective.
The symposium heard some expensive technologies such as photo-voltaic cells, which take energy from sunshine, can take up to 50 years to pay for themselves in saved energy costs. However, photo-voltaic cells often have a useful life of just 20 years, making them effectively “eco-bling”.
Howard Liddell of Gaia Architects, which has been working on eco-design in Scotland and Norway since 1984, said heat pumps, photo-voltaic cells, solar panels, even in some instances wind turbines, were types of renewable energies which frequently did not stand up to “crunching the numbers”.
In his lecture, “Nega Watts – the antidote to Eco-bling” Mr Liddell said preventing heat loss was by definition among the best ways to achieve energy efficiency.
He said he had never seen a heat pump in operation which offered a return as good as three units of energy output for each unit which went in, yet these were regularly advertised as “four units of output for one unit in”.
Photo-voltaic cells which make energy from sunshine offered a 50-year payback, but all too often have a 20-year useful life.
He was critical of new housing schemes which advertised “10 percent of energy from renewables” when research showed clearly the best way to achieve energy efficiency was simply to reduce waste.
The optimum measure was “super insulation”, making a house air-tight, “instead of heating the sky”. However, he asked, “How do you make insulation and air-tightness sound as sexy as 10 per cent from renewables?”
He said “green” buildings with micro-renewable energies tended to be lived in by environmentalists, and cost more to build. Super-insulated buildings with only air tightness and passive solar gain tended to be lived in by “ordinary people” and did not cost more to build.
In his address, “Sustainable Energy – Without the Hot Air” Prof David MacKay of the department of physics at Cambridge University, England, asked whether renewable energy has the capacity to meet society’s demands. He concluded that Britain, as an example, could survive on renewable energies alone – but only with massive societal changes and most of its land mass utilised by biofuel crops, alongside tidal, wind and wave energy farms.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Developer's bid to turn embassy into offices fails
DEVELOPER DEREK Quinlan has lost his High Court challenge to a planning condition stipulating a protected property on Dublin’s Ailesbury Road bought by him for €8.5 million may only be used as an embassy.
Dismissing the challenge on all grounds yesterday, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled the condition was necessary and relevant to the permitted development and proper planning of the area and was also reasonable.
The condition was attached to a planning permission for a small extension and refurbishment works at the property but An Bord Pleanála said it also applied in the context of the entire property. Imposing the condition on the entire property was “not disproportionate”, the judge said.
The property at 43 Ailesbury Road was the home of the German embassy from 1962 until the mid-1990s when the Mexican embassy took over residence. Part of it was used from time to time as offices by non-embassy users.
Mr Quinlan bought the property in October 2007 and shortly afterwards applied to Dublin City Council for permission to refurbish and extend the existing offices in the premises. He said he intended to use the premises as offices and the property represented “a very significant investment” by him, including €1.67 million for the proposed works.
The council granted permission in January 2008 on conditions, including the entire premises “shall be solely for use as an embassy” as defined in the 2005-2011 Dublin City Development Plan (DCDP) and shall not be used for general offices or any other uses unless authorised by a prior grant of planning permission.
Mr Quinlan unsuccessfully appealed the condition to An Bord Pleanála. The board said the established/permitted use of the site was as an embassy and such use was not within the meaning of office use as defined in the 2001 planning regulations.
The site was in a residential conservation area and the condition was in accordance with the development plan for the area.
Counsel for the board also said the fact there was embassy use was not “a springboard” to a different use that could have a greater impact on a residential area.
In her judgment, Ms Justice Dunne ruled the condition was relevant to the proper planning of the area and was necessary for clarifying and regulating the use of the property, particularly in the context of planning applications which described the property as “existing offices”.
She rejected claims a condition relating to “use” of the premises could not be attached to a planning permission for “works”.
A central issue in the case was whether embassy use is the same as office use within the meaning of 2001 planning regulations, she noted.
While the planning legislation and the 2001 regulations made under it did not expressly refer to embassies, the issue of what does or does not come within the scope of office use was quintessentially a matter for the planning authorities and not the court, she said.
In this case, the board was entitled to conclude the established use of the property was as an embassy and that such use did not come within the meaning of office use as defined in the regulations. It was also entitled to have regard to the DCDP and the objectives regarding embassy use.
No grounds had been advanced upon which she could find the board’s decision invalid, she concluded.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dismissing the challenge on all grounds yesterday, Ms Justice Elizabeth Dunne ruled the condition was necessary and relevant to the permitted development and proper planning of the area and was also reasonable.
The condition was attached to a planning permission for a small extension and refurbishment works at the property but An Bord Pleanála said it also applied in the context of the entire property. Imposing the condition on the entire property was “not disproportionate”, the judge said.
The property at 43 Ailesbury Road was the home of the German embassy from 1962 until the mid-1990s when the Mexican embassy took over residence. Part of it was used from time to time as offices by non-embassy users.
Mr Quinlan bought the property in October 2007 and shortly afterwards applied to Dublin City Council for permission to refurbish and extend the existing offices in the premises. He said he intended to use the premises as offices and the property represented “a very significant investment” by him, including €1.67 million for the proposed works.
The council granted permission in January 2008 on conditions, including the entire premises “shall be solely for use as an embassy” as defined in the 2005-2011 Dublin City Development Plan (DCDP) and shall not be used for general offices or any other uses unless authorised by a prior grant of planning permission.
Mr Quinlan unsuccessfully appealed the condition to An Bord Pleanála. The board said the established/permitted use of the site was as an embassy and such use was not within the meaning of office use as defined in the 2001 planning regulations.
The site was in a residential conservation area and the condition was in accordance with the development plan for the area.
Counsel for the board also said the fact there was embassy use was not “a springboard” to a different use that could have a greater impact on a residential area.
In her judgment, Ms Justice Dunne ruled the condition was relevant to the proper planning of the area and was necessary for clarifying and regulating the use of the property, particularly in the context of planning applications which described the property as “existing offices”.
She rejected claims a condition relating to “use” of the premises could not be attached to a planning permission for “works”.
A central issue in the case was whether embassy use is the same as office use within the meaning of 2001 planning regulations, she noted.
While the planning legislation and the 2001 regulations made under it did not expressly refer to embassies, the issue of what does or does not come within the scope of office use was quintessentially a matter for the planning authorities and not the court, she said.
In this case, the board was entitled to conclude the established use of the property was as an embassy and that such use did not come within the meaning of office use as defined in the regulations. It was also entitled to have regard to the DCDP and the objectives regarding embassy use.
No grounds had been advanced upon which she could find the board’s decision invalid, she concluded.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 13 May 2009
Samuel Beckett Bridge
It is planned that the East Link Toll Bridge will be lifted between 2pm and 3.30pm this afternoon, to allow the new Samuel Beckett Bridge to be moved. Gardaí will direct traffic for the duration of the closure.
www.buckplanning.ie
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 12 May 2009
Hearing highlights success of Cork recycling
THE SUCCESS of Cork City Council’s recycling programme was highlighted yesterday at an oral hearing on a proposed incinerator to be located at Ringaskiddy in Cork.
Levels of waste generated in the region have risen by just 1 per cent in the past six years, up from 115,000 tonnes since 2003, the hearing was told.
Entering its third week, the An Bord Pleanála hearing heard that the focus for waste-management in the Cork region – which takes in Cork city and county – was primarily waste-reduction methods such as recycling and composting.
At present 417,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste are produced in the Cork region every year, approximately half of which is recycled.
While Cork city and county councils collect 30 per cent of this waste, the bulk of the remainder is dealt with by private contractors, who could opt to utilise the services of the proposed incinerator.
In response to questioning, Cork City Council senior engineer Michael O’Brien said: “We can’t control what a private operator does.”
The hearing was told yesterday that once the city’s largest dump, the Kinsale Road landfill, closes this summer, the Cork region will be reliant on landfill sites in Cork county, primarily a landfill site located in Youghal, to deal with its landfill waste.
The council will begin disposing of waste at a new landfill facility at Bottlehill, 13 miles north of Cork city, when that facility opens in January 2010. This landfill will only accept pre-treated and baled waste, though no baling facility exists at present.
Mr O’Brien conceded that no site had been agreed for a baling facility, but council sources indicated that such a facility could be put in place in just 14 weeks.
Private operators deal with 52 per cent of domestic waste generated by the Cork region, and Cork City Council has advertised seeking private operators to deal with that waste during the latter part of 2009 and into the future, according to Mr O’Brien.
Cork city and county council’s long-term plan for waste management was focused on education, recycling and waste reduction at source, Mr O’Brien said.
“We must concentrate on the reduction of waste at source.”
The managing director of Indaver for the UK and Ireland, John Ahern, said Cork City Council would need to reach a recycling rate of 70 per cent in order to deal with its waste-management responsibilities into the future, where current recycling rates stand at 50 per cent.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Levels of waste generated in the region have risen by just 1 per cent in the past six years, up from 115,000 tonnes since 2003, the hearing was told.
Entering its third week, the An Bord Pleanála hearing heard that the focus for waste-management in the Cork region – which takes in Cork city and county – was primarily waste-reduction methods such as recycling and composting.
At present 417,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste are produced in the Cork region every year, approximately half of which is recycled.
While Cork city and county councils collect 30 per cent of this waste, the bulk of the remainder is dealt with by private contractors, who could opt to utilise the services of the proposed incinerator.
In response to questioning, Cork City Council senior engineer Michael O’Brien said: “We can’t control what a private operator does.”
The hearing was told yesterday that once the city’s largest dump, the Kinsale Road landfill, closes this summer, the Cork region will be reliant on landfill sites in Cork county, primarily a landfill site located in Youghal, to deal with its landfill waste.
The council will begin disposing of waste at a new landfill facility at Bottlehill, 13 miles north of Cork city, when that facility opens in January 2010. This landfill will only accept pre-treated and baled waste, though no baling facility exists at present.
Mr O’Brien conceded that no site had been agreed for a baling facility, but council sources indicated that such a facility could be put in place in just 14 weeks.
Private operators deal with 52 per cent of domestic waste generated by the Cork region, and Cork City Council has advertised seeking private operators to deal with that waste during the latter part of 2009 and into the future, according to Mr O’Brien.
Cork city and county council’s long-term plan for waste management was focused on education, recycling and waste reduction at source, Mr O’Brien said.
“We must concentrate on the reduction of waste at source.”
The managing director of Indaver for the UK and Ireland, John Ahern, said Cork City Council would need to reach a recycling rate of 70 per cent in order to deal with its waste-management responsibilities into the future, where current recycling rates stand at 50 per cent.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
High Court action by owners of Lissadell
THE OWNERS of Lissadell estate in Co Sligo are seeking an early date for a hearing of their High Court action against Sligo County Council over whether there is a public right of way across the lands.
A substantial sum of money is involved and jobs are at stake, counsel for the owners told Mr Justice Frank Clarke yesterday.
Mr Justice Clarke said he would make inquiries with the president of the High Court in an attempt to secure a date, but in the meantime several discovery issues would be addressed this month.
The owners, barristers Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, claim the “wrongful” actions of the council in asserting a public right of way over part of their lands has imperilled the viability of the restoration of Lissadell, compromised the value of the premises and reduced the standing of the owners in the community.
Because of the council’s actions, the owners claim they have been obliged to curtail the tourism facilities at Lissadell.
Peter Bland, for the owners, said the council was pleading the routes concerned had been in public use for a very long time. Perhaps the matter went as far back as 1189 or when the Firbolgs walked up and down the avenues concerned.
The court was told the defence would need about three months to prepare its case, and Siobhan Stack, for the council, rejected Mr Bland’s suggestion there was any unreasonable delay on the defendant’s part.
The proceedings were initiated after the council on December 1st, 2008, passed a resolution to amend the Sligo County Development Plan to include a provision for the “preservation of the public rights of way” along certain routes at Lissadell.
Because of the council’s actions, the owners claim they have been obliged to curtail the tourism facilities at Lissadell.
The owners closed Lissadell House, the former home of the Gore Booth family, to the public last January.
The council is also facing a claim for damages for alleged slander of title, negligence, breach of duty and intentional and/or unlawful interference with the owners’ economic interests.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A substantial sum of money is involved and jobs are at stake, counsel for the owners told Mr Justice Frank Clarke yesterday.
Mr Justice Clarke said he would make inquiries with the president of the High Court in an attempt to secure a date, but in the meantime several discovery issues would be addressed this month.
The owners, barristers Edward Walsh and Constance Cassidy, claim the “wrongful” actions of the council in asserting a public right of way over part of their lands has imperilled the viability of the restoration of Lissadell, compromised the value of the premises and reduced the standing of the owners in the community.
Because of the council’s actions, the owners claim they have been obliged to curtail the tourism facilities at Lissadell.
Peter Bland, for the owners, said the council was pleading the routes concerned had been in public use for a very long time. Perhaps the matter went as far back as 1189 or when the Firbolgs walked up and down the avenues concerned.
The court was told the defence would need about three months to prepare its case, and Siobhan Stack, for the council, rejected Mr Bland’s suggestion there was any unreasonable delay on the defendant’s part.
The proceedings were initiated after the council on December 1st, 2008, passed a resolution to amend the Sligo County Development Plan to include a provision for the “preservation of the public rights of way” along certain routes at Lissadell.
Because of the council’s actions, the owners claim they have been obliged to curtail the tourism facilities at Lissadell.
The owners closed Lissadell House, the former home of the Gore Booth family, to the public last January.
The council is also facing a claim for damages for alleged slander of title, negligence, breach of duty and intentional and/or unlawful interference with the owners’ economic interests.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sean Dunne seeks €35m in damages
DEVELOPER SEAN Dunne is seeking €35 million damages from a firm of estate agents over allegedly advising him to buy a Dublin property for €130 million when, he claims, the nearest competing bid was €102 million and the true value of the premises was between €65 million and €95 million.
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has denied all the claims by Mr Dunne, including that it received a fee from Irish Life Investment Managers over the sale of Hume House in late February 2006, breached its professional duty to Mr Dunne and concealed information from him concerning the purchase of the property. When he was outside the country, Mr Dunne claims his bid for Hume House went from €92 million to €130 million over a four-day period in late February 2006 against a counter-bid of €102 million.
His initial reaction when his €92 million bid was rejected was to “let the matter go” , he claims, but he was persuaded by Willie Dowling and Sean O’Brien of CBRE to make a further offer and that Hume House was worth €130 million as an investment property. He said he relied on the greater expertise of CBRE in the matter.
Mr Dunne claims he asked Gerry Keenan, chief executive of Irish Life Investment Managers, during a phone conversation in February 2009 how much fees were paid to CBRE and also asked was it “a good fee”.
He said Mr Keenan replied: “What is a good fee?” and laughed. Mr Dunne said he asked Mr Keenan to indicate a figure, Mr Keenan said: “Guess”. Mr Dunne said €500,000 and Mr Keenan said: “You’re in the right field.” Mr Keenan had later said he had “better not say any more” and laughed, Mr Dunne said.
About five minutes later, he said Mr Keenan telephoned him saying he (Mr Keenan) had his “head mixed up” and Irish Life did not pay anything to CBRE and he was thinking about another deal with CBRE. Mr Dunne said Mr Keenan changed from being “cordial and accommodating” in the first call to being “evasive”. These events warranted investigation, he said.
Mr Dunne has made the claims in an affidavit supporting his defence and counter-claim to proceedings brought against him by CBRE in which they are seeking €1.5 million in alleged unpaid fees. CBRE claimed the fees in November 2006 in relation to a commercial property transaction of February 2006 involving the sale of premises known as Riverside IV at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin and the part exchange of that with Hume House at Pembroke Road.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) has denied all the claims by Mr Dunne, including that it received a fee from Irish Life Investment Managers over the sale of Hume House in late February 2006, breached its professional duty to Mr Dunne and concealed information from him concerning the purchase of the property. When he was outside the country, Mr Dunne claims his bid for Hume House went from €92 million to €130 million over a four-day period in late February 2006 against a counter-bid of €102 million.
His initial reaction when his €92 million bid was rejected was to “let the matter go” , he claims, but he was persuaded by Willie Dowling and Sean O’Brien of CBRE to make a further offer and that Hume House was worth €130 million as an investment property. He said he relied on the greater expertise of CBRE in the matter.
Mr Dunne claims he asked Gerry Keenan, chief executive of Irish Life Investment Managers, during a phone conversation in February 2009 how much fees were paid to CBRE and also asked was it “a good fee”.
He said Mr Keenan replied: “What is a good fee?” and laughed. Mr Dunne said he asked Mr Keenan to indicate a figure, Mr Keenan said: “Guess”. Mr Dunne said €500,000 and Mr Keenan said: “You’re in the right field.” Mr Keenan had later said he had “better not say any more” and laughed, Mr Dunne said.
About five minutes later, he said Mr Keenan telephoned him saying he (Mr Keenan) had his “head mixed up” and Irish Life did not pay anything to CBRE and he was thinking about another deal with CBRE. Mr Dunne said Mr Keenan changed from being “cordial and accommodating” in the first call to being “evasive”. These events warranted investigation, he said.
Mr Dunne has made the claims in an affidavit supporting his defence and counter-claim to proceedings brought against him by CBRE in which they are seeking €1.5 million in alleged unpaid fees. CBRE claimed the fees in November 2006 in relation to a commercial property transaction of February 2006 involving the sale of premises known as Riverside IV at Sir John Rogerson’s Quay, Dublin and the part exchange of that with Hume House at Pembroke Road.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council approves 'bus gate' plan to ban cars from College Green
COUNCILLORS IN Dublin City have backed a motion to introduce a “bus gate” at College Green, establishing a public transport priority through the area from 7am to 10am and 4pm to 7pm on weekdays.
The motion to ban cars in the area during peak hours between Monday and Friday was backed by 15 votes to 12 at a meeting of the council last night.
The scheme will involve re-routing of commuter traffic and revised access to certain car parks.
New signs for car parks and alternative routes will be installed on the primary access routes within the city’s canal cordon.
Speaking at last night’s council meeting, Labour councillor Andrew Montague said “if we want to get more people into the city centre, the buses are the best way to do it”.
He added that a bus lane could bring 5,000 people into town per hour, compared to a car lane which could only bring 1,000.
However, Cllr Emer Costello (Labour) said she felt it would be very damaging to small businesses and jobs in the city centre.
Arguing against the proposal,Fine Gael’s Ruairí McGinley said buses were the single biggest contributor to pollution in the city centre, contributing 80 per cent of the pollution at College Green.
He added that disabled drivers had expressed concern about getting in and out of work in the city centre if cars are banned at peak times.
The introduction of a “bus gate” will lead to firm closures and job losses, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.
The chamber had asked city councillors to put the proposal on hold until several traffic mitigation measures are introduced along with improvements in public transport services. Such measures include the implementation of real-time traffic information and upgrading car park signs around the capital.
“It is about ensuring that shoppers and commuters have real alternatives to going through the College Green by car, before they close it for any period of time” said Gina Quin, Dublin Chamber chief executive.
The chamber also claims that the decision to implement the bus gate would be calamitous for local traders who are already struggling as fewer shoppers visit the city centre.
“Businesses are concerned that this will only discourage shoppers further from visiting the city centre,” said Ms Quin.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The motion to ban cars in the area during peak hours between Monday and Friday was backed by 15 votes to 12 at a meeting of the council last night.
The scheme will involve re-routing of commuter traffic and revised access to certain car parks.
New signs for car parks and alternative routes will be installed on the primary access routes within the city’s canal cordon.
Speaking at last night’s council meeting, Labour councillor Andrew Montague said “if we want to get more people into the city centre, the buses are the best way to do it”.
He added that a bus lane could bring 5,000 people into town per hour, compared to a car lane which could only bring 1,000.
However, Cllr Emer Costello (Labour) said she felt it would be very damaging to small businesses and jobs in the city centre.
Arguing against the proposal,Fine Gael’s Ruairí McGinley said buses were the single biggest contributor to pollution in the city centre, contributing 80 per cent of the pollution at College Green.
He added that disabled drivers had expressed concern about getting in and out of work in the city centre if cars are banned at peak times.
The introduction of a “bus gate” will lead to firm closures and job losses, the Dublin Chamber of Commerce said yesterday.
The chamber had asked city councillors to put the proposal on hold until several traffic mitigation measures are introduced along with improvements in public transport services. Such measures include the implementation of real-time traffic information and upgrading car park signs around the capital.
“It is about ensuring that shoppers and commuters have real alternatives to going through the College Green by car, before they close it for any period of time” said Gina Quin, Dublin Chamber chief executive.
The chamber also claims that the decision to implement the bus gate would be calamitous for local traders who are already struggling as fewer shoppers visit the city centre.
“Businesses are concerned that this will only discourage shoppers further from visiting the city centre,” said Ms Quin.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
€60 million bridge makes way up Liffey
HIGH WINDS delayed attempts to move the new Samuel Beckett Bridge down the river Liffey last night, after it arrived from the Netherlands earlier yesterday.
The Samuel Beckett Bridge, at 120 metres long and 48 metres high, will link Sir John Rogerson’s Quay on the south side of the river Liffey with Guild Street and North Wall Quay on the north side.
It had been due to be floated down the river at 2am, weather permitting. A decision was made at 8pm to defer the plan until the winds subsided.
A Dublin City Council spokesman said it was a case of “wait and see”. If winds were sufficiently low tonight the bridge would be moved, he said.
Dublin’s newest bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava, and will be his second bridge in the capital. The James Joyce Bridge, near Heuston Station, opened in 2003.
The new bridge, costing about €60 million, will be capable of rotating through an angle of 90 degrees to facilitate maritime traffic.
It has four traffic lanes, cycle tracks and footpaths.
It arrived on a barge into Dublin Port yesterday morning having charted its way from Rotterdam, across the English Channel and Irish Sea in a week-long journey.
It was constructed for Dublin City Council by an Irish/Dutch joint venture consortium Graham-Hollandia.
The design evokes the image of the Irish harp lying on its side.
The bridge is expected to open to traffic in early 2010 following a series of commissioning works.
After it travels through the Eastlink Bridge, it will be moored on a pontoon alongside the south quayside for the next few weeks before being placed on its supporting pier in the river.
Dublin city engineer Michael Phillips said the bridge was a stunning piece of design and engineering.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Samuel Beckett Bridge, at 120 metres long and 48 metres high, will link Sir John Rogerson’s Quay on the south side of the river Liffey with Guild Street and North Wall Quay on the north side.
It had been due to be floated down the river at 2am, weather permitting. A decision was made at 8pm to defer the plan until the winds subsided.
A Dublin City Council spokesman said it was a case of “wait and see”. If winds were sufficiently low tonight the bridge would be moved, he said.
Dublin’s newest bridge was designed by Santiago Calatrava, and will be his second bridge in the capital. The James Joyce Bridge, near Heuston Station, opened in 2003.
The new bridge, costing about €60 million, will be capable of rotating through an angle of 90 degrees to facilitate maritime traffic.
It has four traffic lanes, cycle tracks and footpaths.
It arrived on a barge into Dublin Port yesterday morning having charted its way from Rotterdam, across the English Channel and Irish Sea in a week-long journey.
It was constructed for Dublin City Council by an Irish/Dutch joint venture consortium Graham-Hollandia.
The design evokes the image of the Irish harp lying on its side.
The bridge is expected to open to traffic in early 2010 following a series of commissioning works.
After it travels through the Eastlink Bridge, it will be moored on a pontoon alongside the south quayside for the next few weeks before being placed on its supporting pier in the river.
Dublin city engineer Michael Phillips said the bridge was a stunning piece of design and engineering.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Agreement reached on mid-west infrastructure masterplan
AGREEMENT has been reached on the drafting of a masterplan for the long-term infrastructure development of North Tipperary, Limerick city and Co Limerick.
Limerick City Council, acting on behalf of the mid-west’s regional and local authorities, has reached agreement with civil engineering consultants, Mott MacDonald Pettit, to prepare the framework document for guiding future residential, commercial and industrial development in the mid-west region.
Called the Mid-West Area Strategic Plan (MWASP), it will have a significant bearing on the development of the region’s transportation infrastructure over the next 30 years. Supported by the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Limerick City Council will act as lead authority for the project on behalf of the Mid-West Regional Authority, Clare County Council, Limerick County Council and North Tipperary County Council.
Limerick City manager Tom Mackey said: "It is important to develop a planning, land use and transportation strategy for the region to help it compete nationally and internationally. The strategy output will integrate transport and land use planning in the mid-west while embracing the sustainable philosophy, and planning for the region’s current and future need."
Regional authority director Liam Conneally said: "The output of the strategy is not intended to be an ‘end-state’, but rather the first substantial step in a 30-year strategy that will shape the future of the mid-west.
"During the recent economic boom much development has been developer-led whereby strategic locations have been land banked for potential future development. This study, however, is plan-led whereby the regional and local authorities identify locations deemed suitable for sustainable development. Furthermore, the strategy will feed into mid-west regional planning guidelines and will particularly inform the Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary county development plans and the Limerick City Plan, which are presently under review."
Mr Conneally explained the strategy would provide the mid-west authorities with evidence-based cases to justify undertaking large-scale planning and transportation projects.
He said: "The study will include a traffic model examining the impact of all new developments on the road and rail transportation network. The regional and local authorities will be able to use the model to determine the potential impacts of any large scale commercial, retail or employment creation proposals on the existing transportation network in the areas concerned and provide vital information on infrastructure upgrades necessary to accommodate such projects.
"Ultimately, the model will contribute to the sustainable economic development of the mid-west, as well as maximise the proper use of local, regional and national road, rail and other transport networks." Tom O’Connor, managing director of Mott MacDonald Pettit, said the development of a strategic plan for the region would ensure the balanced growth of the region.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Limerick City Council, acting on behalf of the mid-west’s regional and local authorities, has reached agreement with civil engineering consultants, Mott MacDonald Pettit, to prepare the framework document for guiding future residential, commercial and industrial development in the mid-west region.
Called the Mid-West Area Strategic Plan (MWASP), it will have a significant bearing on the development of the region’s transportation infrastructure over the next 30 years. Supported by the Department of Transport and the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Limerick City Council will act as lead authority for the project on behalf of the Mid-West Regional Authority, Clare County Council, Limerick County Council and North Tipperary County Council.
Limerick City manager Tom Mackey said: "It is important to develop a planning, land use and transportation strategy for the region to help it compete nationally and internationally. The strategy output will integrate transport and land use planning in the mid-west while embracing the sustainable philosophy, and planning for the region’s current and future need."
Regional authority director Liam Conneally said: "The output of the strategy is not intended to be an ‘end-state’, but rather the first substantial step in a 30-year strategy that will shape the future of the mid-west.
"During the recent economic boom much development has been developer-led whereby strategic locations have been land banked for potential future development. This study, however, is plan-led whereby the regional and local authorities identify locations deemed suitable for sustainable development. Furthermore, the strategy will feed into mid-west regional planning guidelines and will particularly inform the Clare, Limerick and North Tipperary county development plans and the Limerick City Plan, which are presently under review."
Mr Conneally explained the strategy would provide the mid-west authorities with evidence-based cases to justify undertaking large-scale planning and transportation projects.
He said: "The study will include a traffic model examining the impact of all new developments on the road and rail transportation network. The regional and local authorities will be able to use the model to determine the potential impacts of any large scale commercial, retail or employment creation proposals on the existing transportation network in the areas concerned and provide vital information on infrastructure upgrades necessary to accommodate such projects.
"Ultimately, the model will contribute to the sustainable economic development of the mid-west, as well as maximise the proper use of local, regional and national road, rail and other transport networks." Tom O’Connor, managing director of Mott MacDonald Pettit, said the development of a strategic plan for the region would ensure the balanced growth of the region.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 10 May 2009
Ryan refused gold licences against department advice
Eamon Ryan, the Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, went against advice from his own department when he refused to issue gold prospecting licences in Mayo.
Ryan had initially indicated that he was in favour of granting rights to prospect for gold and silver at 11 locations near Louisburgh, to a company called Mayo’s Gold. However, after meetings between the minister and environmental activists opposed to gold mining in the area, Ryan decided against issuing the licences last July.
Documents released by the department show that Ryan was advised by senior officials in its exploration and mining division that there was no obstacle to granting the licences. The division said that most of the objectors misunderstood the difference between a mining licence and permission to conduct exploratory prospecting.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Ryan had initially indicated that he was in favour of granting rights to prospect for gold and silver at 11 locations near Louisburgh, to a company called Mayo’s Gold. However, after meetings between the minister and environmental activists opposed to gold mining in the area, Ryan decided against issuing the licences last July.
Documents released by the department show that Ryan was advised by senior officials in its exploration and mining division that there was no obstacle to granting the licences. The division said that most of the objectors misunderstood the difference between a mining licence and permission to conduct exploratory prospecting.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
High, dry and stranded in north inner-city Dublin
Grangegorman was meant to be a new quarter for the capital, but falling property prices have left the project in doubt, writes News Investigations Correspondent John Downes
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern with project architect James Mary O'Connor
The plans are ambitious: the complete regeneration of a whole section of north inner-city Dublin, and the transfer of one of the country's largest third-level colleges to a 73-acre site.
If implemented in full, the project at Grangegorman will eventually lead to the relocation of 22,000 Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) students and 2,000 staff from some 40 different locations around the city to a single campus. It will also include a €115m redevelopment of St Brendan's hospital, a mental-health facility owned by the HSE, as well as a major primary-healthcare facility. Overall, the aim is to create a major new city quarter, including schools, social housing for the elderly and parkland and sports facilities.
But the Sunday Tribune has learned that serious questions remain about the viability of a project that was conceived during vastly different economic times.
Back in 2002, when then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced his government had given the green light for phase one of the new DIT campus, it had been hoped construction would start the following year. Assuming phase two of the project would be approved, construction was due to finish by 2010.
Fast-forward seven years, and the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) has yet to receive budgetary approval from the minister for education and science, Batt O'Keeffe, to begin implementing its draft strategic plan. It says it now hopes it can start construction on the replacement health facilities in 2010, with a view to having most of DIT transferred there by 2014 and its "core facilities" completed by 2020. All of this is subject to the government deciding that it will allocate the necessary money for the project.
It is currently estimated that it will cost at least €750m to complete the first "core phase" of the DIT's move to Grangegorman, as well as a large proportion of the HSE's planned facilities. If the project as originally envisaged is ever completed, however, the final figure will likely be far higher as other major infrastructural aspects to the project come on stream.
Figures for what these are likely to cost are not yet available, although an early meeting of the GDA in November 2006 was told that the overall cost of the project could be as much as €2bn.
Therein lies one of the major problems facing the Grangegorman proposals.
More than 50% of the costs of the DIT project are expected to be financed primarily through the sale of buildings currently owned or occupied by DIT.
The sale of these properties is due to take place from 2011 onwards, meaning much depends on whether the property market improves by this time.
Yet according to a confidential valuation of DIT's buildings, obtained by the Sunday Tribune, these were worth just €223m in July of last year. While this excludes two properties, one on Slaney Row and the other at Camden Row, this figure equates to less than one third of the estimated €710m cost of building phase one of the DIT project, as calculated in early 2008.
It is also a far cry from the 50% or more which the sale of these buildings was expected to contribute – and fails to take account of the collapse in property prices in the intervening period.
Add to this the lack of funds available for lending in the current property market, and questions are likely to have been raised in government circles as to whether DIT's properties can be relied upon when calculating overall budgets for the project. This means that the government may be required to make up any shortfall – hardly an ideal scenario in the current economic climate.
Perhaps understandably, supporters of the project point to the fact that construction costs have also declined significantly during this time. For example, the core part of the DIT campus, comprising all of its 27 schools, will amount to 140,000sq m of development. The GDA says the cost of this phase has dropped from €710m to approximately €635m currently. All prices are inclusive of VAT.
The GDA's chief executive, Gerry Murphy, told the Sunday Tribune that this significant fall in the cost of the project was due to a reduction in construction pricing and "value engineering" which the GDA and its technical advisers have carried out.
"The majority of the... costs will be funded by DIT itself through sale of its property portfolio, its savings on lease costs and other savings arising from its consolidation on site. Other DIT developments on site, such as student accommodation, will be self-funding," he said.
But does the project have the full support of the minister for education? Asked if Batt O'Keeffe was committed to providing all necessary resources to facilitate DIT's move to the Grangegorman site, his spokesman would only say he was committed to "examining the proposals" put forward by the GDA in relation to its draft strategic plan. These were sent to government six months ago.
The project could be facing other challenges too. Frustrated local residents cannot necessarily be relied upon to 'buy in' to the project.
Pirooz Daneshmandi of the Grangegorman Residents Alliance is an elected member of the GDA board. He accuses the GDA, which has allocated significant sums to public-consultation exercises and information campaigns, of "continually undermining" residents' contributions and not listening to their suggestions.
Just one of these is that consideration be given to saving money by turning Bolton Street College and an empty hotel in Smithfield into relatively low-cost student accommodation –rather than building high-rise student accommodation at Grangegorman.
"Our community has only ever looked for a meaningful role in this major project in order to avoid the mistakes made in Smithfield, Ballymun and elsewhere," he says.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern with project architect James Mary O'Connor
The plans are ambitious: the complete regeneration of a whole section of north inner-city Dublin, and the transfer of one of the country's largest third-level colleges to a 73-acre site.
If implemented in full, the project at Grangegorman will eventually lead to the relocation of 22,000 Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) students and 2,000 staff from some 40 different locations around the city to a single campus. It will also include a €115m redevelopment of St Brendan's hospital, a mental-health facility owned by the HSE, as well as a major primary-healthcare facility. Overall, the aim is to create a major new city quarter, including schools, social housing for the elderly and parkland and sports facilities.
But the Sunday Tribune has learned that serious questions remain about the viability of a project that was conceived during vastly different economic times.
Back in 2002, when then-taoiseach Bertie Ahern announced his government had given the green light for phase one of the new DIT campus, it had been hoped construction would start the following year. Assuming phase two of the project would be approved, construction was due to finish by 2010.
Fast-forward seven years, and the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) has yet to receive budgetary approval from the minister for education and science, Batt O'Keeffe, to begin implementing its draft strategic plan. It says it now hopes it can start construction on the replacement health facilities in 2010, with a view to having most of DIT transferred there by 2014 and its "core facilities" completed by 2020. All of this is subject to the government deciding that it will allocate the necessary money for the project.
It is currently estimated that it will cost at least €750m to complete the first "core phase" of the DIT's move to Grangegorman, as well as a large proportion of the HSE's planned facilities. If the project as originally envisaged is ever completed, however, the final figure will likely be far higher as other major infrastructural aspects to the project come on stream.
Figures for what these are likely to cost are not yet available, although an early meeting of the GDA in November 2006 was told that the overall cost of the project could be as much as €2bn.
Therein lies one of the major problems facing the Grangegorman proposals.
More than 50% of the costs of the DIT project are expected to be financed primarily through the sale of buildings currently owned or occupied by DIT.
The sale of these properties is due to take place from 2011 onwards, meaning much depends on whether the property market improves by this time.
Yet according to a confidential valuation of DIT's buildings, obtained by the Sunday Tribune, these were worth just €223m in July of last year. While this excludes two properties, one on Slaney Row and the other at Camden Row, this figure equates to less than one third of the estimated €710m cost of building phase one of the DIT project, as calculated in early 2008.
It is also a far cry from the 50% or more which the sale of these buildings was expected to contribute – and fails to take account of the collapse in property prices in the intervening period.
Add to this the lack of funds available for lending in the current property market, and questions are likely to have been raised in government circles as to whether DIT's properties can be relied upon when calculating overall budgets for the project. This means that the government may be required to make up any shortfall – hardly an ideal scenario in the current economic climate.
Perhaps understandably, supporters of the project point to the fact that construction costs have also declined significantly during this time. For example, the core part of the DIT campus, comprising all of its 27 schools, will amount to 140,000sq m of development. The GDA says the cost of this phase has dropped from €710m to approximately €635m currently. All prices are inclusive of VAT.
The GDA's chief executive, Gerry Murphy, told the Sunday Tribune that this significant fall in the cost of the project was due to a reduction in construction pricing and "value engineering" which the GDA and its technical advisers have carried out.
"The majority of the... costs will be funded by DIT itself through sale of its property portfolio, its savings on lease costs and other savings arising from its consolidation on site. Other DIT developments on site, such as student accommodation, will be self-funding," he said.
But does the project have the full support of the minister for education? Asked if Batt O'Keeffe was committed to providing all necessary resources to facilitate DIT's move to the Grangegorman site, his spokesman would only say he was committed to "examining the proposals" put forward by the GDA in relation to its draft strategic plan. These were sent to government six months ago.
The project could be facing other challenges too. Frustrated local residents cannot necessarily be relied upon to 'buy in' to the project.
Pirooz Daneshmandi of the Grangegorman Residents Alliance is an elected member of the GDA board. He accuses the GDA, which has allocated significant sums to public-consultation exercises and information campaigns, of "continually undermining" residents' contributions and not listening to their suggestions.
Just one of these is that consideration be given to saving money by turning Bolton Street College and an empty hotel in Smithfield into relatively low-cost student accommodation –rather than building high-rise student accommodation at Grangegorman.
"Our community has only ever looked for a meaningful role in this major project in order to avoid the mistakes made in Smithfield, Ballymun and elsewhere," he says.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
€750k dispute over Dáil car park
THE government is to press ahead with a €750,000 restoration of the lawn at Leinster House despite being advised that the work could be undone by planned refurbishment works at the buildings.
A paper from the Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas said there was "no logic" in spending public money on the lawn this summer when a massive restoration project to make safe the crumbling buildings at Leinster House was still needed.
The lawn had been turned into a surface car park to facilitate a major extension of parliamentary facilities as part of the Leinster House 2000 project. However, it had been given only temporary planning permission and the government is currently in breach of planning laws in continuing to use it as a car park.
A committee, comprising the secretary general of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas and four senior managers, recommended that the Office of Public Works (OPW) should seek a five-year extension for the parking facility.
Their position paper, obtained by the Sunday Tribune, says: "There is no logic in spending public money in restoring the lawn at this point in time when there will be further significant disruption to car parking as a result of necessary works to Leinster House in the summer recesses 2009-2010 and subsequent years, and which may also in fact adversely impact on the restored lawn itself."
The government, however, is determined to push ahead with its proposals, fearing a backlash over the use of what is effectively an illegal surface car park.
A briefing document from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission says: "Office of Public Works are pushing to restore the Merrion Lawn. Their reasons are: the 'Part 9' planning permission for Leinster House 2000 only provided for a temporary car park. If the lawn is not restored, OPW fear that legal action could be taken against them, or in the future they will not be granted 'Part 9' planning concessions. The subject of the lawns gets frequent negative media coverage."
It says there are only three options available including the €750,000 restoration of the lawn which would create a "parking shortage" and would not remove the "eyesore" of cars , which would continue to be parked around the lawn.
The second option was to do nothing, which would save on costs, retain the parking space but have a "negative impact that is bad for public relations".
The third option is to have the temporary planning permission extended and to allow the restoration of the lawn to go ahead at the same time as a proposed refurbishment of Leinster House.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission have been under pressure from a number of government ministers to replace the lawn.
Minister John Gormley wrote to the Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue last November saying a number of "dismayed" people had been in contact with him to complain about the lawn. Gormley wrote: "I am of the opinion that these beautiful and historic gardens should indeed be restored." In February, transport minister Noel Dempsey wrote to the Office of Public Works saying it was "simply unthinkable" to retain surface car parking.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
A paper from the Offices of the Houses of the Oireachtas said there was "no logic" in spending public money on the lawn this summer when a massive restoration project to make safe the crumbling buildings at Leinster House was still needed.
The lawn had been turned into a surface car park to facilitate a major extension of parliamentary facilities as part of the Leinster House 2000 project. However, it had been given only temporary planning permission and the government is currently in breach of planning laws in continuing to use it as a car park.
A committee, comprising the secretary general of the Office of the Houses of the Oireachtas and four senior managers, recommended that the Office of Public Works (OPW) should seek a five-year extension for the parking facility.
Their position paper, obtained by the Sunday Tribune, says: "There is no logic in spending public money in restoring the lawn at this point in time when there will be further significant disruption to car parking as a result of necessary works to Leinster House in the summer recesses 2009-2010 and subsequent years, and which may also in fact adversely impact on the restored lawn itself."
The government, however, is determined to push ahead with its proposals, fearing a backlash over the use of what is effectively an illegal surface car park.
A briefing document from the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission says: "Office of Public Works are pushing to restore the Merrion Lawn. Their reasons are: the 'Part 9' planning permission for Leinster House 2000 only provided for a temporary car park. If the lawn is not restored, OPW fear that legal action could be taken against them, or in the future they will not be granted 'Part 9' planning concessions. The subject of the lawns gets frequent negative media coverage."
It says there are only three options available including the €750,000 restoration of the lawn which would create a "parking shortage" and would not remove the "eyesore" of cars , which would continue to be parked around the lawn.
The second option was to do nothing, which would save on costs, retain the parking space but have a "negative impact that is bad for public relations".
The third option is to have the temporary planning permission extended and to allow the restoration of the lawn to go ahead at the same time as a proposed refurbishment of Leinster House.
Documents released under the Freedom of Information Act show that the OPW and the Houses of the Oireachtas Commission have been under pressure from a number of government ministers to replace the lawn.
Minister John Gormley wrote to the Ceann Comhairle John O'Donoghue last November saying a number of "dismayed" people had been in contact with him to complain about the lawn. Gormley wrote: "I am of the opinion that these beautiful and historic gardens should indeed be restored." In February, transport minister Noel Dempsey wrote to the Office of Public Works saying it was "simply unthinkable" to retain surface car parking.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Over 1,000 buildings for energy-saving refurbishment
MORE THAN 1,000 large-scale public buildings are to be refurbished to reduce energy consumption by up to one third, and all new housing is to be "carbon neutral" by 2020, the Government announced yesterday.
The targets, among some 90 separate measures aimed at creating a "greener Ireland", are intended to save the State €1.6 billion annually in energy costs by 2020. This is to be achieved through a 20 per cent overall reduction in energy wastage, including a 33 per cent reduction from the public sector.
The intention is also to shift Ireland's energy requirement from fossil fuels to more secure and ultimately cheaper renewable energies.
Among private sector measures proposed are a stipulation that private landlords whose tenants receive rent allowance should achieve Building Energy Ratings (BER) for their properties which meet specific minimum standards.
It is hoped this measure is to be in place by the end of this year, with the costs of the BER borne by landlords. Landlords whose premises fail to meet energy efficiency standards or who fail to upgrade would find their premises no longer qualify for rent assistance.
In requiring that all new Irish housing be carbon neutral - at least in its energy consumption - by 2020, the measures go beyond what was previously anticipated. Building regulations due in 2010 are only expected to create a 60 per cent rise on 2002 base levels, with a further review in 2013 increasing this by 10 per cent. This will involve far greater insulation and use of renewable energies.
In the public sector, Government and local authority buildings are to be refurbished or "retrofitted" with renewable energy sources, increased insulation and special glazing measures to enhance energy efficiency.
All public sector bodies are to be required to produce an annual report outlining their progress towards the 33 per cent target.
In addition, the State procurement spending of up to €10 billion per year will from 2009 be subject to new guidelines on purchasing energy efficient products and services.
The energy sector itself is to be required to supply low-carbon energy to all customers and assist them to use it as efficiently as possible.
Appropriate market interventions such as grants, demonstrations and tax breaks will be provided, but it is expected by Government that the measures would almost all be self-financing.
Announcing the measures yesterday, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said the cheapest way to achieve energy efficiency - which would in turn save consumers money on heating bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions - was to reduce waste.
He said the aim was "to bring back sense into our energy use. In my first year in Government I focused on changing how we create our energy. This year we will prioritise how we save on energy use and energy costs, bringing down our emissions at the same time."
He added that €1.6 billion a year saved was money that could make a significant difference to health and education services.
Mr Ryan, who was accompanied at the launch by international expert on energy efficiency Amory Lovins, said his department was already talking to specialist energy services companies and banks on how the cost savings achieved in public buildings could be brought forward and used to pay for the necessary conversion work.
Around the world, he said, costs had been reduced by making necessary changes when buildings came up for refurbishment, but he wanted to be "more proactive than that".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The targets, among some 90 separate measures aimed at creating a "greener Ireland", are intended to save the State €1.6 billion annually in energy costs by 2020. This is to be achieved through a 20 per cent overall reduction in energy wastage, including a 33 per cent reduction from the public sector.
The intention is also to shift Ireland's energy requirement from fossil fuels to more secure and ultimately cheaper renewable energies.
Among private sector measures proposed are a stipulation that private landlords whose tenants receive rent allowance should achieve Building Energy Ratings (BER) for their properties which meet specific minimum standards.
It is hoped this measure is to be in place by the end of this year, with the costs of the BER borne by landlords. Landlords whose premises fail to meet energy efficiency standards or who fail to upgrade would find their premises no longer qualify for rent assistance.
In requiring that all new Irish housing be carbon neutral - at least in its energy consumption - by 2020, the measures go beyond what was previously anticipated. Building regulations due in 2010 are only expected to create a 60 per cent rise on 2002 base levels, with a further review in 2013 increasing this by 10 per cent. This will involve far greater insulation and use of renewable energies.
In the public sector, Government and local authority buildings are to be refurbished or "retrofitted" with renewable energy sources, increased insulation and special glazing measures to enhance energy efficiency.
All public sector bodies are to be required to produce an annual report outlining their progress towards the 33 per cent target.
In addition, the State procurement spending of up to €10 billion per year will from 2009 be subject to new guidelines on purchasing energy efficient products and services.
The energy sector itself is to be required to supply low-carbon energy to all customers and assist them to use it as efficiently as possible.
Appropriate market interventions such as grants, demonstrations and tax breaks will be provided, but it is expected by Government that the measures would almost all be self-financing.
Announcing the measures yesterday, Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan said the cheapest way to achieve energy efficiency - which would in turn save consumers money on heating bills and reduce greenhouse gas emissions - was to reduce waste.
He said the aim was "to bring back sense into our energy use. In my first year in Government I focused on changing how we create our energy. This year we will prioritise how we save on energy use and energy costs, bringing down our emissions at the same time."
He added that €1.6 billion a year saved was money that could make a significant difference to health and education services.
Mr Ryan, who was accompanied at the launch by international expert on energy efficiency Amory Lovins, said his department was already talking to specialist energy services companies and banks on how the cost savings achieved in public buildings could be brought forward and used to pay for the necessary conversion work.
Around the world, he said, costs had been reduced by making necessary changes when buildings came up for refurbishment, but he wanted to be "more proactive than that".
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 8 May 2009
Shrinking income may force council to sell assets
THE country’s largest local authority may sell off or lease a number of its assets, including a €40 million superdump, in an attempt to make ends meet during the next few years.
Cork county manager Martin Riordan has warned that post-2010, the council will have to think of ways to bolster its coffers in the face of ever decreasing income and expected cuts in Government grant-aid.
One of its valuable assets, he said, could include the landfill at Bottlehill in which the council invested €40m.
It is due to open early next year.
Ideally, the county council would like to lease the facility so it could keep administrative and regulatory control over it. This could well attract a great deal of interest from private operators.
One company, Greenstar, has tried on a couple of occasions to build a superdump near Kildorrery in north Cork. It wanted to use the proposed site as a landfill for refuse collected throughout the Munster region, but a planning application was thwarted by An Bord Pleanála.
On the subject of waste, Mr Riordan said the council would also have to look at its service because the pay-by-weight system may not prove attractive in the years ahead.
Last December, the council introduced an all-in-one refuse disposal price of €250 for all new customers. Up to 600 households signed up.
However, 47,000 existing council customers still have to pay a standing collection charge and an additional charge per kilo for refuse disposed of.
Mr Riordan acknowledged that, in the current economic climate, householders would probably be happier with an all-in charge. "People are very conscious of price certainty. We will need to review the pay-by-weight system," the county manager said. He also acknowledged that the council was facing very active competition from private waste companies.
The manager said a full review of all council services is being undertaken in view of declining revenue and cuts in staff numbers.
A voluntary retirement package to be introduced shortly is likely to see a further 100 employees quit the council. More than 200 contract staff were laid off recently.
Mr Riordan is fearful that income from rates will plummet. If 10% of local businesses go to the wall, the council will be down €10m in rates.
In addition, it is expected that the Government will cut its funding to local authorities.
"The money we get from planning fees has fallen rapidly and development levies have fallen like a stone which has also affected income," Mr Riordan said.
He has resisted the temptation to increase rates on businesses this year, which would have brought in much needed income.
Mr Riordan said that, if Government funding is cut further, he may be forced to increase rates.
But he said he’d like to keep that increase as minimal as possible. He said the council wants to hold onto businesses that have been built up in Cork and also wants to encourage more businesses to locate in the region.
"We are managing okay at the moment. But post-2010 we are facing a very difficulty financial environment and we are looking at all our assets to bridge the gap over the next few years," Mr Riordan said.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork county manager Martin Riordan has warned that post-2010, the council will have to think of ways to bolster its coffers in the face of ever decreasing income and expected cuts in Government grant-aid.
One of its valuable assets, he said, could include the landfill at Bottlehill in which the council invested €40m.
It is due to open early next year.
Ideally, the county council would like to lease the facility so it could keep administrative and regulatory control over it. This could well attract a great deal of interest from private operators.
One company, Greenstar, has tried on a couple of occasions to build a superdump near Kildorrery in north Cork. It wanted to use the proposed site as a landfill for refuse collected throughout the Munster region, but a planning application was thwarted by An Bord Pleanála.
On the subject of waste, Mr Riordan said the council would also have to look at its service because the pay-by-weight system may not prove attractive in the years ahead.
Last December, the council introduced an all-in-one refuse disposal price of €250 for all new customers. Up to 600 households signed up.
However, 47,000 existing council customers still have to pay a standing collection charge and an additional charge per kilo for refuse disposed of.
Mr Riordan acknowledged that, in the current economic climate, householders would probably be happier with an all-in charge. "People are very conscious of price certainty. We will need to review the pay-by-weight system," the county manager said. He also acknowledged that the council was facing very active competition from private waste companies.
The manager said a full review of all council services is being undertaken in view of declining revenue and cuts in staff numbers.
A voluntary retirement package to be introduced shortly is likely to see a further 100 employees quit the council. More than 200 contract staff were laid off recently.
Mr Riordan is fearful that income from rates will plummet. If 10% of local businesses go to the wall, the council will be down €10m in rates.
In addition, it is expected that the Government will cut its funding to local authorities.
"The money we get from planning fees has fallen rapidly and development levies have fallen like a stone which has also affected income," Mr Riordan said.
He has resisted the temptation to increase rates on businesses this year, which would have brought in much needed income.
Mr Riordan said that, if Government funding is cut further, he may be forced to increase rates.
But he said he’d like to keep that increase as minimal as possible. He said the council wants to hold onto businesses that have been built up in Cork and also wants to encourage more businesses to locate in the region.
"We are managing okay at the moment. But post-2010 we are facing a very difficulty financial environment and we are looking at all our assets to bridge the gap over the next few years," Mr Riordan said.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Energy project offers solution to economy
AN energy project could make Ireland energy independent within five years and see us exporting energy in a decade.
According to Spirit of Ireland, who are behind the project, the solution to the economic crisis may lie in harnessing Ireland’s huge wind energy potential.
The first phase of the project promises energy independence for Ireland within five years, with a €10 billion boost to the economy. The second phase will see energy exports of €3bn to €5bn per year in years six, seven and eight, or up to €50bn over the following 10 years.
Over the past six months, a team of top engineers, academics, architects, geologists, hydro-geologists and other experts have been working intensively on an energy proposal by Prof Igor Shvets of Trinity College.
The proposal is based on using natural coastal valleys to provide hydro storage reservoirs. Wind farms would then be used to pump sea water into these reservoirs. The water can then be passed through turbines generating massive amounts of power.
According to the group, a similar model has been adopted successfully in Japan and senior executives and engineers visiting from Japan confirmed the validity of this approach for Ireland.
As well as harnessing excess energy for export, Spirit of Ireland believes the project will create jobs and cut our carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the group, to achieve energy independence and save €15bn in fossil fuel imports over five years, will require two hydro storage reservoirs at a cost of €800m each.
Wind farms will then be connected to the reservoirs.
The group proposes to launch a public company in the form of a national energy co-operative in which the public could buy shares.
Spokesman for Spirit of Ireland Graham O’Donnell, an electrical engineer, said: "Our people, pension funds and Government can invest in and support this initiative. This has potential to be of huge economic benefit to our country."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
According to Spirit of Ireland, who are behind the project, the solution to the economic crisis may lie in harnessing Ireland’s huge wind energy potential.
The first phase of the project promises energy independence for Ireland within five years, with a €10 billion boost to the economy. The second phase will see energy exports of €3bn to €5bn per year in years six, seven and eight, or up to €50bn over the following 10 years.
Over the past six months, a team of top engineers, academics, architects, geologists, hydro-geologists and other experts have been working intensively on an energy proposal by Prof Igor Shvets of Trinity College.
The proposal is based on using natural coastal valleys to provide hydro storage reservoirs. Wind farms would then be used to pump sea water into these reservoirs. The water can then be passed through turbines generating massive amounts of power.
According to the group, a similar model has been adopted successfully in Japan and senior executives and engineers visiting from Japan confirmed the validity of this approach for Ireland.
As well as harnessing excess energy for export, Spirit of Ireland believes the project will create jobs and cut our carbon dioxide emissions.
According to the group, to achieve energy independence and save €15bn in fossil fuel imports over five years, will require two hydro storage reservoirs at a cost of €800m each.
Wind farms will then be connected to the reservoirs.
The group proposes to launch a public company in the form of a national energy co-operative in which the public could buy shares.
Spokesman for Spirit of Ireland Graham O’Donnell, an electrical engineer, said: "Our people, pension funds and Government can invest in and support this initiative. This has potential to be of huge economic benefit to our country."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Warning on effects of Cork waste plan
A HAZARDOUS waste incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork harbour could worsen traffic delays on an already congested route, according to the National Roads Authority (NRA).
In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, the NRA outlined its position on the effect the proposed incinerator might have on the surrounding road network.
NRA regional manager Paul Moran told a hearing on the proposed waste facility that while the authority was not opposed to the project in principle, it could have an adverse effect on traffic.
“The proposal would have the potential to adversely contribute to existing unsatisfactory capacity issues on the N28 and the national road infrastructure within its catchment,” Mr Moran said.
The N28 is a national primary road that links Cork city to Ringaskiddy, where a number of major industries are located, including a deep-water port for Cork, roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal and the headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.
He said lands required for the proposed upgraded N28, which would facilitate the development of the incinerator, were located inside the development lands, raising concerns about the time frame and expense of the project.
“The authority notes with concern that these lands are designated for stockpiling material and also as the construction site for the transfer station facility.
“This raised concerns regarding planning, compensation, timing issues and reclamation requirements which could arise in the context of the authority’s advancement of the proposed N28 road scheme,” Mr Moran said.
The NRA asked that no work as part of the incinerator development take place on such lands without its consent.
The authority also asked that no funds from the exchequer be used to cater for specific works intended to serve the proposed development, such as access to the incinerator site.
NRA senior policy adviser in planning, Tara Spain, said the authority had a clearly defined programme of work up until the end of 2010, but no precise guarantees could be given to any other projects in terms of timeframe, because of uncertain funding for future NRA projects.
However, planning and design of the proposed N28 had been “substantially completed”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a submission to An Bord Pleanála, the NRA outlined its position on the effect the proposed incinerator might have on the surrounding road network.
NRA regional manager Paul Moran told a hearing on the proposed waste facility that while the authority was not opposed to the project in principle, it could have an adverse effect on traffic.
“The proposal would have the potential to adversely contribute to existing unsatisfactory capacity issues on the N28 and the national road infrastructure within its catchment,” Mr Moran said.
The N28 is a national primary road that links Cork city to Ringaskiddy, where a number of major industries are located, including a deep-water port for Cork, roll-on, roll-off ferry terminal and the headquarters for the Irish Naval Service.
He said lands required for the proposed upgraded N28, which would facilitate the development of the incinerator, were located inside the development lands, raising concerns about the time frame and expense of the project.
“The authority notes with concern that these lands are designated for stockpiling material and also as the construction site for the transfer station facility.
“This raised concerns regarding planning, compensation, timing issues and reclamation requirements which could arise in the context of the authority’s advancement of the proposed N28 road scheme,” Mr Moran said.
The NRA asked that no work as part of the incinerator development take place on such lands without its consent.
The authority also asked that no funds from the exchequer be used to cater for specific works intended to serve the proposed development, such as access to the incinerator site.
NRA senior policy adviser in planning, Tara Spain, said the authority had a clearly defined programme of work up until the end of 2010, but no precise guarantees could be given to any other projects in terms of timeframe, because of uncertain funding for future NRA projects.
However, planning and design of the proposed N28 had been “substantially completed”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Ryan unveils energy-savings plan
Landlords who are paid through the State’s rent assistance scheme have been told they must upgrade the energy efficiency of their properties or lose the allowance.
Announcing plans to cut private sector energy wastage by 20 per cent by 2020, and by 33 per cent in the public sector, Mr Ryan said landlords will have to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate, and achieve specific standards, by the end of this year, if they want to go on qualifying for the rental subsidy.
More than €700 million a year is paid out to landlords through the scheme.
Mr Ryan said the move would result in “warmer, happier homes” for tenants while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. He added the investment by landlords was the “single best investment they can make in their properties getting an annual return of about 20 percent and increasing the value of the property”.
The move is one of almost 100 detailed steps the Government plans to introduce over the coming years to make Ireland a greener country and achieve annual savings by 2020 of €1.6billion.
At this morning's announcement, Mr Ryan was accompanied by Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Since the 1970s, Mr Lovins, named as one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People of 2009, has been an advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“In 1976, Amory Lovins predicted that by the beginnings of this century, 20 per cent of the energy we use will be wasted energy. It is the case that one fifth of all our energy is unused. Such waste with an expensive commodity makes no sense”, said Mr Ryan.
“Today, we will bring the sense back into our energy use. In my first year in Government, I focused on changing how we create our energy. This year, we will prioritise how we save on energy use and energy costs, bringing down our emissions at the same time.
"€1.6 billion is money that our economy could do with at this time.Vast savings on business and householder energy bills will help our competitiveness. The carbon emissions reductions will help us meet our Kyoto targets," the Minister said.
"There is a Turkish proverb, “No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, turn back'. Today we are turning back, plotting a new energy direction and saving billions in the process.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Announcing plans to cut private sector energy wastage by 20 per cent by 2020, and by 33 per cent in the public sector, Mr Ryan said landlords will have to have a Building Energy Rating (BER) certificate, and achieve specific standards, by the end of this year, if they want to go on qualifying for the rental subsidy.
More than €700 million a year is paid out to landlords through the scheme.
Mr Ryan said the move would result in “warmer, happier homes” for tenants while reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions. He added the investment by landlords was the “single best investment they can make in their properties getting an annual return of about 20 percent and increasing the value of the property”.
The move is one of almost 100 detailed steps the Government plans to introduce over the coming years to make Ireland a greener country and achieve annual savings by 2020 of €1.6billion.
At this morning's announcement, Mr Ryan was accompanied by Amory Lovins, chairman and chief scientist of the Rocky Mountain Institute. Since the 1970s, Mr Lovins, named as one of Time magazine’s Most Influential People of 2009, has been an advocate for energy efficiency and renewable energy.
“In 1976, Amory Lovins predicted that by the beginnings of this century, 20 per cent of the energy we use will be wasted energy. It is the case that one fifth of all our energy is unused. Such waste with an expensive commodity makes no sense”, said Mr Ryan.
“Today, we will bring the sense back into our energy use. In my first year in Government, I focused on changing how we create our energy. This year, we will prioritise how we save on energy use and energy costs, bringing down our emissions at the same time.
"€1.6 billion is money that our economy could do with at this time.Vast savings on business and householder energy bills will help our competitiveness. The carbon emissions reductions will help us meet our Kyoto targets," the Minister said.
"There is a Turkish proverb, “No matter how far you’ve gone down the wrong road, turn back'. Today we are turning back, plotting a new energy direction and saving billions in the process.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Limerick changing for the better, building for the future
Despite its repeated bad press, there are signs that Limerick is going in the right direction in terms of design, development and public space, writes FRANK MCDONALD Environment Editor
TO HEAR and read grim news about murder and mayhem in Limerick these days, you might think that the city was lost. After the recent slaying of innocent businessman Roy Collins, the Sunday Tribune asked, in bold capital letters over a two-page spread: “Can anything save Limerick now?” Yes, actually.
There are lots of things hopefully pointing the city in a new direction – such as the bold redevelopment of Thomond Park, within shouting distance of Moyross, as a spanking new stadium by architects Murray O’Laoire and structural engineers Michael Punch Partners.
It is the ultimate cauldron for Munster Rugby, with two identical stands facing each other across the pitch, their roofs supported by a pair of enormously long steel trusses. The fact that the shape of these stands, each seating 7,500, is reminiscent of a rugby ball cannot be entirely coincidental.
The new Thomond Park is the most impressive sports stadium in Ireland after Croke Park. It gives rugby in Limerick a real landmark and the city a justifiable cause for pride – and hope for the future. To be there amidst an ocean of red jerseys for a Munster match is an unforgettable experience.
Another change for the better has involved the removal of railings and dense shrubbery around the perimeter of Arthur’s Quay park, opening it up to surrounding streets. Now it is being used by mothers with buggies, whereas previously people were afraid to go into the park because it was unsafe.
Last month, Limerick City Council reopened Shelbourne Park, off the Ennis Road, after an investment of €1 million in drainage, pitches and a well-equipped playground that’s proved very popular with children. An earlier (2001) hard-surface playground in Pery Square park is also intensively used.
On O’Callaghan Strand, the council has created a riverside promenade protected by maritime-style railings along the Shannon’s north bank. But the design by Nicholas de Jong, who seems to have done most of Limerick’s new public spaces, is marred by tubular railings to the rear that seem quite superfluous.
The city council has also become active, rather late in the day, in fighting plans for more out-of-town retail magnets in Limerick County Council’s administrative area – most recently, in appealing to An Bord Pleanála against a 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) extension to the Crescent shopping centre in Dooradoyle.
Out in Castletroy, six tower cranes stand idle on the site of Liam Carroll’s planned Parkway Valley shopping centre – a vast complex of 23,250sq m (250,261sq ft). Work on this €120 million project halted late last year after Carroll failed to secure anchor tenants; this could also be positive news for the beleaguered city.
At nearby Plassey, the University of Limerick (UL to everyone) has installed Ireland’s longest pedestrian bridge, with a span of 350 metres, sweeping arc-like across the Shannon to link its existing campus with the new one under construction on the Clare side. It has already won one major award.
Designed by London-based architects Wilkinson Eyre in collaboration with Arup Consulting Engineers, the six-span cable-trussed bridge was intended to create an “organic relationship” between the landscape, the bridge and its users. Although perhaps a little overdressed, it has certainly achieved its purpose.
UL now has a total of 14,000 students, many of whom live in one of its three attractive “villages”. The new health sciences complex, being developed on the Clare side, will include a medical school as well as the Irish World Academy of Music and a new performance hall for the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Next year, UL’s first batch of architecture students will graduate, to find their way in an uncertain world. Under Merritt Bucholz, who heads the school, they have had a hands-on experience quite different from students in more conventional schools of architecture – and this should arm them for anything.
Chicago-born Bucholz doesn’t see his school as some sort of ivory tower removed from the real world. He has been determined to engage with the city at a number of levels, most recently by taking over old St Munchin’s Church on King’s Island, which Limerick Civic Trust had renovated in the 1980s.
A Regency Gothic pile dating from 1827, it had been used as a base by the Island Theatre Company until the Arts Council withdrew funding last June. “I talked to Denis Leonard in the Civic Trust, told him what we had in mind and he said ‘fantastic – let’s do it’.” So the old church was renovated a second time.
It wasn’t just a question of cleaning; partitions were removed and the original volume of the church restored by the students and their tutors. Then there was a competition to design a series of exhibition installations – more than mere panels – and this, too, turned into a valuable collaborative exercise.
“The loose brief was to design a ‘civic platform’ for UL to engage with the city,” says fourth year tutor Morgan Flynn. “It was a seven-week process – four weeks designing and the rest building. We started out with six designs by six students, all holding onto their own like a precious baby until one was selected.”
The city council funded the material costs and students then prefabricated the entire installation, including lean-to lighting and cleverly-designed pull-out stools, at the school of architecture’s own workshop in Plassey. The various elements were then transported to and assembled in St Munchin’s.
“Economy of means was really important, so they did everything themselves, including making all the lights and wiring them,” Flynn says. “There was also a conservation issue – we couldn’t interfere with the fabric of the building, so the lights are all free-standing, leaning against the walls.”
The UL School of Architecture occupies space carved out of one of the older buildings, dating from the time when it was merely a national institute of higher education. Stripped of its suspended ceilings and filled with cluttered shelves, it is more like a factory that makes things than a passive classroom.
“Universities have a lot to offer – intelligence, knowledge, thinking, design,” Bucholz says. “If a school of architecture is to be anything, it has to have consequences – and be aware of its place in the wider society. So instead of just teaching, we need to get engaged with all of the issues facing the local authority.”
St Munchin’s, which is on the main pedestrian route from St Mary’s Park to the city centre, has been used for a wide range of events since last December, including a symposium on Limerick’s regeneration, exhibitions of the students’ work and lectures organised by Sofa, the UL students of architecture group.
Kieran Lehane, the city council’s director of housing and corporate services, remains upbeat about Limerick, noting that €28 million had been allocated this year for the regeneration of Moyross and Southill. The council is also preparing a new development plan that will focus firmly on planning a brighter future for the city.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
TO HEAR and read grim news about murder and mayhem in Limerick these days, you might think that the city was lost. After the recent slaying of innocent businessman Roy Collins, the Sunday Tribune asked, in bold capital letters over a two-page spread: “Can anything save Limerick now?” Yes, actually.
There are lots of things hopefully pointing the city in a new direction – such as the bold redevelopment of Thomond Park, within shouting distance of Moyross, as a spanking new stadium by architects Murray O’Laoire and structural engineers Michael Punch Partners.
It is the ultimate cauldron for Munster Rugby, with two identical stands facing each other across the pitch, their roofs supported by a pair of enormously long steel trusses. The fact that the shape of these stands, each seating 7,500, is reminiscent of a rugby ball cannot be entirely coincidental.
The new Thomond Park is the most impressive sports stadium in Ireland after Croke Park. It gives rugby in Limerick a real landmark and the city a justifiable cause for pride – and hope for the future. To be there amidst an ocean of red jerseys for a Munster match is an unforgettable experience.
Another change for the better has involved the removal of railings and dense shrubbery around the perimeter of Arthur’s Quay park, opening it up to surrounding streets. Now it is being used by mothers with buggies, whereas previously people were afraid to go into the park because it was unsafe.
Last month, Limerick City Council reopened Shelbourne Park, off the Ennis Road, after an investment of €1 million in drainage, pitches and a well-equipped playground that’s proved very popular with children. An earlier (2001) hard-surface playground in Pery Square park is also intensively used.
On O’Callaghan Strand, the council has created a riverside promenade protected by maritime-style railings along the Shannon’s north bank. But the design by Nicholas de Jong, who seems to have done most of Limerick’s new public spaces, is marred by tubular railings to the rear that seem quite superfluous.
The city council has also become active, rather late in the day, in fighting plans for more out-of-town retail magnets in Limerick County Council’s administrative area – most recently, in appealing to An Bord Pleanála against a 10,000sq m (107,639sq ft) extension to the Crescent shopping centre in Dooradoyle.
Out in Castletroy, six tower cranes stand idle on the site of Liam Carroll’s planned Parkway Valley shopping centre – a vast complex of 23,250sq m (250,261sq ft). Work on this €120 million project halted late last year after Carroll failed to secure anchor tenants; this could also be positive news for the beleaguered city.
At nearby Plassey, the University of Limerick (UL to everyone) has installed Ireland’s longest pedestrian bridge, with a span of 350 metres, sweeping arc-like across the Shannon to link its existing campus with the new one under construction on the Clare side. It has already won one major award.
Designed by London-based architects Wilkinson Eyre in collaboration with Arup Consulting Engineers, the six-span cable-trussed bridge was intended to create an “organic relationship” between the landscape, the bridge and its users. Although perhaps a little overdressed, it has certainly achieved its purpose.
UL now has a total of 14,000 students, many of whom live in one of its three attractive “villages”. The new health sciences complex, being developed on the Clare side, will include a medical school as well as the Irish World Academy of Music and a new performance hall for the Irish Chamber Orchestra.
Next year, UL’s first batch of architecture students will graduate, to find their way in an uncertain world. Under Merritt Bucholz, who heads the school, they have had a hands-on experience quite different from students in more conventional schools of architecture – and this should arm them for anything.
Chicago-born Bucholz doesn’t see his school as some sort of ivory tower removed from the real world. He has been determined to engage with the city at a number of levels, most recently by taking over old St Munchin’s Church on King’s Island, which Limerick Civic Trust had renovated in the 1980s.
A Regency Gothic pile dating from 1827, it had been used as a base by the Island Theatre Company until the Arts Council withdrew funding last June. “I talked to Denis Leonard in the Civic Trust, told him what we had in mind and he said ‘fantastic – let’s do it’.” So the old church was renovated a second time.
It wasn’t just a question of cleaning; partitions were removed and the original volume of the church restored by the students and their tutors. Then there was a competition to design a series of exhibition installations – more than mere panels – and this, too, turned into a valuable collaborative exercise.
“The loose brief was to design a ‘civic platform’ for UL to engage with the city,” says fourth year tutor Morgan Flynn. “It was a seven-week process – four weeks designing and the rest building. We started out with six designs by six students, all holding onto their own like a precious baby until one was selected.”
The city council funded the material costs and students then prefabricated the entire installation, including lean-to lighting and cleverly-designed pull-out stools, at the school of architecture’s own workshop in Plassey. The various elements were then transported to and assembled in St Munchin’s.
“Economy of means was really important, so they did everything themselves, including making all the lights and wiring them,” Flynn says. “There was also a conservation issue – we couldn’t interfere with the fabric of the building, so the lights are all free-standing, leaning against the walls.”
The UL School of Architecture occupies space carved out of one of the older buildings, dating from the time when it was merely a national institute of higher education. Stripped of its suspended ceilings and filled with cluttered shelves, it is more like a factory that makes things than a passive classroom.
“Universities have a lot to offer – intelligence, knowledge, thinking, design,” Bucholz says. “If a school of architecture is to be anything, it has to have consequences – and be aware of its place in the wider society. So instead of just teaching, we need to get engaged with all of the issues facing the local authority.”
St Munchin’s, which is on the main pedestrian route from St Mary’s Park to the city centre, has been used for a wide range of events since last December, including a symposium on Limerick’s regeneration, exhibitions of the students’ work and lectures organised by Sofa, the UL students of architecture group.
Kieran Lehane, the city council’s director of housing and corporate services, remains upbeat about Limerick, noting that €28 million had been allocated this year for the regeneration of Moyross and Southill. The council is also preparing a new development plan that will focus firmly on planning a brighter future for the city.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Shrewsbury saga ends after 10 years
TEN YEARS after buying the former Chester Beatty Library site on Dublin’s exclusive Shrewsbury Road, O’Malley Homes and Developments has finally been given permission to build seven three-storey over basement houses there.
The decision by An Bord Pleanála marks the end of one of the longest running planning sagas in the city which started in 1999 when the Galway developers bought the site of almost one-acre for €9.14 million. It was originally refused permission for 13 apartments but later got approval for seven units. A subsequent application to vary the permission to allow the same number of apartments in a two and three-storey building also got the green light but, when the company later opted for a four-storey block to accommodate seven apartments, it was again met with a refusal. Finally the developer changed tack and went for the seven houses which have now been approved.
Myles O’Malley, who heads up the company, said yesterday they were “absolutely thrilled and delighted to have got planning permission for seven houses on what is not only Dublin’s best road but one of the best roads in the world.”
Most objections to the plans by O’Malley came from neighbours on the road. The most recent objectors were Stephen MacKenzie, John Dunne, and the Shrewsbury Road Residents Association. O’Malley plans to begin site work towards the end of 2010 and, depending on when the market recovers, to finish the houses within a two-year timeframe.
The three-storey houses will vary in size from 348–557sq m (3,750–6,000sq ft). Each house will have a large basement with private garaging for two cars and a rear garden. The permission also allows for 13 visitor car-parking spaces, bicycle parking and a store at basement level.
Architects McCrossan O’Rourke Manning say the form and design of the houses has been influenced by the work of the early 20th century “arts and crafts” architects and in particular by large private houses by Edwin Lutyens and Charles Voysey. The characteristic trademarks include complex roof profiles, elongated chimneys and projecting bays and dormers and mullioned ribbon windows.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The decision by An Bord Pleanála marks the end of one of the longest running planning sagas in the city which started in 1999 when the Galway developers bought the site of almost one-acre for €9.14 million. It was originally refused permission for 13 apartments but later got approval for seven units. A subsequent application to vary the permission to allow the same number of apartments in a two and three-storey building also got the green light but, when the company later opted for a four-storey block to accommodate seven apartments, it was again met with a refusal. Finally the developer changed tack and went for the seven houses which have now been approved.
Myles O’Malley, who heads up the company, said yesterday they were “absolutely thrilled and delighted to have got planning permission for seven houses on what is not only Dublin’s best road but one of the best roads in the world.”
Most objections to the plans by O’Malley came from neighbours on the road. The most recent objectors were Stephen MacKenzie, John Dunne, and the Shrewsbury Road Residents Association. O’Malley plans to begin site work towards the end of 2010 and, depending on when the market recovers, to finish the houses within a two-year timeframe.
The three-storey houses will vary in size from 348–557sq m (3,750–6,000sq ft). Each house will have a large basement with private garaging for two cars and a rear garden. The permission also allows for 13 visitor car-parking spaces, bicycle parking and a store at basement level.
Architects McCrossan O’Rourke Manning say the form and design of the houses has been influenced by the work of the early 20th century “arts and crafts” architects and in particular by large private houses by Edwin Lutyens and Charles Voysey. The characteristic trademarks include complex roof profiles, elongated chimneys and projecting bays and dormers and mullioned ribbon windows.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork incinerator would contravene county plan
THE PROPOSAL by Indaver Ireland to build a €150 million incinerator at Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour would require a material contravention of the Cork County Development Plan, the oral hearing into the proposed facility was told yesterday.
Cork County Council senior planner Paul Murphy told the sixth day of An Bord Pleanála’s hearing that the proposal materially contravenes specific zoning objectives of both the 2003 and 2009 development plans.
Mr Murphy said that the county council had previously refused planning permission for an earlier proposal by Indaver in 2003 but that it was granted permission by the planning board following a lengthy oral hearing.
The board’s inspector at that hearing recommended against granting planning on 14 grounds, but An Bord Pleanála’s board disagreed and granted planning, citing as its primary reason that the incinerator constituted “a necessary national public utility”.
Mr Murphy said the county council questioned the need for the facility, in particular a municipal waste incinerator element, as the Waste Management Plan for Cork County 2004 does not include incineration as an option for dealing with waste.
“The initial targets outlined in the landfill directive for 2010 and 2013 can be met without incineration. The development of such a facility could divert waste away from prevention, material recovery/reuse and recycling,” Mr Murphy said.
The county council was also concerned that the proposed building, with a maximum height of 48.27 metres and stack with a maximum height of 90.77 metres on such a prominent position on Ringaskiddy peninsula, could have a significant visual impact on the harbour area.
“It will impact not only upon the established areas around Ringaskiddy but also upon those areas regularly frequented by the public, especially for walking, such as Monkstown, Currabinny and Camden and areas of relatively high population such as Cobh,” he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork County Council senior planner Paul Murphy told the sixth day of An Bord Pleanála’s hearing that the proposal materially contravenes specific zoning objectives of both the 2003 and 2009 development plans.
Mr Murphy said that the county council had previously refused planning permission for an earlier proposal by Indaver in 2003 but that it was granted permission by the planning board following a lengthy oral hearing.
The board’s inspector at that hearing recommended against granting planning on 14 grounds, but An Bord Pleanála’s board disagreed and granted planning, citing as its primary reason that the incinerator constituted “a necessary national public utility”.
Mr Murphy said the county council questioned the need for the facility, in particular a municipal waste incinerator element, as the Waste Management Plan for Cork County 2004 does not include incineration as an option for dealing with waste.
“The initial targets outlined in the landfill directive for 2010 and 2013 can be met without incineration. The development of such a facility could divert waste away from prevention, material recovery/reuse and recycling,” Mr Murphy said.
The county council was also concerned that the proposed building, with a maximum height of 48.27 metres and stack with a maximum height of 90.77 metres on such a prominent position on Ringaskiddy peninsula, could have a significant visual impact on the harbour area.
“It will impact not only upon the established areas around Ringaskiddy but also upon those areas regularly frequented by the public, especially for walking, such as Monkstown, Currabinny and Camden and areas of relatively high population such as Cobh,” he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 6 May 2009
New Liffey bridge gets underway
The main structure of the new Samuel Beckett bridge has left Rotterdam on its way to Dublin.
The cable-stayed bridge is to join Macken Street on the south side of the River Liffey to Guild Street and North Wall Quay in the Docklands area.
The architect is Santiago Calatrava Valls, who also designed the James Joyce bridge, which is further upstream.
Constructed by the Graham Hollandia Joint Venture, the main span of the bridge is supported by cable stays from a doubly back-stayed single forward arc tubular tapered spar, with decking providing for four traffic and two pedestrian lanes.
It will also be capable of opening through an angle of 90 degrees - allowing ships to pass through.
The shape of the spar and its cables is said to evoke an image of a harp lying on its edge.
The bridge is expected to open early in 2010. The total cost of the project is estimated at just under €60m, which will also include a major upgrade of the approach roads.
www.buckplanning.ie
The cable-stayed bridge is to join Macken Street on the south side of the River Liffey to Guild Street and North Wall Quay in the Docklands area.
The architect is Santiago Calatrava Valls, who also designed the James Joyce bridge, which is further upstream.
Constructed by the Graham Hollandia Joint Venture, the main span of the bridge is supported by cable stays from a doubly back-stayed single forward arc tubular tapered spar, with decking providing for four traffic and two pedestrian lanes.
It will also be capable of opening through an angle of 90 degrees - allowing ships to pass through.
The shape of the spar and its cables is said to evoke an image of a harp lying on its edge.
The bridge is expected to open early in 2010. The total cost of the project is estimated at just under €60m, which will also include a major upgrade of the approach roads.
www.buckplanning.ie
Friends of the Murrough still awaiting Minister's decision
NEARLY A YEAR has passed since the Friends of the Murrough made a submission to the Minister for the Environment requesting a Special Amenity Area Order for the Murrough.
The order was sought to protect and enhance the Murrough and create new recreational amenities for the area. If the order is secured it's also hoped to have fixed walkways with boardwalks where necessary together with established rights of way to roam.
Friends of the Murrough Secretary, Pat Kavanagh, says, 'We are still awaiting an outcome to that submission.
'In the meantime we have been working on many other issues relating to the area. We commissioned a report for the Irish Sports Council by John Monaghan, Trails Adviser, which we have not received.
'We still need to maintain a dedicated effort to further our goals, and we need the help of the public to achieve this.'
On Wednesday April 29 local historian, Vincent O'Reilly, will give a talk on the Murrough, having already published six articles on the subject in the Historical Society Journal.
He is also currently working on two more similar articles.
The talk takes place in the Blue Room, Grand Hotel, starting at 8 p.m.. The Friends of the Murrough AGM follows.
Anyone who would like to get involved can contact Pat at (086) 2771871.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
The order was sought to protect and enhance the Murrough and create new recreational amenities for the area. If the order is secured it's also hoped to have fixed walkways with boardwalks where necessary together with established rights of way to roam.
Friends of the Murrough Secretary, Pat Kavanagh, says, 'We are still awaiting an outcome to that submission.
'In the meantime we have been working on many other issues relating to the area. We commissioned a report for the Irish Sports Council by John Monaghan, Trails Adviser, which we have not received.
'We still need to maintain a dedicated effort to further our goals, and we need the help of the public to achieve this.'
On Wednesday April 29 local historian, Vincent O'Reilly, will give a talk on the Murrough, having already published six articles on the subject in the Historical Society Journal.
He is also currently working on two more similar articles.
The talk takes place in the Blue Room, Grand Hotel, starting at 8 p.m.. The Friends of the Murrough AGM follows.
Anyone who would like to get involved can contact Pat at (086) 2771871.
Myles BUCHANAN
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Wicklow County plan to go on display
THE Wicklow County Development Plan needs to nurture the rural nature of the county. On Monday members of Wicklow County Council agreed to put the draft of the County Development Plan for 2010 to 2016 on public display.
Director of Services Des O'Brien said that the council hoped to have the draft plan ready to consideration in July.
Cllr. Conal Kavanagh said that the council needed to identify small growth towns to develop them as rural clusters where the infrastructure would be put in place to sustain them.
Cllr. Jimmy O'Shaughnessy said it was a very important document and said 'if common sense had prevailed in the past we (the council) wouldn't need as many Section 140 requests to allow people who are born and reared in an area to get planning permission'.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Director of Services Des O'Brien said that the council hoped to have the draft plan ready to consideration in July.
Cllr. Conal Kavanagh said that the council needed to identify small growth towns to develop them as rural clusters where the infrastructure would be put in place to sustain them.
Cllr. Jimmy O'Shaughnessy said it was a very important document and said 'if common sense had prevailed in the past we (the council) wouldn't need as many Section 140 requests to allow people who are born and reared in an area to get planning permission'.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Glendalough may be World Heritage Site
GLENDALOUGH could be designated a World Heritage Site if a plan to include the monastic settlement on the UNESCO World Heritage Site Tentative List gets the green light.
Brian Lucas from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was in Clermont Campus on Monday speaking to the members of Wicklow County Council.
He said that currently there are 850 sites on the list, a mix of cultural, natural and mixed. Other sites currently included on the list comprise Venice, Robben Island and the Giant's Causeway.
Mr. Lucas said that for a site to be included on the tentative list it needed to be of benefit to future generations of humanity. He said that the tentative list was an inventory of sites that could be considered as a World Heritage Site.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Brian Lucas from the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government was in Clermont Campus on Monday speaking to the members of Wicklow County Council.
He said that currently there are 850 sites on the list, a mix of cultural, natural and mixed. Other sites currently included on the list comprise Venice, Robben Island and the Giant's Causeway.
Mr. Lucas said that for a site to be included on the tentative list it needed to be of benefit to future generations of humanity. He said that the tentative list was an inventory of sites that could be considered as a World Heritage Site.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
'No' to Enniskerry affordable housing
A PLAN to include some affordable houses in Enniskerry will be removed from the area plan for the area after councillors went against the recommendation of county manager, Eddie Sheehy, at last Monday's sitting of Wicklow County Council.
Cllr. Chris Fox said the issue had been very divisive in the village. He suggested that the proposal be removed and the council revert back to the original plan for the area.
However Cllr. Nicky Kelly said that the lack of affordable accommodation in Greystones, Delgany and Enniskerry was being constantly highlighted and said the council now had the opportunity to provide such housing.
Director of services Des O'Neill said the houses being proposed were more townhouses than affordable houses.
The members voted eleven to six to drop the proposal from the plan. Two councillors abstained and five people were not present.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Cllr. Chris Fox said the issue had been very divisive in the village. He suggested that the proposal be removed and the council revert back to the original plan for the area.
However Cllr. Nicky Kelly said that the lack of affordable accommodation in Greystones, Delgany and Enniskerry was being constantly highlighted and said the council now had the opportunity to provide such housing.
Director of services Des O'Neill said the houses being proposed were more townhouses than affordable houses.
The members voted eleven to six to drop the proposal from the plan. Two councillors abstained and five people were not present.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Environs plan for Bray is adopted
THE Bray Environs Local Area Plan was adopted at last Monday's meeting of Wicklow County Council.
The plan had previously caused a lot of consternation in the area due to the plans for Kilruddery.
The councillors agreed to maintain the planned density of the area of 120 houses as opposed to a previously suggested 75 houses.
The plan was adopted by 14 votes to 4.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
The plan had previously caused a lot of consternation in the area due to the plans for Kilruddery.
The councillors agreed to maintain the planned density of the area of 120 houses as opposed to a previously suggested 75 houses.
The plan was adopted by 14 votes to 4.
Wicklow People
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans for homes on burial site reviewed
THE DEPARTMENT of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government is reviewing the granting of planning permission for three houses on Weston Close, though the the department doesn't actually have the authority to interfere with council planning matters.
Last week local residents opposed to the construction plans met to discuss any future plan of action, having lodged two appeals to An Bord Pleanála.
They insist that Weston Close is the burial ground for 300 people massacred in the 17th Century by Sir Charles Coote, a military leader under Cromwell.
One of the objectors, Cllr. Eamonn Long, says the fact that the Department are reviewing the planning permission shows they have concerns too.
'I suppose it's open to interpretation, but the impression I am getting is that the Department don't look too kindly on the development. They certainly aren't dismissing the importance of the site.'
Environment Minister John Gormley has responded to submissions made by one concerned party. A review is also taking place of the granted planning permission, despite the fact the department don't actually have the remit to interfere with any town council planning decisions.
The developer, Paddy Meyler, says he has archaeological reports that prove there aren't any remains where he wants to build the three houses.
But this holds little weight with Cllr. Long.
'I don't accept that, and nor do most of the people living in the area. Bones and skeletal remains have been found buried there before and it's not a suitable site for further construction.'
Myles BUCHANAN
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Last week local residents opposed to the construction plans met to discuss any future plan of action, having lodged two appeals to An Bord Pleanála.
They insist that Weston Close is the burial ground for 300 people massacred in the 17th Century by Sir Charles Coote, a military leader under Cromwell.
One of the objectors, Cllr. Eamonn Long, says the fact that the Department are reviewing the planning permission shows they have concerns too.
'I suppose it's open to interpretation, but the impression I am getting is that the Department don't look too kindly on the development. They certainly aren't dismissing the importance of the site.'
Environment Minister John Gormley has responded to submissions made by one concerned party. A review is also taking place of the granted planning permission, despite the fact the department don't actually have the remit to interfere with any town council planning decisions.
The developer, Paddy Meyler, says he has archaeological reports that prove there aren't any remains where he wants to build the three houses.
But this holds little weight with Cllr. Long.
'I don't accept that, and nor do most of the people living in the area. Bones and skeletal remains have been found buried there before and it's not a suitable site for further construction.'
Myles BUCHANAN
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Owners of cave with stalactite get go-ahead for visitor centre
CLARE COUNTY Council yesterday granted planning permission for the construction of a visitor centre to serve the Pol an Ionain cave in Doolin in spite of stiff opposition from An Taisce, Ailwee Caves, the Pol an Ionain Action Group and the Speleological Union of Ireland (SUI).
Three years ago, owners John and Helen Browne opened the cave to the public after a 16-year struggle to realise their dream of showing the 23ft Pol an Ionain stalactite to the world. However, in lodging the plans, the Brownes said the attraction would not be viable without on-site facilities – currently visitors are bussed to the site from Doolin. Now, the Brownes have secured permission for a centre, a 30-space car park and a bus bay at the site.
The council gave the plan the go-ahead after Dr Maria McNamara, a geologist it employed to examine the application, found “it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which the proposed development works will impact negatively upon the physical stability of the Great Stal”. In her report, Dr McNamara wrote: “The roof of the chamber housing the Great Stal is 35m below ground level and at a lateral distance of 150m from the proposed development site.” She was “satisfied with the conclusions of Prof John Gunn – one of the world’s leading experts in cave science – regarding the impact of the proposed development on the cave and the Great Stal in particular, ie that the risk of negative impact is negligible”.
The planner in the case said: “While I consider that tourist facilities should be located within settlements, I feel in this instance that it would be appropriate to have such a facility adjacent to the tourism product, in this instance being the cave.” Precedent of visitor centres being permitted to tourism sites in the north Clare area include the Cliffs of Moher, the Michael Cusack centre, the Ailwee caves and the Caherconnell stone fort.
Yesterday, Ms Browne said: “We’re delighted. We deserve the same chance as everyone else.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Three years ago, owners John and Helen Browne opened the cave to the public after a 16-year struggle to realise their dream of showing the 23ft Pol an Ionain stalactite to the world. However, in lodging the plans, the Brownes said the attraction would not be viable without on-site facilities – currently visitors are bussed to the site from Doolin. Now, the Brownes have secured permission for a centre, a 30-space car park and a bus bay at the site.
The council gave the plan the go-ahead after Dr Maria McNamara, a geologist it employed to examine the application, found “it is difficult to envisage a scenario in which the proposed development works will impact negatively upon the physical stability of the Great Stal”. In her report, Dr McNamara wrote: “The roof of the chamber housing the Great Stal is 35m below ground level and at a lateral distance of 150m from the proposed development site.” She was “satisfied with the conclusions of Prof John Gunn – one of the world’s leading experts in cave science – regarding the impact of the proposed development on the cave and the Great Stal in particular, ie that the risk of negative impact is negligible”.
The planner in the case said: “While I consider that tourist facilities should be located within settlements, I feel in this instance that it would be appropriate to have such a facility adjacent to the tourism product, in this instance being the cave.” Precedent of visitor centres being permitted to tourism sites in the north Clare area include the Cliffs of Moher, the Michael Cusack centre, the Ailwee caves and the Caherconnell stone fort.
Yesterday, Ms Browne said: “We’re delighted. We deserve the same chance as everyone else.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Conflicting evidence on incinerator given at planning hearing
CONFLICTING EVIDENCE about the impact of the proposed €150 million incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour on the architectural heritage of the area was given at the public hearing yesterday.
The impact would be minimal in the context that it is already an industrialised area, according to archaeologist Deirdre Sutton on behalf of Indaver Ireland.
She told An Bord Pleanála’s hearing that one of the notable archaeological features she found in her assessment was a Martello Tower in Ringaskiddy which is a protected structure.
But the tower is located some 70m to the south of the proposed incinerator and will not be affected or impacted by the facility while construction work on the incinerator will not cause any vibrations to the tower, she said.
Ms Sutton acknowledged that views of the tower would be visually impacted from the northeast by the incinerator but said the tower would be visible from most locations around the harbour.
She suggested the impact of the incinerator when viewed from the tower might be mitigated by colouring the incinerator building and constructing a landscaped earthen mounding between the tower and the incinerator. The proposed incinerator would not prevent the development of Spike Island as a heritage site in the harbour contrary to what some objectors had argued in a planning board submission.
However, environmental consultant Marcia D’Alton, on behalf of Cork Harbour Environmental Protection Association, disagreed in her submission and said the facility would have an adverse effect on the heritage of the area.
Ms D’Alton said the tower was the biggest of five such towers to be built in the harbour which are different to the 47 others built in Ireland during Napoleonic times and it was the only one with a dry moat cut into the rock.
The tower is an integral part of historic fortifications including Fort Camden and Fort Carlyle around the harbour built by the British in the 19th century which the Cork Harbour Forum group is seeking to market abroad as a unified tourist attraction, she said.
The tower was built at the peak of the Ringaskiddy promontory to prevent an enemy from taking the hill and bringing batteries to bear on Fort Westmoreland, the major fortification on Spike Island.
Indaver had suggested the construction of an artificial earthen berm or mounding would disguise the top of the process building from the tower and this should be done in such a fashion as not to block the wider harbour views.
However, given the tower is built 47m above sea level and the ultimate height of the incinerator building is 48.27m, views of the harbour intrinsic to the function of the tower will be blocked irrespective of how organic the mounding is, said Ms D’Alton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The impact would be minimal in the context that it is already an industrialised area, according to archaeologist Deirdre Sutton on behalf of Indaver Ireland.
She told An Bord Pleanála’s hearing that one of the notable archaeological features she found in her assessment was a Martello Tower in Ringaskiddy which is a protected structure.
But the tower is located some 70m to the south of the proposed incinerator and will not be affected or impacted by the facility while construction work on the incinerator will not cause any vibrations to the tower, she said.
Ms Sutton acknowledged that views of the tower would be visually impacted from the northeast by the incinerator but said the tower would be visible from most locations around the harbour.
She suggested the impact of the incinerator when viewed from the tower might be mitigated by colouring the incinerator building and constructing a landscaped earthen mounding between the tower and the incinerator. The proposed incinerator would not prevent the development of Spike Island as a heritage site in the harbour contrary to what some objectors had argued in a planning board submission.
However, environmental consultant Marcia D’Alton, on behalf of Cork Harbour Environmental Protection Association, disagreed in her submission and said the facility would have an adverse effect on the heritage of the area.
Ms D’Alton said the tower was the biggest of five such towers to be built in the harbour which are different to the 47 others built in Ireland during Napoleonic times and it was the only one with a dry moat cut into the rock.
The tower is an integral part of historic fortifications including Fort Camden and Fort Carlyle around the harbour built by the British in the 19th century which the Cork Harbour Forum group is seeking to market abroad as a unified tourist attraction, she said.
The tower was built at the peak of the Ringaskiddy promontory to prevent an enemy from taking the hill and bringing batteries to bear on Fort Westmoreland, the major fortification on Spike Island.
Indaver had suggested the construction of an artificial earthen berm or mounding would disguise the top of the process building from the tower and this should be done in such a fashion as not to block the wider harbour views.
However, given the tower is built 47m above sea level and the ultimate height of the incinerator building is 48.27m, views of the harbour intrinsic to the function of the tower will be blocked irrespective of how organic the mounding is, said Ms D’Alton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 5 May 2009
Incinerator oral hearing to resume
AN ORAL hearing by An Bord Pleanála into a proposed €150 million incinerator planned for Ringaskiddy in Cork Harbour will resume today when objectors to the proposal will get an opportunity to question the developers on their submissions.
Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase) and other opponents of the plan will start their questioning of experts called by Indaver Ireland who last week made submissions on various aspects of the proposal including air quality, traffic impact and safety risks.
Among those likely to be questioned at length by Chase and others this week is Indaver’s medical expert, Dr Martin Hogan, who presented a submission based on a review of a number of studies of the impact of incinerators on public health.
Dr Hogan said most of the published studies looked at incinerators whose emissions of dioxins, dust and heavy metal were far greater than would be emitted by a modern waste resource recovery facility such as that proposed by Indaver for Ringaskiddy.
He quoted from a report published in 2004 by the UK department of the environment, food and rural affairs which did not find a link between the current generation of municipal solid-waste incinerators and health effects.
“We looked in detail at studies of incineration facilities and found no consistent or convincing evidence of a link between cancer and incineration. There is little evidence that emissions from incinerators make respiratory problems worse.
“In most cases, the incinerator contributes only a small proportion to local levels of pollutants,” Dr Hogan claimed, before going on to refer to the Health Research Board’s 2003 report, Health and Environmental Effects of Landfilling and Incineration of Waste.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment (Chase) and other opponents of the plan will start their questioning of experts called by Indaver Ireland who last week made submissions on various aspects of the proposal including air quality, traffic impact and safety risks.
Among those likely to be questioned at length by Chase and others this week is Indaver’s medical expert, Dr Martin Hogan, who presented a submission based on a review of a number of studies of the impact of incinerators on public health.
Dr Hogan said most of the published studies looked at incinerators whose emissions of dioxins, dust and heavy metal were far greater than would be emitted by a modern waste resource recovery facility such as that proposed by Indaver for Ringaskiddy.
He quoted from a report published in 2004 by the UK department of the environment, food and rural affairs which did not find a link between the current generation of municipal solid-waste incinerators and health effects.
“We looked in detail at studies of incineration facilities and found no consistent or convincing evidence of a link between cancer and incineration. There is little evidence that emissions from incinerators make respiratory problems worse.
“In most cases, the incinerator contributes only a small proportion to local levels of pollutants,” Dr Hogan claimed, before going on to refer to the Health Research Board’s 2003 report, Health and Environmental Effects of Landfilling and Incineration of Waste.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Activists call for Corrib intervention
MORE THAN 20 recipients of the Goldman international environmental award have appealed to President Mary McAleese, Taoiseach Brian Cowen and Norwegian prime minister Jens Stoltenberg to intervene in the Corrib gas conflict in north Mayo.
An open letter sent late last week to Mrs McAleese, Mr Cowen and Mr Stoltenberg has been signed by recipients of the prestigious award from North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Mr Stoltenberg has been urged to assist as the Norwegian oil company Statoil is one of three partners in the Corrib gas project.
Known as the “Nobel green prize”, the Goldman award is sponsored by San Francisco philanthropist Richard Goldman. It selects six people from the six continental regions every year who have taken great personal risk in the name of environmental protection.
First ever Irish recipient was Rossport farmer Willie Corduff, who received the accolade two years ago for his opposition to the Corrib gas pipeline.
The letter, dated May 1st, expresses concerns about an alleged assault on Mr Corduff on April 23rd last, and a potential “humanitarian crisis” in north Mayo.
“Both Ireland and Norway pride themselves on the depth of their democratic process. All that the people from Co Mayo are attempting is to exercise their democratic right to say No to the Shell and Statoil project, in a peaceful manner, as required from a democracy,” the letter says.
“The violence perpetuated against Corduff and lack of protection from the State sadly reflects a possible decay in both the democracies of Ireland and Norway,” it continues, and it “urgently and humbly” seeks intervention of the recipients of the letter in “what is becoming a humanitarian crisis”.
The letter notes that the Corrib gas developers – Shell, Statoil and Marathon – do not have planning permission for the onshore section of pipeline which would bring gas from the Corrib field off Mayo to the inland refinery at Bellanaboy. A Bord Pleanála oral hearing on the pipeline planning application is due to open this month.
The 26 signatories of the open letter include Sven “Bobby” Peek, who won the accolade in 1999 for environmental activism in Durban, South Africa; and 2001 award winner Jane Akre, a US journalist who lost her job with Fox News following her reports on genetically modified growth hormones injected into cattle.
Other signatories include Zambian Hammer Simwinga, who won the award in 2007 for his management of community initiatives designed to offer an economic alternative to elephant poaching; and Stephanie Roth, a French-Swiss campaigner against open-cast gold mining in Romania.
Former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday has already lent his backing to Mr Corduff. Afri, the justice and human rights organisation, and four community groups in north Mayo last week called for an international investigation into Mr Corduff’s treatment during his protests, stating a lack of confidence in the Garda.
Chief Supt Tony McNamara, head of the Mayo Garda division, said gardaí had called to Mr Corduff on several occasions seeking statements from him, but had not received one yet. Mr Corduff told The Irish Times he was still recovering from the incident and planned to make a statement.
Late last week, two Government Ministers, Éamon Ó Cuív and Eamon Ryan, attended a very heated public meeting in north Mayo hosted by the community in relation to policing by gardaí and Shell security. The Ministers urged all sides in the conflict to “remain within the law” and use available structures.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An open letter sent late last week to Mrs McAleese, Mr Cowen and Mr Stoltenberg has been signed by recipients of the prestigious award from North and South America, Asia, Africa and Europe.
Mr Stoltenberg has been urged to assist as the Norwegian oil company Statoil is one of three partners in the Corrib gas project.
Known as the “Nobel green prize”, the Goldman award is sponsored by San Francisco philanthropist Richard Goldman. It selects six people from the six continental regions every year who have taken great personal risk in the name of environmental protection.
First ever Irish recipient was Rossport farmer Willie Corduff, who received the accolade two years ago for his opposition to the Corrib gas pipeline.
The letter, dated May 1st, expresses concerns about an alleged assault on Mr Corduff on April 23rd last, and a potential “humanitarian crisis” in north Mayo.
“Both Ireland and Norway pride themselves on the depth of their democratic process. All that the people from Co Mayo are attempting is to exercise their democratic right to say No to the Shell and Statoil project, in a peaceful manner, as required from a democracy,” the letter says.
“The violence perpetuated against Corduff and lack of protection from the State sadly reflects a possible decay in both the democracies of Ireland and Norway,” it continues, and it “urgently and humbly” seeks intervention of the recipients of the letter in “what is becoming a humanitarian crisis”.
The letter notes that the Corrib gas developers – Shell, Statoil and Marathon – do not have planning permission for the onshore section of pipeline which would bring gas from the Corrib field off Mayo to the inland refinery at Bellanaboy. A Bord Pleanála oral hearing on the pipeline planning application is due to open this month.
The 26 signatories of the open letter include Sven “Bobby” Peek, who won the accolade in 1999 for environmental activism in Durban, South Africa; and 2001 award winner Jane Akre, a US journalist who lost her job with Fox News following her reports on genetically modified growth hormones injected into cattle.
Other signatories include Zambian Hammer Simwinga, who won the award in 2007 for his management of community initiatives designed to offer an economic alternative to elephant poaching; and Stephanie Roth, a French-Swiss campaigner against open-cast gold mining in Romania.
Former UN assistant secretary general Denis Halliday has already lent his backing to Mr Corduff. Afri, the justice and human rights organisation, and four community groups in north Mayo last week called for an international investigation into Mr Corduff’s treatment during his protests, stating a lack of confidence in the Garda.
Chief Supt Tony McNamara, head of the Mayo Garda division, said gardaí had called to Mr Corduff on several occasions seeking statements from him, but had not received one yet. Mr Corduff told The Irish Times he was still recovering from the incident and planned to make a statement.
Late last week, two Government Ministers, Éamon Ó Cuív and Eamon Ryan, attended a very heated public meeting in north Mayo hosted by the community in relation to policing by gardaí and Shell security. The Ministers urged all sides in the conflict to “remain within the law” and use available structures.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Greystones harbour development not at risk, claims council
FEARS THAT the housing market downturn could scupper the €300 million redevelopment of Greystones harbour have been rejected by Wicklow County Council.
Responding to local concern that the five-year project – which is dependent on the sale of 341 housing units – could be halted by the recession, council chairman Derek Mitchell said 80 per cent of the new harbour’s south wall was already in place.
He said this, and a €10 million builders’ bond, would ensure that the harbour with its two public slipways and maritime club houses would be completed by autumn 2010, which he said would be “only a few months late”.
He said hoardings around the south side of the harbour would likely come down then, and the 230-berth marina would be completed later, “even if the housing at the northern end is mothballed for a while”.
The council’s spokesman on the project Seán Quirke said the developers were concerned at the fall in house prices, but insisted this was not affecting their commitment.
He said work on completing the outer walls had recently gone to a double shift and divers were working “until midnight and afterwards” in a bid to have the walls completed before next winter.
Sea swells last winter caused some movement in giant cement blocks before rock armour could be put in position and as a result by spring the project was running three months behind.
Work on the club houses has been put back to next winter to focus on completing the sea walls.
The council’s private sector partners are civil engineers John Sisk and home builders Park Developments, working as the Sispar Consortium. The project, which included the compulsory acquisition of properties on the sea front, is heavily dependent on the sale of the 341 new homes with retail facilities, and income from the marina.
In 2006 Mr Quirke said that “what has kept the scheme viable is the strong performance of the property market”. Mr Mitchell said he was confident there was always a market for houses in Greystones, and the timeframe of completion by 2013 could allow for a pause in house building if needed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Responding to local concern that the five-year project – which is dependent on the sale of 341 housing units – could be halted by the recession, council chairman Derek Mitchell said 80 per cent of the new harbour’s south wall was already in place.
He said this, and a €10 million builders’ bond, would ensure that the harbour with its two public slipways and maritime club houses would be completed by autumn 2010, which he said would be “only a few months late”.
He said hoardings around the south side of the harbour would likely come down then, and the 230-berth marina would be completed later, “even if the housing at the northern end is mothballed for a while”.
The council’s spokesman on the project Seán Quirke said the developers were concerned at the fall in house prices, but insisted this was not affecting their commitment.
He said work on completing the outer walls had recently gone to a double shift and divers were working “until midnight and afterwards” in a bid to have the walls completed before next winter.
Sea swells last winter caused some movement in giant cement blocks before rock armour could be put in position and as a result by spring the project was running three months behind.
Work on the club houses has been put back to next winter to focus on completing the sea walls.
The council’s private sector partners are civil engineers John Sisk and home builders Park Developments, working as the Sispar Consortium. The project, which included the compulsory acquisition of properties on the sea front, is heavily dependent on the sale of the 341 new homes with retail facilities, and income from the marina.
In 2006 Mr Quirke said that “what has kept the scheme viable is the strong performance of the property market”. Mr Mitchell said he was confident there was always a market for houses in Greystones, and the timeframe of completion by 2013 could allow for a pause in house building if needed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sculpture may not be returned to walkway
A CONTROVERSIAL sculpture in Dún Laoghaire that was removed to accommodate upgrade work in the south Dublin harbour town may never return if some local councillors have their way.
The Gateway sculpture, by Wexford artist Michael Warren, was removed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and put into storage to facilitate a new walkways scheme for the “metals” area, close to Dún Laoghaire Dart station.
The 20ft-tall, eight-tonne, Corten steel sculpture was installed in 2003 at the Pavilion Plaza, close to the Victoria Fountain and the county hall.
It was the subject of much debate in 2005 in the council chamber – and also in the letters page of The Irish Times – when councillors attempted to have it removed.
A motion to relocate the structure was shelved after Warren, an Aosdána member, visited the council chamber and explained the meaning behind the piece. But complaints about the art work rumbled on.
Provision has been made for the sculpture within the new walkway scheme, due to be completed next January, the council said, but its ultimate location will be a decision for the councillors.
Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell-O’Connor said there would be few tears shed for the loss of the sculpture.
“Given its prominence within a key public realm in Dún Laoghaire, the choice of Corten steel for the sculpture was a curious one, creating a sense of decay and contrasting sharply with the town’s rich Venetian architecture.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The Gateway sculpture, by Wexford artist Michael Warren, was removed by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and put into storage to facilitate a new walkways scheme for the “metals” area, close to Dún Laoghaire Dart station.
The 20ft-tall, eight-tonne, Corten steel sculpture was installed in 2003 at the Pavilion Plaza, close to the Victoria Fountain and the county hall.
It was the subject of much debate in 2005 in the council chamber – and also in the letters page of The Irish Times – when councillors attempted to have it removed.
A motion to relocate the structure was shelved after Warren, an Aosdána member, visited the council chamber and explained the meaning behind the piece. But complaints about the art work rumbled on.
Provision has been made for the sculpture within the new walkway scheme, due to be completed next January, the council said, but its ultimate location will be a decision for the councillors.
Fine Gael councillor Mary Mitchell-O’Connor said there would be few tears shed for the loss of the sculpture.
“Given its prominence within a key public realm in Dún Laoghaire, the choice of Corten steel for the sculpture was a curious one, creating a sense of decay and contrasting sharply with the town’s rich Venetian architecture.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 4 May 2009
New figures show renewable energy now accounts for 12.2% of electricity supply
The percentage of Ireland’s electricity supply coming from renewable energy has now risen to an impressive 12.2% in 2008 - up from 9.4% in 2007.
This significant increase underlines the enormous business potential that now exists in Ireland’s ‘Green Economy’ as indigenous producers of renewable energy begin to see the clean energy they are generating replace electricity previously generated from imported fossil fuels.
This is according to Professor J Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), who announced the provisional 2008 figures on the opening day of the Energy Show 2009 at the RDS, Dublin.
The growing contribution of renewable energy to gross electricity consumption also underlines the progress being made in meeting Government targets in the area of sustainable energy. If a similar increase can be made in the coming 18 months, then the 15% interim target set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper can be successfully met.
The installed capacity for wind generation is set to increase by almost 50% during 2009, - further reinforcing the likelihood of the target being met. The figures were announced at the official opening of the Energy Show by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Eamon Ryan TD, who was in the RDS to meet some of the 190 Irish and international exhibitors of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies.
Minister Ryan said - “This event is proof that Ireland’s ‘Green Economy’ has arrived and is already thriving. There are several thousand visiting energy professionals here today - all of which demonstrates the existing and future jobs potential of sustainable energy. Recent Government initiatives in the areas of smart networks, electric vehicles, wind energy, home insulation and green technology are driving further growth and job creation.
"We are successfully decarbonising our economy bringing with it thousands of jobs. We will meet our renewable energy targets. The Green Economy is real and it is delivering. Today is living proof of this.”
Prof. Lewis added - “It is timely that we use the Energy Show as a platform to announce the very encouraging news that we are well on target to meet the Government’s 2010 target of obtaining 15% of electricity from renewable sources. This massive growth also shows the opportunities which now exist in the green economy - as do the 190 businesses of varying shapes and sizes exhibiting at this week’s Energy Show.”
Included in the Energy Show for the first time this year is a large exhibition of electric and hybrid vehicles, including the latest models available in the Irish market - from large trucks to cargo vans and cars - which should be of particular interest to fleet owners and operators. Fifteen suppliers and manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles are exhibiting at the Show.
Importantly, the increased contribution of wind energy to Ireland’s electricity supply is playing a key role in increasing the viability of a large scale deployment of electric vehicles, which are ideally suited to using the intermittent energy supply from this resource. Under recently-announced Government targets, 10% of road vehicles will be electric by 2020. Given Ireland’s abundant wind energy resource, electric vehicles have an important role to play in helping Ireland’s transport sector tackle CO2 emissions.
The Energy Show is taking place April 29th - 30th at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin.
www.buckplanning.ie
This significant increase underlines the enormous business potential that now exists in Ireland’s ‘Green Economy’ as indigenous producers of renewable energy begin to see the clean energy they are generating replace electricity previously generated from imported fossil fuels.
This is according to Professor J Owen Lewis, Chief Executive of Sustainable Energy Ireland (SEI), who announced the provisional 2008 figures on the opening day of the Energy Show 2009 at the RDS, Dublin.
The growing contribution of renewable energy to gross electricity consumption also underlines the progress being made in meeting Government targets in the area of sustainable energy. If a similar increase can be made in the coming 18 months, then the 15% interim target set out in the Government’s Energy White Paper can be successfully met.
The installed capacity for wind generation is set to increase by almost 50% during 2009, - further reinforcing the likelihood of the target being met. The figures were announced at the official opening of the Energy Show by Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, Mr Eamon Ryan TD, who was in the RDS to meet some of the 190 Irish and international exhibitors of energy efficient and renewable energy technologies.
Minister Ryan said - “This event is proof that Ireland’s ‘Green Economy’ has arrived and is already thriving. There are several thousand visiting energy professionals here today - all of which demonstrates the existing and future jobs potential of sustainable energy. Recent Government initiatives in the areas of smart networks, electric vehicles, wind energy, home insulation and green technology are driving further growth and job creation.
"We are successfully decarbonising our economy bringing with it thousands of jobs. We will meet our renewable energy targets. The Green Economy is real and it is delivering. Today is living proof of this.”
Prof. Lewis added - “It is timely that we use the Energy Show as a platform to announce the very encouraging news that we are well on target to meet the Government’s 2010 target of obtaining 15% of electricity from renewable sources. This massive growth also shows the opportunities which now exist in the green economy - as do the 190 businesses of varying shapes and sizes exhibiting at this week’s Energy Show.”
Included in the Energy Show for the first time this year is a large exhibition of electric and hybrid vehicles, including the latest models available in the Irish market - from large trucks to cargo vans and cars - which should be of particular interest to fleet owners and operators. Fifteen suppliers and manufacturers of electric and hybrid vehicles are exhibiting at the Show.
Importantly, the increased contribution of wind energy to Ireland’s electricity supply is playing a key role in increasing the viability of a large scale deployment of electric vehicles, which are ideally suited to using the intermittent energy supply from this resource. Under recently-announced Government targets, 10% of road vehicles will be electric by 2020. Given Ireland’s abundant wind energy resource, electric vehicles have an important role to play in helping Ireland’s transport sector tackle CO2 emissions.
The Energy Show is taking place April 29th - 30th at the RDS Main Hall, Dublin.
www.buckplanning.ie
Tesco scales back its plans for Naas shopping centre
Tesco has sought planning permission for a scaled back shopping centre on land it owns on the Monread Road in Naas, Co Kildare. Tesco bought its 15-acre site there in 2004 for about €45m and subsequently secured planning for a shopping centre of more than 18,500 square metres. Last week however, it published plans for a 16,500 square metre shopping centre with nearly 900 car parking spaces at the site.
The development would see the construction of a Tesco store, 16 shops, an off-licence, medical centre and a community room. Tesco wants to build the scheme in two phases and wants planning if approved to be valid for 10 years.
The British supermarket giant that said last week it was considering rolling out pharmacies in its smaller stores and will look at doing so internationally. Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy has asked about using the format abroad but Ashley Hicks, Tesco's healthcare director told Retail Week that "the regulation is very different – but we will keep it on the long-term plan and not rule anything out".
A move into the Irish market would likely lead to cheaper prices for customers. It is known that An Bord Snip Nua, the cost cutting body headed by economist Colm McCarthy, is looking at reform of the pharmacy sector as part of its remit.
Tesco however is coming under sustained pressure to outline its plans to retain Irish produced goods in its stores here. The company has moved to purchasing ambient goods, everything from tinned soup to shampoo, via its UK head office as it looks to cut prices to alleviate the impact of cross-border shopping.
Sundau Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The development would see the construction of a Tesco store, 16 shops, an off-licence, medical centre and a community room. Tesco wants to build the scheme in two phases and wants planning if approved to be valid for 10 years.
The British supermarket giant that said last week it was considering rolling out pharmacies in its smaller stores and will look at doing so internationally. Tesco chief executive Terry Leahy has asked about using the format abroad but Ashley Hicks, Tesco's healthcare director told Retail Week that "the regulation is very different – but we will keep it on the long-term plan and not rule anything out".
A move into the Irish market would likely lead to cheaper prices for customers. It is known that An Bord Snip Nua, the cost cutting body headed by economist Colm McCarthy, is looking at reform of the pharmacy sector as part of its remit.
Tesco however is coming under sustained pressure to outline its plans to retain Irish produced goods in its stores here. The company has moved to purchasing ambient goods, everything from tinned soup to shampoo, via its UK head office as it looks to cut prices to alleviate the impact of cross-border shopping.
Sundau Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork city developers appeal against conditions
The developers behind two major new developments in Cork City have lodged appeals against conditions attached to their planning permission.
Howard Holdings subsidiary Alleyquay Investments is appealing permission granted for its €1 bn Atlantic Quarter development by Cork City Council in March. A spokesman for the company said that, while there is no problem with the technical conditions attached to the planning permission, development contributions amounting to around €60 million are regarded as excessive and it is on this basis that the appeal has been lodged. However, negotiations with the City Council may lead to the withdrawal of the appeal.
Meanwhile, Elysian Tower developer Michael O'Flynn has lodged an appealing against conditions attached to its office development on the former Motorola site in Mahon. While, the council ordered no significant alterations to the development, contributions were set at €1 million.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Howard Holdings subsidiary Alleyquay Investments is appealing permission granted for its €1 bn Atlantic Quarter development by Cork City Council in March. A spokesman for the company said that, while there is no problem with the technical conditions attached to the planning permission, development contributions amounting to around €60 million are regarded as excessive and it is on this basis that the appeal has been lodged. However, negotiations with the City Council may lead to the withdrawal of the appeal.
Meanwhile, Elysian Tower developer Michael O'Flynn has lodged an appealing against conditions attached to its office development on the former Motorola site in Mahon. While, the council ordered no significant alterations to the development, contributions were set at €1 million.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
EPA hold-up delays Quinn power station
THE START of construction work on billionaire Seán Quinn's proposed new €390m power station in Co Louth has been postponed due to delays in securing a licence from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The EPA was meant to issue a proposed determination on the project in February but the ruling only appeared last week after the agency twice extended its deliberations.
Although the EPA has now indicated that the Quinn Group will be granted a licence for the gas-fired station, the process is likely to drag on for several months, particularly if an objector seeks an oral hearing into the EPA's ruling.
The delays mean Quinn is unlikely to be able to achieve his initial goal of commissioning the plant by the end of 2010. Quinn had intended to start building the station, which will produce 445 megawatts of electricity, this spring.
Despite recent estimates that Quinn's personal fortune declined by almost 40% last year, the Quinn Group told the Sunday Tribune that construction work would begin as soon as it had secured the EPA licence. "The group remains of the view that the power sector is an important strategic area to be involved in," said a spokesman.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The EPA was meant to issue a proposed determination on the project in February but the ruling only appeared last week after the agency twice extended its deliberations.
Although the EPA has now indicated that the Quinn Group will be granted a licence for the gas-fired station, the process is likely to drag on for several months, particularly if an objector seeks an oral hearing into the EPA's ruling.
The delays mean Quinn is unlikely to be able to achieve his initial goal of commissioning the plant by the end of 2010. Quinn had intended to start building the station, which will produce 445 megawatts of electricity, this spring.
Despite recent estimates that Quinn's personal fortune declined by almost 40% last year, the Quinn Group told the Sunday Tribune that construction work would begin as soon as it had secured the EPA licence. "The group remains of the view that the power sector is an important strategic area to be involved in," said a spokesman.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Corruption in the process of planning
IT IS now a little over four weeks to the local government elections on June 5th. The last ones were held in 2004 and we elected 1,627 county councillors, city councillors and town councillors – most are back seeking re-election.
Which prompts the question: what are local councillors for? Why do we have local authorities at all when they seem to have fewer and fewer real powers? What useful function do local councillors have in terms of administration or governance?
One area where local councillors do retain real power is in planning – planning in terms of land use zoning and planning as in lobbying officials when they (the officials) are deciding which development applications are granted permission, and which are not. And it is in planning that unhealthy practices and relationships have built up over much of the past 30 years: in short, the planning process has been severely corrupted.
I am not alleging individual corruption (though, as the planning tribunal has shown, there has been skip-loads of that over the years). What I am arguing is that the process of planning, the process by which decisions are made, has been undermined, in that decisions are taken routinely for reasons that are inappropriate in planning terms.
Since Fianna Fáil abolished domestic rates following the 1977 general election, all local authorities have been at the mercy of central government for the bulk of their annual funding needs.
Because the interests of central government do not necessarily coincide with those of local government, local authorities have near-permanent financial shortfalls.
They have sought to address these by (a) contracting out services (with usually good results because of increased competition and the diminished influence of trade unions which see the public sector as a soft touch) and (b) levying developers when granting planning permission.
Take Wicklow (where I live), for example. Not long ago, at the height of the boom, one of Ireland’s major developers sought permission to build a huge shopping centre near Greystones. It was to be on a scale similar to the Liffey Valley centre in Lucan, Co Dublin, even though there was no obvious need for the development sought. At a council meeting discussion of the proposal, it emerged that private meetings had taken place between the developer and some councillors – private in that they were not witnessed by members of the public, as council meetings are, and private in that no formal record of the proceedings was made available to the public. It was therefore not possible to know who said what and assess why.
And yet, a councillor announced with a flourish of great triumph that the developer had agreed a legal undertaking to donate to the council – in exchange for permission for the centre – a site for a new Garda station and a new school. Councillors supported the development and the council, which would have received a very substantial capital injection from a levy, granted permission.
An Bord Pleanála subsequently overturned it for reasons that were blindingly obvious to many local people (the development would have destroyed existing commercial retail centres and was therefore not sustainable).
But why did councillors act in this way? The interests of a developer and a local authority are not the same. The duty of councillors is to represent the entire community, and either a Garda station and a school were needed or they were not.
But surely the decision on that should be taken on criteria supported by empirical data and unrelated, in any way whatsoever, to an application for a shopping development?
Will proper funding for local government and the sort of corrupting of process just described feature in the election campaign? I’m not holding my breath.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Which prompts the question: what are local councillors for? Why do we have local authorities at all when they seem to have fewer and fewer real powers? What useful function do local councillors have in terms of administration or governance?
One area where local councillors do retain real power is in planning – planning in terms of land use zoning and planning as in lobbying officials when they (the officials) are deciding which development applications are granted permission, and which are not. And it is in planning that unhealthy practices and relationships have built up over much of the past 30 years: in short, the planning process has been severely corrupted.
I am not alleging individual corruption (though, as the planning tribunal has shown, there has been skip-loads of that over the years). What I am arguing is that the process of planning, the process by which decisions are made, has been undermined, in that decisions are taken routinely for reasons that are inappropriate in planning terms.
Since Fianna Fáil abolished domestic rates following the 1977 general election, all local authorities have been at the mercy of central government for the bulk of their annual funding needs.
Because the interests of central government do not necessarily coincide with those of local government, local authorities have near-permanent financial shortfalls.
They have sought to address these by (a) contracting out services (with usually good results because of increased competition and the diminished influence of trade unions which see the public sector as a soft touch) and (b) levying developers when granting planning permission.
Take Wicklow (where I live), for example. Not long ago, at the height of the boom, one of Ireland’s major developers sought permission to build a huge shopping centre near Greystones. It was to be on a scale similar to the Liffey Valley centre in Lucan, Co Dublin, even though there was no obvious need for the development sought. At a council meeting discussion of the proposal, it emerged that private meetings had taken place between the developer and some councillors – private in that they were not witnessed by members of the public, as council meetings are, and private in that no formal record of the proceedings was made available to the public. It was therefore not possible to know who said what and assess why.
And yet, a councillor announced with a flourish of great triumph that the developer had agreed a legal undertaking to donate to the council – in exchange for permission for the centre – a site for a new Garda station and a new school. Councillors supported the development and the council, which would have received a very substantial capital injection from a levy, granted permission.
An Bord Pleanála subsequently overturned it for reasons that were blindingly obvious to many local people (the development would have destroyed existing commercial retail centres and was therefore not sustainable).
But why did councillors act in this way? The interests of a developer and a local authority are not the same. The duty of councillors is to represent the entire community, and either a Garda station and a school were needed or they were not.
But surely the decision on that should be taken on criteria supported by empirical data and unrelated, in any way whatsoever, to an application for a shopping development?
Will proper funding for local government and the sort of corrupting of process just described feature in the election campaign? I’m not holding my breath.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Saturday, 2 May 2009
Challenge to Wicklow 'tourist centre' lost
A LOCAL businessman has lost a High Court challenge to the granting of planning permission to Blarney Woollen Mills for a “tourist centre” at Laragh in Co Wicklow, including a craft/retail store and restaurant.
Joe O’Neill, Laragh, challenged An Bord Pleanála’s decision of September 12th, 2005, granting permission for the development on grounds including the alleged failure by the board to give adequate reasons for its rejection of its own inspector’s recommendation to refuse permission.
The proceedings were against the board, with Wicklow County Council and Blarney Woollen Mills Limited (BWM) as notice parties.
Mr O’Neill, who operates a shop that sells handknit woollens, natural tweeds and products directed towards tourists, said he was concerned about the impact of the development on himself, his business and its environmental impact on Laragh. The proposed development, on a site at the eastern end of the village on some 11 acres with a 400-metre frontage on to a regional road, was in an area of outstanding natural beauty and would seriously interfere with the visual amenities, he claimed.
Dismissing the proceedings yesterday, Mr Justice John Hedigan said the board’s inspector had concluded the proposed development should not be permitted on grounds including its “generally excessive scale” made it contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.
He also ruled that the board is not obliged under the Planning Act 2000 to engage in a lengthy review or analysis of its own reasoning when communicating its decision.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Joe O’Neill, Laragh, challenged An Bord Pleanála’s decision of September 12th, 2005, granting permission for the development on grounds including the alleged failure by the board to give adequate reasons for its rejection of its own inspector’s recommendation to refuse permission.
The proceedings were against the board, with Wicklow County Council and Blarney Woollen Mills Limited (BWM) as notice parties.
Mr O’Neill, who operates a shop that sells handknit woollens, natural tweeds and products directed towards tourists, said he was concerned about the impact of the development on himself, his business and its environmental impact on Laragh. The proposed development, on a site at the eastern end of the village on some 11 acres with a 400-metre frontage on to a regional road, was in an area of outstanding natural beauty and would seriously interfere with the visual amenities, he claimed.
Dismissing the proceedings yesterday, Mr Justice John Hedigan said the board’s inspector had concluded the proposed development should not be permitted on grounds including its “generally excessive scale” made it contrary to the proper planning and development of the area.
He also ruled that the board is not obliged under the Planning Act 2000 to engage in a lengthy review or analysis of its own reasoning when communicating its decision.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 1 May 2009
Workforce "increasingly reliant’ on car transport
AT the height of the economic boom in 2006, Irish towns had a working population that exceeded the number of resident workers, with more commuters than ever using cars.
Using information from the 2006 census, the CSO yesterday issued a profile of the working population of large Irish towns in 2006 which showed that most Irish towns gained in terms of commuters.
It paints a far different picture to Ireland today.
The profile shows the Irish workforce is increasingly reliant on car transport, despite efforts to increase the numbers using public transport in recent years.
It shows that over 57% of employees drove to work, while the percentage using bus transport dropped from 6.7% to 6.1% by 2006.
Over the same period the numbers travelling by train increased by over two-thirds, a direct result of the introduction of the LUAS in Dublin.
The number of people taking more than an hour to get to work increased from 142,500 to 187,000, with urban dwellers having a longer commute than their rural counterparts despite their shorter travelling distances.
Cork city had more than 65,000 workers in 2006, which rose to 84,000 when commuters were taken into account.
The city had higher than average proportions of workers in manufacturing, health and wholesale retail.
Cork also had proportionately more workers with a third-level qualification.
Three out of four workers travelled by car to work, with only 6.5% using a bus or a train.
Cork now has more than 16,500 people on the Live Register.
The profile shows that in 2006, more than 394,000 workers working in Dublin lived there. However, when the numbers commuting to the city are included, this figure rises to 442,000.
Real estate, renting and business activities accounted for more than 15% of workers, the highest percentage employed in this sector of all the cities and towns profiled.
Just over half the workers drove to work in Dublin city, making it the least reliant on car transport of all the cities and towns profiled.
Almost a quarter commuted by bus or train, while 13% walked to work.
In terms of employment, the situation in 2006 is very different when compared to the current employment levels in the capital, which now has almost 88,000 people on the dole.
Almost 40,000 people were employed in Galway city in 2006, making it the third largest working population in the country after Dublin and Cork.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Using information from the 2006 census, the CSO yesterday issued a profile of the working population of large Irish towns in 2006 which showed that most Irish towns gained in terms of commuters.
It paints a far different picture to Ireland today.
The profile shows the Irish workforce is increasingly reliant on car transport, despite efforts to increase the numbers using public transport in recent years.
It shows that over 57% of employees drove to work, while the percentage using bus transport dropped from 6.7% to 6.1% by 2006.
Over the same period the numbers travelling by train increased by over two-thirds, a direct result of the introduction of the LUAS in Dublin.
The number of people taking more than an hour to get to work increased from 142,500 to 187,000, with urban dwellers having a longer commute than their rural counterparts despite their shorter travelling distances.
Cork city had more than 65,000 workers in 2006, which rose to 84,000 when commuters were taken into account.
The city had higher than average proportions of workers in manufacturing, health and wholesale retail.
Cork also had proportionately more workers with a third-level qualification.
Three out of four workers travelled by car to work, with only 6.5% using a bus or a train.
Cork now has more than 16,500 people on the Live Register.
The profile shows that in 2006, more than 394,000 workers working in Dublin lived there. However, when the numbers commuting to the city are included, this figure rises to 442,000.
Real estate, renting and business activities accounted for more than 15% of workers, the highest percentage employed in this sector of all the cities and towns profiled.
Just over half the workers drove to work in Dublin city, making it the least reliant on car transport of all the cities and towns profiled.
Almost a quarter commuted by bus or train, while 13% walked to work.
In terms of employment, the situation in 2006 is very different when compared to the current employment levels in the capital, which now has almost 88,000 people on the dole.
Almost 40,000 people were employed in Galway city in 2006, making it the third largest working population in the country after Dublin and Cork.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
450 rental scheme bicycles to be available at 40 Dublin sites from July
THE 450 bicycles which are to be provided under long-awaited bicycle rental scheme for Dublin city will be available at 40 locations around the city from July.
The installation of the 40 bicycle “stations”, where users will be able to pick up or drop off bicycles, began this week and is due to be completed by the end of June, paving the way for the scheme to begin in early July.
The bicycles are being provided through a deal between Dublin City Council and advertising multinational JC Decaux. Under the deal JC Decaux will provide and maintain the bicycles in exchange for a 15-year permission to use outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually.
The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission last year, were erected last summer. Initially when the scheme was proposed the bicycles were to be made available once the advertising was erected. However, the council took several months to find suitable locations for the stations. Developer Mick Wallace is building the stations and expects their construction to take nine weeks.
Concerns have been raised that the bicycles will be stolen or abandoned, but in reality they are no more likely to go missing than the renter’s own bike, according to the council’s cycling officer, Ciarán Fallon. “The subscriber will have to provide a deposit, which can be taken from and returned to their credit card when they return the bike to the station. They will also have a lock, so the bikes will be looked after in the same way as any other bike.”
Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who has campaigned for the scheme for several years, said the rental rates had been set at a level which would attract a high number of users.
“It will cost €10 a year to join and the first half an hour rental will be free; there will be an increasing scale of rents after that to encourage a frequent turnover of the bikes at the stations.”
The bicycles will also be available to tourists at a reduced joining fee. The scheme, which has been run by JC Decaux in several cities including Paris, Vienna and Lyon, has proved extremely popular, Mr Montague said.
“In Paris each bicycle has about 10 different users per day and 90 per cent of those using the bicycles had never cycled in the city centre before. Getting more people cycling leads to much greater levels of safety for cyclists.”
The scheme has drawn considerable criticism, most notably from Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe, who called it a “dodgy deal” due to the large amount of advertising space JC Decaux was getting access to. However the council has consistently maintained the deal was a solid one for the city and included the removal of large numbers of old-fashioned advertising hoardings on the sides of buildings.
The council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free, but it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. In April 2006, it announced JC Decaux had been selected to run a bicycle rental scheme. In April 2007 the council granted JC Decaux permission to erect in the region of 100 advertising panels across the city.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The installation of the 40 bicycle “stations”, where users will be able to pick up or drop off bicycles, began this week and is due to be completed by the end of June, paving the way for the scheme to begin in early July.
The bicycles are being provided through a deal between Dublin City Council and advertising multinational JC Decaux. Under the deal JC Decaux will provide and maintain the bicycles in exchange for a 15-year permission to use outdoor advertising space in Dublin estimated to be worth €1 million annually.
The advertising panels, about 100 of which were granted planning permission last year, were erected last summer. Initially when the scheme was proposed the bicycles were to be made available once the advertising was erected. However, the council took several months to find suitable locations for the stations. Developer Mick Wallace is building the stations and expects their construction to take nine weeks.
Concerns have been raised that the bicycles will be stolen or abandoned, but in reality they are no more likely to go missing than the renter’s own bike, according to the council’s cycling officer, Ciarán Fallon. “The subscriber will have to provide a deposit, which can be taken from and returned to their credit card when they return the bike to the station. They will also have a lock, so the bikes will be looked after in the same way as any other bike.”
Labour councillor Andrew Montague, who has campaigned for the scheme for several years, said the rental rates had been set at a level which would attract a high number of users.
“It will cost €10 a year to join and the first half an hour rental will be free; there will be an increasing scale of rents after that to encourage a frequent turnover of the bikes at the stations.”
The bicycles will also be available to tourists at a reduced joining fee. The scheme, which has been run by JC Decaux in several cities including Paris, Vienna and Lyon, has proved extremely popular, Mr Montague said.
“In Paris each bicycle has about 10 different users per day and 90 per cent of those using the bicycles had never cycled in the city centre before. Getting more people cycling leads to much greater levels of safety for cyclists.”
The scheme has drawn considerable criticism, most notably from Green Party TD Ciarán Cuffe, who called it a “dodgy deal” due to the large amount of advertising space JC Decaux was getting access to. However the council has consistently maintained the deal was a solid one for the city and included the removal of large numbers of old-fashioned advertising hoardings on the sides of buildings.
The council originally intended the bicycles would be provided free, but it could not find anyone to run a free scheme. In April 2006, it announced JC Decaux had been selected to run a bicycle rental scheme. In April 2007 the council granted JC Decaux permission to erect in the region of 100 advertising panels across the city.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dormitory towns lose most commuters
DORMITORY TOWNS such as Celbridge, Greystones, Malahide and Balbriggan are the largest net losers of commuters to Dublin city, research from the Central Statistics Office has found.
Its study of Census 2006 data found that most large towns had more workers travelling to, than from, them in April 2006.
Not surprisingly, Dublin city gained the highest number of workers, with 104,865 travelling into the city while 56,752 residents worked outside the city.
In contrast, Greystones, which is 25 miles from the city, gained 949 workers but lost 5,232.
Swords, in north Dublin, had a resident working population of just over 15,000 but some 12,914 left the town for work.
Commuting workers caused an almost doubling of the working populations of Sligo and Castlebar, Co Mayo.
However, Carrigaline, Cobh and Midleton lost significant numbers of workers to Cork.
The CSO report profiled 27 towns, which accounted for 42 per cent of people at work, in April 2006.
It noted that Leixlip, Co Kildare, was “a notable exception” to the dormitory town pattern. It lost 5,362 commuting workers but attracted 5,794 workers.
Intel and Hewlett-Packard both have large plants in the town.
It also found that Leixlip’s working population had the highest level of education of the 27 towns, with more than two-thirds of workers educated to third level.
Killarney, Co Kerry, had the highest dependence on tourism, with 28 per cent of workers in the hotels and restaurants industry.
Athlone, which has an institute of technology, had the highest share of workers in education.
Meanwhile, Portlaoise, Co Laois, had the highest share of workers in public administration and defence, reflecting the importance of the prison in the midlands town.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Its study of Census 2006 data found that most large towns had more workers travelling to, than from, them in April 2006.
Not surprisingly, Dublin city gained the highest number of workers, with 104,865 travelling into the city while 56,752 residents worked outside the city.
In contrast, Greystones, which is 25 miles from the city, gained 949 workers but lost 5,232.
Swords, in north Dublin, had a resident working population of just over 15,000 but some 12,914 left the town for work.
Commuting workers caused an almost doubling of the working populations of Sligo and Castlebar, Co Mayo.
However, Carrigaline, Cobh and Midleton lost significant numbers of workers to Cork.
The CSO report profiled 27 towns, which accounted for 42 per cent of people at work, in April 2006.
It noted that Leixlip, Co Kildare, was “a notable exception” to the dormitory town pattern. It lost 5,362 commuting workers but attracted 5,794 workers.
Intel and Hewlett-Packard both have large plants in the town.
It also found that Leixlip’s working population had the highest level of education of the 27 towns, with more than two-thirds of workers educated to third level.
Killarney, Co Kerry, had the highest dependence on tourism, with 28 per cent of workers in the hotels and restaurants industry.
Athlone, which has an institute of technology, had the highest share of workers in education.
Meanwhile, Portlaoise, Co Laois, had the highest share of workers in public administration and defence, reflecting the importance of the prison in the midlands town.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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