CORK County Council is planning to develop walkways, landing areas and information boards as part of the first phase of developing Spike Island as a major tourist destination.
County manager Martin Riordan, who has been the driving force behind the local authority’s takeover of the facility, said his first priority is to get as many Cork people as possible to visit the island, which formerly housed a prison.
"For the first one or two years we will focus on providingaccess," Mr Riordan said.
Brendan Touhy, former general secretary at the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, is to chair a group which will oversee what is expected to be a 15-year development of the island as a major tourist attraction.
"We hope that the group will also include the Port of Cork, Fáilte Ireland, the Naval Service and representatives from the harbour communities.
"I hope the group will have its first meeting in the early autumn, at which stage it will start working on a grand vision," Mr Riordan said.
County architect Denis Deasy and Nicholas Mansergh, a senior council planner, are also working on the project.
Mr Mansergh is also involved in creating a tourism plan for the whole harbour.
Mr Riordan said it was hoped to tie in Spike Island with the Queenstown Project for the 100th anniversary commemoration of the sinking of the Titanic in 2012.
"The Port of Cork is very anxious to have other attractions in the area to hold onto tourists and Spike Island would be ideal for this.
"There is also huge potential for the proposed CAT ferry to open up the whole harbour for tourism," he said.
Mr Riordan said the next few years will be spent on labour-intensive projects to make theisland tourist-accessible. The work is likely to be carried out through social employment schemes.
Hendrick Verwey, chairman of Cobh Tourism, said the handing over of Spike Island to the county council was a welcome move.
"The economic benefits to the entire Cork region of having a world-class attraction in Cork Harbour should not be underestimated. The prospect of Cork families having their own ‘Phoenix Park’ on an island in one of the finest natural harbours in the world is also exciting," Mr Verwey said.
Members of Cobh Tourism, along with other groups such as Junior Chamber International, Cobh Town Council, Cobh Chamber, the Great Island Historical Society and East Cork Tourism have played an integral role in the Spike Island Heritage committee.
The committee, under the chairmanship of local historian Michael Martin, mounted a well orchestrated and concerted campaign in 2006 to highlight the history of the island and its tourism, cultural and amenity potential. Mr Martin said thedecision to transfer ownership to the local authority could become one of the most important milestones in the development of the whole harbour area as an international iconic site, attracting vast numbers of visitors to the region.
"The diversity of history on Spike Island is an international treasure," said Mr Martin.
"The willingness of government to release it and the county manager to take it on has to be commended."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 29 July 2009
Residents vote for demolition of flats and site renewal
RESIDENTS at a troubled flats complex have voted decisively for its demolition and the development of a new estate.
The results of a consultation process at Dolphin House, located in Dublin’s south inner city, will now lead to the drawing up of a "master plan" by Dublin City Council (DCC).
But council manager John Tierney told residents at Dolphin House, the second largest public flats complex in the country, the redevelopment would take time.
Dolphin House came under the spotlight three months ago when a local drug dealing gang subjected residents to a campaign of intimidation. This was in retaliation to an intensive garda operation in the complex which forced the gang to move its business elsewhere.
During the intimidation, 29 residents had their cars damaged, threats were daubed on walls, a community meeting was interrupted by a bomb scare and local activists were targeted.
A consultation report, Dolphin Decides, published yesterday found 82% of the 920 residents wanted significant regeneration, with 67% opting for full demolition.
Some 70% of residents wanted to stay in the estate and 65% said Dolphin’s greatest asset was its neighbours.
The process was carried out by the Dolphin House Community Development Association (DHCDA) after it secured agreement from DCC for resident consultation before any redevelopment.
The Dolphin Decides report found:
* much of the physical fabric of the estate is poor, especially Dolphin Park’s housing for the elderly, which falls "below any minimum standards"
* there is a "serious problem" of waste clogging up baths, showers, sinks and toilets leaving them unusable for hours and "sometimes days"
* absence of play areas and safe spaces means many families are afraid to allow their children out to play
* there are "serious social problems" including drugs and intimidation
DHCDA chair Jim Lawlor was it was vital the report’s findings were implemented.
Mr Tierney welcomed the report, but added: "I’m not going to stand here today and kid you, that in these financial times that delivery is going to be easy." But he said a project architect would be appointed this autumn.
Resident Debbie Mulhall, a mother-of-two, said: "There’s a good vibe about this redevelopment. It will take time because of the recession, but the community need it to work."
Resident Veronica Lally said: "I hope the report is implemented. I really hope this time we are not let down."
The report was launched during the Dolphin House annual summer festival.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
The results of a consultation process at Dolphin House, located in Dublin’s south inner city, will now lead to the drawing up of a "master plan" by Dublin City Council (DCC).
But council manager John Tierney told residents at Dolphin House, the second largest public flats complex in the country, the redevelopment would take time.
Dolphin House came under the spotlight three months ago when a local drug dealing gang subjected residents to a campaign of intimidation. This was in retaliation to an intensive garda operation in the complex which forced the gang to move its business elsewhere.
During the intimidation, 29 residents had their cars damaged, threats were daubed on walls, a community meeting was interrupted by a bomb scare and local activists were targeted.
A consultation report, Dolphin Decides, published yesterday found 82% of the 920 residents wanted significant regeneration, with 67% opting for full demolition.
Some 70% of residents wanted to stay in the estate and 65% said Dolphin’s greatest asset was its neighbours.
The process was carried out by the Dolphin House Community Development Association (DHCDA) after it secured agreement from DCC for resident consultation before any redevelopment.
The Dolphin Decides report found:
* much of the physical fabric of the estate is poor, especially Dolphin Park’s housing for the elderly, which falls "below any minimum standards"
* there is a "serious problem" of waste clogging up baths, showers, sinks and toilets leaving them unusable for hours and "sometimes days"
* absence of play areas and safe spaces means many families are afraid to allow their children out to play
* there are "serious social problems" including drugs and intimidation
DHCDA chair Jim Lawlor was it was vital the report’s findings were implemented.
Mr Tierney welcomed the report, but added: "I’m not going to stand here today and kid you, that in these financial times that delivery is going to be easy." But he said a project architect would be appointed this autumn.
Resident Debbie Mulhall, a mother-of-two, said: "There’s a good vibe about this redevelopment. It will take time because of the recession, but the community need it to work."
Resident Veronica Lally said: "I hope the report is implemented. I really hope this time we are not let down."
The report was launched during the Dolphin House annual summer festival.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Dolphin House regeneration plans set for autumn
PLANS TO redevelop Dolphin House, one of Dublin’s largest and most troubled flat complexes, are to get under way in the autumn, according to Dublin city manager John Tierney.
Mr Tierney said he planned to appoint an architect in the coming months to begin the development of a master plan for the regeneration of the 1950s flat complex on the Grand Canal in Dolphin’s Barn.
The council intended to plan for the estate’s regeneration, despite cuts in public finances and the collapse last year of regeneration projects in five similar flat complexes in the inner city.
“One of the things we’ve learned from the past is that the level of preparation done in the down times is critical when an upturn comes . . . I’m hopeful that the Government will prioritise regeneration in the future,” Mr Tierney said.
He said he could give no date for when the redevelopment of the complex would begin, but the council would do everything in its power to ensure that Dolphin House was regenerated.
Mr Tierney was speaking at the launch of a report from the Dolphin House Community Development Association, which found that more than two-thirds of people living in the flat complex wanted it demolished.
With about 920 residents, the complex is second only in size to Ballymun. For more than 20 years, the estate has been blighted by drug dealing and other serious crime but the report found that the majority of people wanted to stay in the estate.
“Regeneration of Dolphin House and Dolphin Park offers the potential to end a cycle of poverty and social disadvantage in this large community,” Rory Hearne, regeneration worker with the development association, said.
Now was the ideal time to regenerate the estate, he added, as the costs of reconstruction were much lower than in recent years.
“As Dolphin is at the heart of a key area of Dublin city, regeneration also has the potential to create knock-on economic and social benefits and job-creation opportunities for the surrounding community.”
The report found that 82 per cent of residents want significant regeneration, with 67 per cent wanting full demolition and 70 per cent wanting to stay in the estate.
They said tackling the social problems of the area must be given as much time as dealing with the physical makeover and called for no delays in the regeneration.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Tierney said he planned to appoint an architect in the coming months to begin the development of a master plan for the regeneration of the 1950s flat complex on the Grand Canal in Dolphin’s Barn.
The council intended to plan for the estate’s regeneration, despite cuts in public finances and the collapse last year of regeneration projects in five similar flat complexes in the inner city.
“One of the things we’ve learned from the past is that the level of preparation done in the down times is critical when an upturn comes . . . I’m hopeful that the Government will prioritise regeneration in the future,” Mr Tierney said.
He said he could give no date for when the redevelopment of the complex would begin, but the council would do everything in its power to ensure that Dolphin House was regenerated.
Mr Tierney was speaking at the launch of a report from the Dolphin House Community Development Association, which found that more than two-thirds of people living in the flat complex wanted it demolished.
With about 920 residents, the complex is second only in size to Ballymun. For more than 20 years, the estate has been blighted by drug dealing and other serious crime but the report found that the majority of people wanted to stay in the estate.
“Regeneration of Dolphin House and Dolphin Park offers the potential to end a cycle of poverty and social disadvantage in this large community,” Rory Hearne, regeneration worker with the development association, said.
Now was the ideal time to regenerate the estate, he added, as the costs of reconstruction were much lower than in recent years.
“As Dolphin is at the heart of a key area of Dublin city, regeneration also has the potential to create knock-on economic and social benefits and job-creation opportunities for the surrounding community.”
The report found that 82 per cent of residents want significant regeneration, with 67 per cent wanting full demolition and 70 per cent wanting to stay in the estate.
They said tackling the social problems of the area must be given as much time as dealing with the physical makeover and called for no delays in the regeneration.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Locals fear impact of Clonmacnoise heritage status
LANDOWNERS LIVING next to the ancient monastic site of Clonmacnoise in Co Offaly fear that if it is awarded world heritage site status their freedom to farm and build in the area will be severely restricted.
A public information meeting on the zoning of land in counties Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath as part of the planned designation of Clonmacnoise takes place in Athlone this evening.
The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced early this year it was applying to Unesco for world heritage status for Clonmacnoise.
An extensive “buffer zone” around Clonmacnoise has been proposed as part of the department submission. This incorporates tracts of land in counties Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath.
Offaly councillor Connie Hanniffy (FG) said residents living in the locality were very worried. The local community “have been the custodians of the place and they have co-operated and this has been foisted on them”.
She said: “The economic value of Clonmacnoise to the local community as of now hasn’t been that great because very few businesses around the bog have gained anything from it. I speak of this because I was in tourism myself.”
Ms Hanniffy wants the department to clarify the nature of any planned restrictions. “I am very worried for my constituents – they have to live when all this is over.”
Cllr Eamon Dooley (FF) agreed there was a lot of concern locally but he believed most of the concerns would be appropriately dealt with during consultation. If the cost was too high, the local community would not accept the proposals, he said. Shannonbridge native Cllr Sinead Moylan Ryan (FF) questioned the scale of the proposed buffer zone, claiming it would increase the original core protective zone ten-fold, from 200 hectares to more than 2,000 hectares.
In Co Westmeath, Irish Farmers’ Association chairman Paddy Donnelly said his members were meeting to discuss the issue.
He had received calls from farmers who fear there will be “widespread implications” if the draft measures are imposed. The farming community along the banks of the Shannon in Westmeath were worried there could be restrictions in cutting hay and allowing animals out after they have been dosed.
Roscommon-based TD Denis Naughten (FG) has urged local farmers to attend today’s public meeting, which is being hosted by the department at the Athlone Springs Hotel, and starts at 7.30pm. “Over the last number of years we have witnessed the department designate large tracts of land, placing serious restrictions on farming practices and development,” said Mr Naughten.
“The fear is that we may now see this blasé attitude from the Department of the Environment well and truly at work again with similar plans for the proposed designation of land within the buffer zone of the pending world heritage site at Clonmacnoise.”
To date there are two world heritage sites in the Republic: the Brú na Bóinne archaeological complex which was added to the Unesco list in 1993, and Skellig Michael which was added in 1996.
Apart from Clonmacnoise, the department has seven other sites on a “tentative” application list: Cashel, Céide Fields, Clara Bog, Killarney National Park, North West Mayo Boglands, the Burren and the Western Stone Forts.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A public information meeting on the zoning of land in counties Roscommon, Offaly and Westmeath as part of the planned designation of Clonmacnoise takes place in Athlone this evening.
The Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government announced early this year it was applying to Unesco for world heritage status for Clonmacnoise.
An extensive “buffer zone” around Clonmacnoise has been proposed as part of the department submission. This incorporates tracts of land in counties Offaly, Roscommon and Westmeath.
Offaly councillor Connie Hanniffy (FG) said residents living in the locality were very worried. The local community “have been the custodians of the place and they have co-operated and this has been foisted on them”.
She said: “The economic value of Clonmacnoise to the local community as of now hasn’t been that great because very few businesses around the bog have gained anything from it. I speak of this because I was in tourism myself.”
Ms Hanniffy wants the department to clarify the nature of any planned restrictions. “I am very worried for my constituents – they have to live when all this is over.”
Cllr Eamon Dooley (FF) agreed there was a lot of concern locally but he believed most of the concerns would be appropriately dealt with during consultation. If the cost was too high, the local community would not accept the proposals, he said. Shannonbridge native Cllr Sinead Moylan Ryan (FF) questioned the scale of the proposed buffer zone, claiming it would increase the original core protective zone ten-fold, from 200 hectares to more than 2,000 hectares.
In Co Westmeath, Irish Farmers’ Association chairman Paddy Donnelly said his members were meeting to discuss the issue.
He had received calls from farmers who fear there will be “widespread implications” if the draft measures are imposed. The farming community along the banks of the Shannon in Westmeath were worried there could be restrictions in cutting hay and allowing animals out after they have been dosed.
Roscommon-based TD Denis Naughten (FG) has urged local farmers to attend today’s public meeting, which is being hosted by the department at the Athlone Springs Hotel, and starts at 7.30pm. “Over the last number of years we have witnessed the department designate large tracts of land, placing serious restrictions on farming practices and development,” said Mr Naughten.
“The fear is that we may now see this blasé attitude from the Department of the Environment well and truly at work again with similar plans for the proposed designation of land within the buffer zone of the pending world heritage site at Clonmacnoise.”
To date there are two world heritage sites in the Republic: the Brú na Bóinne archaeological complex which was added to the Unesco list in 1993, and Skellig Michael which was added in 1996.
Apart from Clonmacnoise, the department has seven other sites on a “tentative” application list: Cashel, Céide Fields, Clara Bog, Killarney National Park, North West Mayo Boglands, the Burren and the Western Stone Forts.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Cork private hospital gets go-ahead
PLANNING PERMISSION has been granted for a €60 million private hospital which is due to be constructed alongside Jurys Hotel on Lancaster Quay in Cork city.
O’Callaghan Properties has already built a new hotel for Jurys and some 175 apartments on the five-acre site.
However, the company has dropped plans to build additional apartments in favour of developing the new private hospital.
Property developer Owen O’Callaghan’s 100-bed five-storey project will create 300 full-time new jobs in Cork and could be operational by autumn 2010. In all, 350 construction jobs are also to be created.
The hospital will include surgical day beds and recovery beds, intensive care, an oncology ward, physiotherapy facilities and a cafeteria.
O’Callaghan Properties believes that the Lancaster Quay/Western Road site is the premium location for a private hospital in Cork city because it is close to a number of existing hospitals and clinics, it is near University College Cork and ample on-site parking has already been created.
The plans for the site were lodged in May and Cork City Council gave the go-ahead yesterday. However, conditions were attached including a development contribution of close to €1 million.
Architects for the site are Henry J Lyons and Partners, with support from an international healthcare operator, backed by a European private equity fund.
The plan has the support of several national and international healthcare operators, including the Health Partnership, which was involved in developing Dublin’s Beacon Hospital and Waterford’s Whitfield Clinic, and is developing the Wyndale Clinic in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, as well as the Wellwood Clinic in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The new hospital is within walking distance of the Bon Secours Hospital on Cork’s College Road where planning permission was granted in April, for a €100 million expansion, by An Bord Pleanála .
The current proposal from O’Callaghan Properties is the latest in a series of private hospital initiatives in Cork and follows an application by the Beacon Medical Group to establish a €242 million private hospital on the grounds of Cork University Hospital.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
O’Callaghan Properties has already built a new hotel for Jurys and some 175 apartments on the five-acre site.
However, the company has dropped plans to build additional apartments in favour of developing the new private hospital.
Property developer Owen O’Callaghan’s 100-bed five-storey project will create 300 full-time new jobs in Cork and could be operational by autumn 2010. In all, 350 construction jobs are also to be created.
The hospital will include surgical day beds and recovery beds, intensive care, an oncology ward, physiotherapy facilities and a cafeteria.
O’Callaghan Properties believes that the Lancaster Quay/Western Road site is the premium location for a private hospital in Cork city because it is close to a number of existing hospitals and clinics, it is near University College Cork and ample on-site parking has already been created.
The plans for the site were lodged in May and Cork City Council gave the go-ahead yesterday. However, conditions were attached including a development contribution of close to €1 million.
Architects for the site are Henry J Lyons and Partners, with support from an international healthcare operator, backed by a European private equity fund.
The plan has the support of several national and international healthcare operators, including the Health Partnership, which was involved in developing Dublin’s Beacon Hospital and Waterford’s Whitfield Clinic, and is developing the Wyndale Clinic in Letterkenny, Co Donegal, as well as the Wellwood Clinic in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
The new hospital is within walking distance of the Bon Secours Hospital on Cork’s College Road where planning permission was granted in April, for a €100 million expansion, by An Bord Pleanála .
The current proposal from O’Callaghan Properties is the latest in a series of private hospital initiatives in Cork and follows an application by the Beacon Medical Group to establish a €242 million private hospital on the grounds of Cork University Hospital.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Council objects to Tara Street office 'slab' above station
DUBLIN CITY Council is opposing plans by Iarnród Éireann for a €100 million redevelopment of Tara Street station in Dublin, including the construction of a 15-storey office block on the site.
The two State bodies are also at loggerheads over the payment of development contributions and a levy to fund the Metro North in the event of planning permission being granted.
An Bord Pleanála yesterday began an oral hearing into Iarnród Éireann’s plans to redevelop the Dart and mainline station, the second-busiest in the country.
The semi-State aims to fund the new station through the development of the office block by seeking development partners if it obtains planning permission.
The development includes a glazed three-storey concourse and 10 storeys of office accommodation employing a “grain of rice” or “ship-shape” motif. Iarnród Éireann says the design by Canadian architects Adamson Associates will provide a “dramatic arrival point” for travellers to Dublin.
“The concourse will be a place of light, bustle and activity, an interchange point which looks towards the historic core of Dublin and the Liffey quays to the west, yet which is itself visible in all of its activities from the adjacent streets and from the wider city,” according to Iarnród Éireann.
However, the council, in its observation to the board, has likened the proposed tower to “a large slab form” sitting poorly in the skyline. While not opposed to development on the site, it says the current proposal is not capable of being amended and should be rejected. The proposed development will reach 60.8 metres into the Dublin skyline, slightly higher than Liberty Hall and almost twice the height of the Custom House. Iarnród Éireann told the hearing, chaired by inspector Karla McBride, that the loss of any floors from the office tower would significantly reduce its commercial viability.
A 10-year planning permission is being sought as construction is likely to take longer than the normal five years allowed.
The Department of the Environment has also expressed concern about the proposed development and has called for the provision of a nesting platform for peregrine falcons as part of any planning permission.
The development envisages the demolition of Tara House and other buildings but Kennedy’s pub, a four-storey protected structure on George’s Quay, will survive.
Iarnród Éireann called on the board not to impose levies on the development to fund Metro North and to reduce the normal development contributions due to Dublin City Council as part of planning permission.
Tim Richards, a surveyor with CIÉ, said the imposition of a levy to fund Metro North, as sought by the Railway Procurement Agency and the council, was inappropriate because it was not a pure office development. The imposition of a levy, estimated at almost €400,000, would place an “undue burden” on the development.
Jennifer Noctor of the Railway Procurement Agency said the levy should be imposed as the development was within the prescribed area near the new Metro line, which would benefit the occupants of the commercial and retail units.
Mr Richards also argued that development contributions due to the council should not be imposed in relation to the transport components of the plan.
Tom Devoy of Iarnród Éireann said the Tara Street station was heavily congested at peak times and would not be able to cope with expected increases in passenger numbers in the future. The new station has been designed to cater for 14,500 passengers an hour, compared to the current morning peak of 6,000 passengers. Mr Devoy said the new design would make the station a far safer environment for passengers as well as providing better shelter for passengers on platforms.
However, Iarnród Éireann does not intend to provide any toilets or bicycle parking in the station because of the “confined” nature of the site. Ms McBride said it wasn’t logical to expect cyclists to park their bikes at other stations if travelling from Tara Street.
Mr Devoy said Tara Street was a vital piece of strategic rail infrastructure for Dublin and its redevelopment was vital to “future-proof” the station to meet future passenger needs. “A ‘do-nothing’ scenario is untenable,” he said.
The application is similar to a previous one granted planning permission in 2001 but this was abandoned three years later because it would involve the temporary closure of the station.
The latest application, which is being assessed by An Bord Pleanála under new fast-track planning procedures, permits the station to remain operating during works.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The two State bodies are also at loggerheads over the payment of development contributions and a levy to fund the Metro North in the event of planning permission being granted.
An Bord Pleanála yesterday began an oral hearing into Iarnród Éireann’s plans to redevelop the Dart and mainline station, the second-busiest in the country.
The semi-State aims to fund the new station through the development of the office block by seeking development partners if it obtains planning permission.
The development includes a glazed three-storey concourse and 10 storeys of office accommodation employing a “grain of rice” or “ship-shape” motif. Iarnród Éireann says the design by Canadian architects Adamson Associates will provide a “dramatic arrival point” for travellers to Dublin.
“The concourse will be a place of light, bustle and activity, an interchange point which looks towards the historic core of Dublin and the Liffey quays to the west, yet which is itself visible in all of its activities from the adjacent streets and from the wider city,” according to Iarnród Éireann.
However, the council, in its observation to the board, has likened the proposed tower to “a large slab form” sitting poorly in the skyline. While not opposed to development on the site, it says the current proposal is not capable of being amended and should be rejected. The proposed development will reach 60.8 metres into the Dublin skyline, slightly higher than Liberty Hall and almost twice the height of the Custom House. Iarnród Éireann told the hearing, chaired by inspector Karla McBride, that the loss of any floors from the office tower would significantly reduce its commercial viability.
A 10-year planning permission is being sought as construction is likely to take longer than the normal five years allowed.
The Department of the Environment has also expressed concern about the proposed development and has called for the provision of a nesting platform for peregrine falcons as part of any planning permission.
The development envisages the demolition of Tara House and other buildings but Kennedy’s pub, a four-storey protected structure on George’s Quay, will survive.
Iarnród Éireann called on the board not to impose levies on the development to fund Metro North and to reduce the normal development contributions due to Dublin City Council as part of planning permission.
Tim Richards, a surveyor with CIÉ, said the imposition of a levy to fund Metro North, as sought by the Railway Procurement Agency and the council, was inappropriate because it was not a pure office development. The imposition of a levy, estimated at almost €400,000, would place an “undue burden” on the development.
Jennifer Noctor of the Railway Procurement Agency said the levy should be imposed as the development was within the prescribed area near the new Metro line, which would benefit the occupants of the commercial and retail units.
Mr Richards also argued that development contributions due to the council should not be imposed in relation to the transport components of the plan.
Tom Devoy of Iarnród Éireann said the Tara Street station was heavily congested at peak times and would not be able to cope with expected increases in passenger numbers in the future. The new station has been designed to cater for 14,500 passengers an hour, compared to the current morning peak of 6,000 passengers. Mr Devoy said the new design would make the station a far safer environment for passengers as well as providing better shelter for passengers on platforms.
However, Iarnród Éireann does not intend to provide any toilets or bicycle parking in the station because of the “confined” nature of the site. Ms McBride said it wasn’t logical to expect cyclists to park their bikes at other stations if travelling from Tara Street.
Mr Devoy said Tara Street was a vital piece of strategic rail infrastructure for Dublin and its redevelopment was vital to “future-proof” the station to meet future passenger needs. “A ‘do-nothing’ scenario is untenable,” he said.
The application is similar to a previous one granted planning permission in 2001 but this was abandoned three years later because it would involve the temporary closure of the station.
The latest application, which is being assessed by An Bord Pleanála under new fast-track planning procedures, permits the station to remain operating during works.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
CIE aims high with €100m station plan
CIE plans to build a €100m office block development higher than Liberty Hall at Tara Street Station in Dublin.
This morning, An Bord Pleanala will open a public hearing into plans by the company to redevelop one of the country's busiest transport centres, which would see a 14-storey office block built above the tracks on a 0.3 acre site.
Our picture shows how the redesigned concourse will look if the project goes ahead.
And CIE has insisted it was "confident" the development would go ahead, despite the current economic difficulties.
Some 10 million passengers go through the station every year, and further growth is expected as Transport 21 projects, including the underground DART, come on stream.
The 12-metre tall concourse area will cater for up to 14,500 passengers per hour at peak commuter times.
To fund the development of the station, a landmark office development will also be included over the station, with an office space of 13,000sq m, which sees the overall height of the development total 60.8 metres.
The scheme will be developed on a phased basis to permit the station to remain open during construction.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
This morning, An Bord Pleanala will open a public hearing into plans by the company to redevelop one of the country's busiest transport centres, which would see a 14-storey office block built above the tracks on a 0.3 acre site.
Our picture shows how the redesigned concourse will look if the project goes ahead.
And CIE has insisted it was "confident" the development would go ahead, despite the current economic difficulties.
Some 10 million passengers go through the station every year, and further growth is expected as Transport 21 projects, including the underground DART, come on stream.
The 12-metre tall concourse area will cater for up to 14,500 passengers per hour at peak commuter times.
To fund the development of the station, a landmark office development will also be included over the station, with an office space of 13,000sq m, which sees the overall height of the development total 60.8 metres.
The scheme will be developed on a phased basis to permit the station to remain open during construction.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Bridge go-ahead depends on Metro North
DUBLIN City Council has been given permission to build a €15m public transport bridge over the Liffey.
But the Marlborough Street bridge will only go ahead if Metro North gets planning permission and the Government decides to approve the multi-billion euro light rail system.
The Department of Transport, which will fund the project, said work on the new bridge linking Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street would only begin once Metro North is approved by the Cabinet.
The planning application for Metro North, which is with An Bord Pleanala, says that the Marlborough Street bridge will be used to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre when construction works begin.
It will take 18 months to build and cost €15m.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
But the Marlborough Street bridge will only go ahead if Metro North gets planning permission and the Government decides to approve the multi-billion euro light rail system.
The Department of Transport, which will fund the project, said work on the new bridge linking Marlborough Street and Hawkins Street would only begin once Metro North is approved by the Cabinet.
The planning application for Metro North, which is with An Bord Pleanala, says that the Marlborough Street bridge will be used to reduce traffic congestion in the city centre when construction works begin.
It will take 18 months to build and cost €15m.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Plan to unlock potential of 'Ireland's Alcatraz'
OLIVER Cromwell deemed the island a suitable place to house Irish prisoners awaiting deportation. Later, its prisoner population soared to over 2,000 in the 1850s.
And during its modern peak two decades ago, it catered for 102 inmates, and was the site of a famous prison riot.
Now Spike Island will be transformed into a tourist attraction, provided that the money can be found to do it.
Tourism officials yesterday admitted they are "absolutely thrilled" that the island will finally become a centrepiece of efforts to turn Cork harbour into world-renowned visitor attraction.
But transforming Spike Island into Ireland's version of Alcatraz is not without difficulties. Senior council members acknowledged they have "no idea" where the estimated €1m-plus in refurbishment costs will come from.
However, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said he was delighted by the move. He said: "I believe that it is important to unlock any tourism potential of (Spike) island to the immediate benefit of the region generally and I would like to thank all those involved."
Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
And during its modern peak two decades ago, it catered for 102 inmates, and was the site of a famous prison riot.
Now Spike Island will be transformed into a tourist attraction, provided that the money can be found to do it.
Tourism officials yesterday admitted they are "absolutely thrilled" that the island will finally become a centrepiece of efforts to turn Cork harbour into world-renowned visitor attraction.
But transforming Spike Island into Ireland's version of Alcatraz is not without difficulties. Senior council members acknowledged they have "no idea" where the estimated €1m-plus in refurbishment costs will come from.
However, Foreign Affairs Minister Micheal Martin said he was delighted by the move. He said: "I believe that it is important to unlock any tourism potential of (Spike) island to the immediate benefit of the region generally and I would like to thank all those involved."
Ralph Riegel
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Monday, 27 July 2009
Trinity seeks permission to convert former bank into pub
TRINITY COLLEGE Dublin has sought planning permission to convert the ground floor and basement of the former AIB bank in Foster Place, off College Green, into one of the city’s largest pubs – with 1,341sq m (14,434sq ft) of licensed space.
The planning application, lodged on behalf of “The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the University of Dublin, Trinity College”, envisages turning the double-height Victorian banking hall into a “restaurant and public house” extending back to Anglesea Street.
Permission is also being sought for a shop on the Foster Place frontage, change of use from banking to education for the upper floors, and the removal of a 19th-century bank vault and all 20th-century alterations to the building, which is a protected structure.
It is understood that the proposed pub would not be run by Trinity but leased to a publican or restaurateur in the event that permission were granted. The upper floors of the building would be converted to office space for university staff.
The scheme is being opposed by Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT), a subsidiary of Dublin City Council with a remit to manage the area as Dublin’s “cultural quarter”. It claims the creation of a “super-pub” on Foster Place would create a “drinking gateway” to Temple Bar.
“Temple Bar Cultural Trust would have serious concerns about this, as there are already three large pubs spilling out onto Anglesea Street in the immediate vicinity,” it says. “Yet another licensed premises would further intensify this already critical mass of drinking establishments.”
Its submission, drafted by Seán Harrington Architects, says there has been general agreement for the past 10 years that the large number, size and type of licensed premises in the Temple Bar area has been “problematic” and, for this reason, more pubs are effectively banned.
Urging city planners to refuse permission, the submission notes that the council’s own policy in its development plan is “to avoid an over-concentration of large pubs in any particular area and to encourage the provision in the city centre of a mix of entertainment venues”.
Concluding, the TBCT submission says its view of the Trinity College plan was that it would be “contrary to the aims and objectives of the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2005-2011 as set out above, and we would request that the application is refused permission”.
A spokesman for the college, which bought the AIB building in 2001, could not be contacted yesterday.
A decision on the application is due by August 26th.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The planning application, lodged on behalf of “The Provost, Fellows and Scholars of the University of Dublin, Trinity College”, envisages turning the double-height Victorian banking hall into a “restaurant and public house” extending back to Anglesea Street.
Permission is also being sought for a shop on the Foster Place frontage, change of use from banking to education for the upper floors, and the removal of a 19th-century bank vault and all 20th-century alterations to the building, which is a protected structure.
It is understood that the proposed pub would not be run by Trinity but leased to a publican or restaurateur in the event that permission were granted. The upper floors of the building would be converted to office space for university staff.
The scheme is being opposed by Temple Bar Cultural Trust (TBCT), a subsidiary of Dublin City Council with a remit to manage the area as Dublin’s “cultural quarter”. It claims the creation of a “super-pub” on Foster Place would create a “drinking gateway” to Temple Bar.
“Temple Bar Cultural Trust would have serious concerns about this, as there are already three large pubs spilling out onto Anglesea Street in the immediate vicinity,” it says. “Yet another licensed premises would further intensify this already critical mass of drinking establishments.”
Its submission, drafted by Seán Harrington Architects, says there has been general agreement for the past 10 years that the large number, size and type of licensed premises in the Temple Bar area has been “problematic” and, for this reason, more pubs are effectively banned.
Urging city planners to refuse permission, the submission notes that the council’s own policy in its development plan is “to avoid an over-concentration of large pubs in any particular area and to encourage the provision in the city centre of a mix of entertainment venues”.
Concluding, the TBCT submission says its view of the Trinity College plan was that it would be “contrary to the aims and objectives of the Dublin City Council Development Plan 2005-2011 as set out above, and we would request that the application is refused permission”.
A spokesman for the college, which bought the AIB building in 2001, could not be contacted yesterday.
A decision on the application is due by August 26th.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Bord KOs Dunne Appeal
Gym supremo Ben Dunne has lost his appeal against a planned €15m nursing home close to his Northwood health and fitness centre in Ballymun. Dunne had said that there was a lack of room for hearses to remove deceased residents, amongst other objections. An Bord Pleanála gave the nursing home the thumbs up, subject to 12 relatively standard conditions.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 26 July 2009
Cultural community beside a cliff
Vision and the creative use of modest funding have transformed an abandoned limestone quarry in Ballykeeffe, Co Kilkenny, from a rat-infested dumping ground to a rock-climbing hub and unique, popular amphitheatre, writes JOHN G O'DWYER
IN THE LATE 1950s, Kilkenny County Council abandoned a remote limestone quarry at Ballykeeffe, near the Tipperary border, that had previously been used for the extraction of road metal materials. Inevitably, in those less environmentally conscious times, the quarry quickly became a dumping place for car wrecks, washing machines and other rubbish and was also a repository for sugar beet awaiting transportation for processing.
It would probably have continued unkempt and unremembered like thousands of worked-out quarries countrywide were it not for the fact that, in 1981, a new mountaineering organisation was established in Kilkenny. Not content with hillwalking alone, members of Tyndall Mountain Club were soon out seeking suitable crags for the challenging activity of rock climbing.
Eventually, Tyndall member Don Roberts discovered the sheer 20m cliffs at Ballykeeffe quarry, which were conveniently located just 13km west of Kilkenny city. Scaling this ungenerous rockface required more than square-jawed determination – it also demanded a resolute insouciance, since it was first necessary to scramble over abandoned Opels, Fords and Toyotas, along with the decomposing leftovers of last year’s beet crop.
More than a quarter century later, it’s a rare, blue-sky July evening in Ballykeeffe on which the sun seems reluctant to set. Large numbers of climbers are clearly having the time of their lives on the limestone crags above. A group of young people, perched atop the stone seats, have abandoned texting and become engrossed by the antics of the climbers. Cries of “on belay” and “take in” echo in the twilight air while an occasional dog walker ambles past, heading up behind the cliffs for a ramble in Ballykeeffe Wood and Nature Reserve.
Kevin Higgins, who was among the pioneering rock climbers to frequent Ballykeeffe, has just descended, having completed a climb. He gazes over the now-pristine amphitheatre and recalls the early days when things were less sanitised. “When we first came here in the 1980s, the quarry was a mountain of rubbish, and we kept a low profile since technically we were trespassing on council property. It was great fun, though. We often had 20 people climbing on a summer evening.”
He adds that at times it was necessary “to first scare away the swarms of rats attracted to the rotting beet by tossing rocks in their direction. Our group went on to ascend all the then feasible routes in the quarry, including The Animal, which was first ascended by Brian Dunne and Ned Mahon.” The reference is to a 15m nail-breaker route that still ranks as a test piece for the best visiting climbers. Modestly, however, he fails to mention his own contribution, which is Kevin’s Corner, a very severe route that remains extremely popular.
IN A COUNTY where the camán is king, rock climbing was a new and altogether different kettle of scarifying fish that was never likely to move centre stage – so initially the Ballykeeffe pioneers ploughed a lone furrow.
Higgins believes that the efforts of the Tyndall members had some import on subsequent events, since they drew attention to the quarry and the idea that it could be used as an amenity for leisure purposes. “The quarry is now an outstanding example of co-operation between community, sporting and local-authority stakeholders,” he says, while crediting much of this success to the initial vision of local man Matt O’Sullivan.
Praise for O’Sullivan’s initiative and hard work also comes from Padraic Flaherty, a Galway native who is presently treasurer of the Kilmanagh-Ballycallan-Killaloe Community Enterprise Group (KBK). He agrees with Higgins that the idea of turning the quarry into an amenity area was prompted by the example of the climbers.
“Members of the local community never really became involved with rock climbing,” says Flaherty, “but they got to know the climbers and realised that the quarry could be an asset to the community. So when the millennium celebrations came along the obvious project was to clean up the quarry.”
The seed planted by the Tyndall pioneers had now taken root. At the end of the last century ambitious plans were unveiled by KBK to turn Ballykeeffe into a multipurpose amenity while maintaining its role as one of Ireland’s leading rock climbing locations. With support from Tyndall, the community took charge of the quarry under licence from Kilkenny County Council, but only to within one metre of the cliffs, thus removing community liability for any possible climbing accidents.
The rubbish, the beet and the car wrecks were removed; financial support of about €150,000 was obtained from State agencies, another €50,000 from the local community. Soon the once decrepit quarry was transformed into a unique auditorium representing one of Ireland’s most innovative community projects. But how did the idea come about? What persuaded a small, hurling-mad community in rural west Kilkenny to invest so much time and money in an ambitious project normally associated with sunnier climates? According to Flaherty, several ideas were considered, including an amenity lake in the quarry, but when landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald was retained by KBK, he suggested an amphitheatre to take advantage of the spectacular setting and unique acoustics. “Some of us were already aware of the Minack Theatre, a very successful cliff-top amphitheatre in Cornwall, so we readily accepted the idea and you could say that Ballykeeffe is modelled on Minack,” says Flaherty.
THE PASSAGE OF time has certainly proved the value of the idea. Ballykeeffe has become hugely popular as a venue for theatrical presentations and concerts, and performers such as Andy Irvine, Anúna, Kila, Cora Venus Lunny and Nóirín Ní Riain have praised the great acoustics and unique atmosphere.
“There can’t be anywhere else like Ballykeeffe in Ireland,” says Moya Brennan, who has performed at the venue. “Playing there was a pleasure – it’s intimate and easy to connect with the audience, but at the same time there’s a sense of grandeur and drama beneath the magnificent rock face.”
This summer’s amphitheatre programme begins tomorrow at 3pm with Cinderella – a family show presented by Chapterhouse Theatre Company. Over the August bank holiday weekend, choral group Anúna will perform on Saturday followed on Sunday by an outdoor céilí. Events continue in August with English rock band Oliver/Dawson Saxon playing on the 14th; and the summer programme concludes on the 15th with the Rafter Family’s mix of classical and traditional music.
Ballykeeffe isn’t just a venue for concerts. It’s also been used for fun days, lectures, exhibitions and as a picnic and recreational facility by voluntary organisations, schools and outdoor activity centres. And the amphitheatre merits a visit in its own right. To soak up the atmosphere of the place just go along at a quieter time and enjoy the solitude of a walk in the Dúchas-managed nature reserve, followed, perhaps, by a picnic while watching the climbers in action. And at some stage it will surely cross your mind that this innovative community project represents an example of how modest amounts of taxpayers’ money have been spent to excellent effect.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
IN THE LATE 1950s, Kilkenny County Council abandoned a remote limestone quarry at Ballykeeffe, near the Tipperary border, that had previously been used for the extraction of road metal materials. Inevitably, in those less environmentally conscious times, the quarry quickly became a dumping place for car wrecks, washing machines and other rubbish and was also a repository for sugar beet awaiting transportation for processing.
It would probably have continued unkempt and unremembered like thousands of worked-out quarries countrywide were it not for the fact that, in 1981, a new mountaineering organisation was established in Kilkenny. Not content with hillwalking alone, members of Tyndall Mountain Club were soon out seeking suitable crags for the challenging activity of rock climbing.
Eventually, Tyndall member Don Roberts discovered the sheer 20m cliffs at Ballykeeffe quarry, which were conveniently located just 13km west of Kilkenny city. Scaling this ungenerous rockface required more than square-jawed determination – it also demanded a resolute insouciance, since it was first necessary to scramble over abandoned Opels, Fords and Toyotas, along with the decomposing leftovers of last year’s beet crop.
More than a quarter century later, it’s a rare, blue-sky July evening in Ballykeeffe on which the sun seems reluctant to set. Large numbers of climbers are clearly having the time of their lives on the limestone crags above. A group of young people, perched atop the stone seats, have abandoned texting and become engrossed by the antics of the climbers. Cries of “on belay” and “take in” echo in the twilight air while an occasional dog walker ambles past, heading up behind the cliffs for a ramble in Ballykeeffe Wood and Nature Reserve.
Kevin Higgins, who was among the pioneering rock climbers to frequent Ballykeeffe, has just descended, having completed a climb. He gazes over the now-pristine amphitheatre and recalls the early days when things were less sanitised. “When we first came here in the 1980s, the quarry was a mountain of rubbish, and we kept a low profile since technically we were trespassing on council property. It was great fun, though. We often had 20 people climbing on a summer evening.”
He adds that at times it was necessary “to first scare away the swarms of rats attracted to the rotting beet by tossing rocks in their direction. Our group went on to ascend all the then feasible routes in the quarry, including The Animal, which was first ascended by Brian Dunne and Ned Mahon.” The reference is to a 15m nail-breaker route that still ranks as a test piece for the best visiting climbers. Modestly, however, he fails to mention his own contribution, which is Kevin’s Corner, a very severe route that remains extremely popular.
IN A COUNTY where the camán is king, rock climbing was a new and altogether different kettle of scarifying fish that was never likely to move centre stage – so initially the Ballykeeffe pioneers ploughed a lone furrow.
Higgins believes that the efforts of the Tyndall members had some import on subsequent events, since they drew attention to the quarry and the idea that it could be used as an amenity for leisure purposes. “The quarry is now an outstanding example of co-operation between community, sporting and local-authority stakeholders,” he says, while crediting much of this success to the initial vision of local man Matt O’Sullivan.
Praise for O’Sullivan’s initiative and hard work also comes from Padraic Flaherty, a Galway native who is presently treasurer of the Kilmanagh-Ballycallan-Killaloe Community Enterprise Group (KBK). He agrees with Higgins that the idea of turning the quarry into an amenity area was prompted by the example of the climbers.
“Members of the local community never really became involved with rock climbing,” says Flaherty, “but they got to know the climbers and realised that the quarry could be an asset to the community. So when the millennium celebrations came along the obvious project was to clean up the quarry.”
The seed planted by the Tyndall pioneers had now taken root. At the end of the last century ambitious plans were unveiled by KBK to turn Ballykeeffe into a multipurpose amenity while maintaining its role as one of Ireland’s leading rock climbing locations. With support from Tyndall, the community took charge of the quarry under licence from Kilkenny County Council, but only to within one metre of the cliffs, thus removing community liability for any possible climbing accidents.
The rubbish, the beet and the car wrecks were removed; financial support of about €150,000 was obtained from State agencies, another €50,000 from the local community. Soon the once decrepit quarry was transformed into a unique auditorium representing one of Ireland’s most innovative community projects. But how did the idea come about? What persuaded a small, hurling-mad community in rural west Kilkenny to invest so much time and money in an ambitious project normally associated with sunnier climates? According to Flaherty, several ideas were considered, including an amenity lake in the quarry, but when landscape architect Desmond Fitzgerald was retained by KBK, he suggested an amphitheatre to take advantage of the spectacular setting and unique acoustics. “Some of us were already aware of the Minack Theatre, a very successful cliff-top amphitheatre in Cornwall, so we readily accepted the idea and you could say that Ballykeeffe is modelled on Minack,” says Flaherty.
THE PASSAGE OF time has certainly proved the value of the idea. Ballykeeffe has become hugely popular as a venue for theatrical presentations and concerts, and performers such as Andy Irvine, Anúna, Kila, Cora Venus Lunny and Nóirín Ní Riain have praised the great acoustics and unique atmosphere.
“There can’t be anywhere else like Ballykeeffe in Ireland,” says Moya Brennan, who has performed at the venue. “Playing there was a pleasure – it’s intimate and easy to connect with the audience, but at the same time there’s a sense of grandeur and drama beneath the magnificent rock face.”
This summer’s amphitheatre programme begins tomorrow at 3pm with Cinderella – a family show presented by Chapterhouse Theatre Company. Over the August bank holiday weekend, choral group Anúna will perform on Saturday followed on Sunday by an outdoor céilí. Events continue in August with English rock band Oliver/Dawson Saxon playing on the 14th; and the summer programme concludes on the 15th with the Rafter Family’s mix of classical and traditional music.
Ballykeeffe isn’t just a venue for concerts. It’s also been used for fun days, lectures, exhibitions and as a picnic and recreational facility by voluntary organisations, schools and outdoor activity centres. And the amphitheatre merits a visit in its own right. To soak up the atmosphere of the place just go along at a quieter time and enjoy the solitude of a walk in the Dúchas-managed nature reserve, followed, perhaps, by a picnic while watching the climbers in action. And at some stage it will surely cross your mind that this innovative community project represents an example of how modest amounts of taxpayers’ money have been spent to excellent effect.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Call for review of Affordable Housing Partnership
THE RATIONALE for the Affordable Housing Partnership should be reviewed in light of the changed conditions in the housing market, a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General has found.
In a survey of affordable housing provision, the comptroller noted that the partnership, which was set up in 2005 to speed up the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, had been a flexible tool that helped the Department of the Environment adjust housing policy in line with market conditions.
Between 2005 and 2008, 85 per cent of the affordable homes target was achieved, and the output increased by about 4,000 housing units in the period 2006-08 by comparison with the previous three years. The department attributes almost 1,100 of this rise to the activities of the partnership, the report found.
However, the stalled property market led to a build-up in the stock of unsold affordable housing units held by local authorities from 2,200 at the end of 2007 to 3,700 early this year.
Affordable homes are subsidised by the State for eligible first-time buyers who do not have the resources to buy on the open market. The home is bought at a discount to the market price and it is a condition that the purchaser must occupy it. If it is sold within 20 years, the vendor has to pay back a percentage of the sale price (clawback) to the local authority. This clawback reduces over time.
Under a new law passed earlier this month, the current clawback provisions are to be replaced with an arrangement under which the State would take an equity stake in the property.
“Overall, the examination concluded that the AHP has been a flexible instrument that helped the department adjust affordable housing policy in line with market conditions since 2005,” the report stated. “In the light of the changed housing market conditions and the proposed legislative adjustments it now appears necessary to review its rationale and potential future contribution once again.”
In a separate report on water services, the comptroller notes that, notwithstanding the department’s expenditure on the provision of drinking water (€869 million over the years 2002-2007), results of tests carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show “little significant improvement” in water quality.
These tests, which measure whether drinking water supplies meet the minimum standards of fitness for human consumption, show that public water supplies have been static at 98 per cent of the minimum standard, while private water scheme compliance has improved by two per cent to 95 per cent.
They also detail continuing problems in areas such as E.coli contamination and cryptosporidium.
The comptroller noted that the EPA’s mandate was strengthened in March 2007 and it has become the supervisory authority for water quality with enforcement powers. This resulted in an increased emphasis on monitoring and control procedures at local authority level and the compilation of a national remedial action list of 339 public water supplies requiring immediate action.
“It is reasonable to expect that the impact of this remedial programme will be reflected in a significant improvement in the measured compliance standards for public supplies,” the report states.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a survey of affordable housing provision, the comptroller noted that the partnership, which was set up in 2005 to speed up the delivery of affordable housing in the greater Dublin area, had been a flexible tool that helped the Department of the Environment adjust housing policy in line with market conditions.
Between 2005 and 2008, 85 per cent of the affordable homes target was achieved, and the output increased by about 4,000 housing units in the period 2006-08 by comparison with the previous three years. The department attributes almost 1,100 of this rise to the activities of the partnership, the report found.
However, the stalled property market led to a build-up in the stock of unsold affordable housing units held by local authorities from 2,200 at the end of 2007 to 3,700 early this year.
Affordable homes are subsidised by the State for eligible first-time buyers who do not have the resources to buy on the open market. The home is bought at a discount to the market price and it is a condition that the purchaser must occupy it. If it is sold within 20 years, the vendor has to pay back a percentage of the sale price (clawback) to the local authority. This clawback reduces over time.
Under a new law passed earlier this month, the current clawback provisions are to be replaced with an arrangement under which the State would take an equity stake in the property.
“Overall, the examination concluded that the AHP has been a flexible instrument that helped the department adjust affordable housing policy in line with market conditions since 2005,” the report stated. “In the light of the changed housing market conditions and the proposed legislative adjustments it now appears necessary to review its rationale and potential future contribution once again.”
In a separate report on water services, the comptroller notes that, notwithstanding the department’s expenditure on the provision of drinking water (€869 million over the years 2002-2007), results of tests carried out by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show “little significant improvement” in water quality.
These tests, which measure whether drinking water supplies meet the minimum standards of fitness for human consumption, show that public water supplies have been static at 98 per cent of the minimum standard, while private water scheme compliance has improved by two per cent to 95 per cent.
They also detail continuing problems in areas such as E.coli contamination and cryptosporidium.
The comptroller noted that the EPA’s mandate was strengthened in March 2007 and it has become the supervisory authority for water quality with enforcement powers. This resulted in an increased emphasis on monitoring and control procedures at local authority level and the compilation of a national remedial action list of 339 public water supplies requiring immediate action.
“It is reasonable to expect that the impact of this remedial programme will be reflected in a significant improvement in the measured compliance standards for public supplies,” the report states.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 24 July 2009
Council approves quarry expansion
WICKLOW COUNTY Council has granted planning permission for the expansion of a quarry which it is currently prosecuting for operating outside the planning laws.
O’Reilly Brothers quarry at Ballylusk near Ashford was found to be operating without planning permission, and not to be exempt from the requirement for planning permission, by An Bord Pleanála in July 2003.
A subsequent appeal by O’Reilly Brothers was unsuccessful in a High Court judgment in November 2006.
Wicklow County Council subsequently began enforcement proceedings against the company, in the Circuit Court, under Section 160 of the Planning and Development Act, seeking orders to restrain O’Reilly Brothers from continuing unauthorised activity at Ballylusk.
But the quarry had continued operating, with gardaí on hand on a number of occasions to supervise the use of explosives for blasting. Gardaí also assisted in removing a neighbouring property owner who refused to leave his property during blasting.
Last December the council’s director of services for planning Des O’Brien told The Irish Times the council was not in a position to “simply put a chain on the gate” of the quarry but had to go through the courts to achieve enforcement orders.
The Courts Service yesterday confirmed the council’s enforcement action was still listed for hearing.
However, earlier this month the council approved an application from O’Reilly Brothers for the expansion of current operations, including an increase in the rate of extraction and processing up to a maximum of 60,000 tonnes per year.
It also approved retention of a 19 sq m canteen, continued importation of up to 300 tonnes of stone per week, as well as crushing and screening.
Also approved was provision of a wheel cleaning unit, settlement lagoon and hydrocarbon interceptor in addition to a new effluent treatment system and improvements to the existing quarry entrance.
The 25-year-permission was subject to 31 conditions in relation to pollution prevention and monitoring, definition of the site, road cleaning and warnings of blasting, as well as financial consideration payable to the council and restoration of the site among others.
A spokeswoman for O’Reilly Brothers said no comment was available yesterday, nor was one likely.
Wicklow County Council said its enforcement case remained live, at least until after the time for appeals to the council decision. Subject to no appeals, the spokesman said the permission “would regularise the situation”.
Locals said they were greatly upset by the permission. One resident who asked not to be named said they would definitely appeal to An Bord Pleanála. “But we are devastated. We won and we won in the High Court and we sought the protection of the law, all to no avail. Now there will be another appeal but it will take 18 months and in the meantime the quarry continues.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
O’Reilly Brothers quarry at Ballylusk near Ashford was found to be operating without planning permission, and not to be exempt from the requirement for planning permission, by An Bord Pleanála in July 2003.
A subsequent appeal by O’Reilly Brothers was unsuccessful in a High Court judgment in November 2006.
Wicklow County Council subsequently began enforcement proceedings against the company, in the Circuit Court, under Section 160 of the Planning and Development Act, seeking orders to restrain O’Reilly Brothers from continuing unauthorised activity at Ballylusk.
But the quarry had continued operating, with gardaí on hand on a number of occasions to supervise the use of explosives for blasting. Gardaí also assisted in removing a neighbouring property owner who refused to leave his property during blasting.
Last December the council’s director of services for planning Des O’Brien told The Irish Times the council was not in a position to “simply put a chain on the gate” of the quarry but had to go through the courts to achieve enforcement orders.
The Courts Service yesterday confirmed the council’s enforcement action was still listed for hearing.
However, earlier this month the council approved an application from O’Reilly Brothers for the expansion of current operations, including an increase in the rate of extraction and processing up to a maximum of 60,000 tonnes per year.
It also approved retention of a 19 sq m canteen, continued importation of up to 300 tonnes of stone per week, as well as crushing and screening.
Also approved was provision of a wheel cleaning unit, settlement lagoon and hydrocarbon interceptor in addition to a new effluent treatment system and improvements to the existing quarry entrance.
The 25-year-permission was subject to 31 conditions in relation to pollution prevention and monitoring, definition of the site, road cleaning and warnings of blasting, as well as financial consideration payable to the council and restoration of the site among others.
A spokeswoman for O’Reilly Brothers said no comment was available yesterday, nor was one likely.
Wicklow County Council said its enforcement case remained live, at least until after the time for appeals to the council decision. Subject to no appeals, the spokesman said the permission “would regularise the situation”.
Locals said they were greatly upset by the permission. One resident who asked not to be named said they would definitely appeal to An Bord Pleanála. “But we are devastated. We won and we won in the High Court and we sought the protection of the law, all to no avail. Now there will be another appeal but it will take 18 months and in the meantime the quarry continues.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Company that demolished convent gets site planning
A PROPERTY development company which was last year fined €1,000 for illegally demolishing a 19th century convent in south Dublin has received planning permission to redevelop the site.
Kimpton Vale Ltd, controlled by developer Laurence Keegan, received approval from An Bord Pleanála for 32 houses and 15 apartments. The 1.26-hectare site, off the northern side of Terenure Road, is just west of Presentation school. It comprises the footprint of the former convent building and its recreational grounds. The site is bounded to the northeast by housing on Eaton Square.
Kimpton Vale pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court last September to illegally demolishing the convent on November 4th, 2006. The council was considering plans to make it a protected structure at the time. A charge against its principal Mr Keegan was struck out.
In recommending that An Bord Pleanála uphold Dublin City Council’s decision to grant permission,planning inspector Peter Gillett described the area as an established suburb with a good range of community and residential support facilities.
The board also said its decision had regard to the residential zoning of the site, the design, density and layout of the proposed development, and the pattern of residential development in the vicinity. The board imposed conditions including that an archaeological survey of the lands be carried out before building, that agreement on landscaping and screening be reached, and that hours of construction be restricted to 7.30am-6pm.
The decision to approve the development was criticised by Labour Party TD Mary Upton. “The decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission to a developer which was convicted for illegal demolition of a habitable dwelling makes a mockery of the existing planning legislation in the State,” Ms Upton said.
Describing the fine to the development company of €1,000 as “paltry”, she said it was to combat such situations that she had introduced a new planning and development Bill last year.
“This Bill would have precluded anyone found guilty of breaching planning permission or the planning and development Acts from being involved in construction for a five-year period. It would also have ensured that cases would have to be tried in the Circuit Court at a minimum, and not the District Court as is currently the case,” she said.
Ms Upton welcomed the fact that the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 “takes on board the broad thrust of my argument”. She said it stopped short of “a real sanction on developers”, and called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to amend it.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Kimpton Vale Ltd, controlled by developer Laurence Keegan, received approval from An Bord Pleanála for 32 houses and 15 apartments. The 1.26-hectare site, off the northern side of Terenure Road, is just west of Presentation school. It comprises the footprint of the former convent building and its recreational grounds. The site is bounded to the northeast by housing on Eaton Square.
Kimpton Vale pleaded guilty at Dublin District Court last September to illegally demolishing the convent on November 4th, 2006. The council was considering plans to make it a protected structure at the time. A charge against its principal Mr Keegan was struck out.
In recommending that An Bord Pleanála uphold Dublin City Council’s decision to grant permission,planning inspector Peter Gillett described the area as an established suburb with a good range of community and residential support facilities.
The board also said its decision had regard to the residential zoning of the site, the design, density and layout of the proposed development, and the pattern of residential development in the vicinity. The board imposed conditions including that an archaeological survey of the lands be carried out before building, that agreement on landscaping and screening be reached, and that hours of construction be restricted to 7.30am-6pm.
The decision to approve the development was criticised by Labour Party TD Mary Upton. “The decision by An Bord Pleanála to grant planning permission to a developer which was convicted for illegal demolition of a habitable dwelling makes a mockery of the existing planning legislation in the State,” Ms Upton said.
Describing the fine to the development company of €1,000 as “paltry”, she said it was to combat such situations that she had introduced a new planning and development Bill last year.
“This Bill would have precluded anyone found guilty of breaching planning permission or the planning and development Acts from being involved in construction for a five-year period. It would also have ensured that cases would have to be tried in the Circuit Court at a minimum, and not the District Court as is currently the case,” she said.
Ms Upton welcomed the fact that the Planning and Development (Amendment) Bill 2009 “takes on board the broad thrust of my argument”. She said it stopped short of “a real sanction on developers”, and called on Minister for the Environment John Gormley to amend it.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 23 July 2009
'Chill wind of economic reality' - reaction of architects
Madam, – The Tánaiste Mary Coughlan shows a worrying disconnect with reality when she referred to “architects” as being a sector which had yet to feel the “chill winds of economic reality” (Front page, July 21st). As has been widely reported, more than 40 per cent of architects have been made redundant. The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland has a significant number of members on Job Seeker’s Allowance or paying reduced charges because of financial hardship.
Many architects in employment have experienced pay cuts and three-day weeks.
How chilly does it have to get to reach the Tánaiste’s attention?
For public sector projects the Tánaiste should be aware that architectural services are procured on a competitive basis in accordance with EU and Department of Finance procedures. She must also be aware that architects don’t have recommended, mandatory or minimum fee scales. On the Competition Authority Report, I would expect the Tánaiste or her officials to have read the report or at least the executive summary before making a public statement,because the report was very clear: “the Competition Authority has only a small number of concerns about how the architectural profession operates in Ireland. Unlike some other professions reviewed by the Competition Authority, architects are not restricted by layers of unjustified or disproportionate restrictions or competition. Competition seems to be working well for consumers of architectural services and the economy as a whole”.
The Tánaiste might be better employed in examining the widespread evasion by some Government departments and State bodies generally of prompt payment legislation and why her recent announcement of a 15-days payment period by Government was greeted by incredulity among architects.
If the Tánaiste’s address is indicative of the level of research and evidence based policy in her department on matters of public record, as we face an unprecedented economic crisis, then it won’t just be architects who are made redundant but the entire country. – Yours, etc,
JOHN GRABY,
Director,
Royal Institute of the
Architects of Ireland,
Merrion Square,
Dublin 2.
Madam, – I write in relation to the extraordinary comments attributed to the Tánaiste regarding the “economic conceit” of certain professions during this time of unprecedented economic crisis. I am particularly concerned about Mary Coughlan’s ill-informed reference to architects and engineers in the context of failing to face up to economic and competitive reality. In her role as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I would have expected even the most basic level of awareness of how these and other construction industry professions have been decimated over the last 12 months and the arid landscape that still lies ahead in this sector.
As a director of an architectural and project management company which is enduring the “chill winds of economic reality” during this Government’s watch, our business has reduced from a peak of 81 employees in August 2008 to 27 staff in July 2009. Remaining staff have accepted pay cuts of 30 per cent and short-term working, as a further measure to address this downward spiral. Our situation is far from unique in the construction sector, with other solid companies forced out of business due to the “chill wind”.
It is disappointing that the best efforts of Ms Coughlan’s department and associate agencies such as Enterprise Ireland are undermined by such poorly judged comments and suggest that in the best interests of the economy it is time for the Minister to face up to her own chill wind of reality. – Yours, etc,
JIM GALLAGHER,
Shrewsbury Lawn,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Madam, – In response to the Tánaiste’s references to the architectural profession in Ireland, I write on behalf of one of the oldest architectural practices in Ireland, which was founded in 1947 by my late father-in-law, John Thompson, over 60 years ago.
We are currently a third-generation practice, which, over the years has employed hundreds of people in Limerick, Dublin and for a short time in Cork. We have seen several “downturns” in the market and have managed to survive by dint of hard work and commitment to both our staff and clients.
Our numbers have gone, in a 12-month period, from 29 people employed in 2008 to 12 today – the lowest number of employees in the company’s history. All the current staff are on a three-week on/one week off (since February of this year) in an attempt to save those remaining jobs.
The three directors have all taken a pay cut of up to 25 per cent even though all are continuing to work extremely long hours. We are doing our best to try to save the jobs and the firm in the face of unbelievable odds.
It is particularly galling that at such a time the Tánaiste sees fit to make comments such as those enunciated at the MacGill Summer School. I refer to an apparent lack of knowledge of the Competition Authority’s comments specifically relating to the architectural profession.
I beg to differ from the Tánaiste’s idea that we have “yet to feel the chill winds of economic reality”. She might prefer that we closed our doors (the far easier option) and put yet another 12 people our of work? – Yours, etc,
FINOLA THOMPSON,
Director,
Thompsons Architects +
Designers,
Ballinacurra,
Limerick.
Madam, – With regard to the Tánaiste’s comments referring to architects, among other professions, as being yet to feel “the chill winds of economic reality”, I would like to ask what planet is she living on? As a young architect in Dublin, I find that the majority of my fellow architects are out of work, have been for several months, and have little or no prospect of finding employment in this State or any other any time soon. I consider myself extremely lucky to still be employed, albeit on a part-time basis.
Is the Tánaiste so out of touch that she is not aware of this? Or does she not consider this to be a “chill wind“? – Yours, etc,
ISABEL COGAN, BArch,
Cambridge Terrace,
York Road,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Madam, – I was surprised to see that the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, believes that architects and engineers have yet to feel the “chill winds of economic reality”. The Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland estimated the unemployment rate among architects at over 40 per cent last December. In the time since this estimate the situation has deteriorated severely. Several high profile architectural practices have gone into examinership and liquidation. The majority of those architects that have kept their jobs have taken pay cuts ranging from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, are working a three-day week or are taking regular unpaid leave. Fee bidding has been commonplace among architecture practices since the abandonment of recommended fee scales by the RIAI in the early 1990s, and is currently at a level that is approximately one tenth that believed to be the case by the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe ( Irish Times September 25th, 2008).
If those charged with steering the economy through this current crisis are so spectacularly out of touch with the reality of the current economic situation, it is proof positive that the only area where the “chill winds” have yet to be felt is within the cocooned environment of Leinster House. – Yours, etc,
MÍCHEÁL de SIÚN, MRIAI,
The Coombe,
Dublin 8.
Madam, – The reference by the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan at the MacGill Summer School that architects and engineers have to feel the “chill wind of economic reality” is simply astonishing .
Given that architects and engineers submit the vast majority of planning applications to planning authorities and these planning authorities in turn are experiencing a drop of some 50 per cent in the receipt of applications, the evidence is manifestly clear that it is the Tánaiste who is not in touch with reality.
Notably, Minister for Environment John Gormley has recognised the fall off in planning applications and has requested Bord Pleanála to take on underused planning authority staff. Back to reality, Tánaiste! – Yours, etc,
JOHN C SCANNELL,
Architect and Planning
Consultant,
Richview Villas,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.
Madam, – I cannot help but smile at the irony of our Tánaiste Mary Coughlan’s call on the professions to reduce our fees. This coming from a Government whose members are grossly overpaid and whose leader is paid more than the president of the US – not to mention unvouched expenses and Ministerial pensions paid to sitting TDs.
If this is not “economic conceit”, please tell me what is? – Yours, etc,
Dr ANGELA KEARNEY,
BDentSc,
Fair Street,
Drogheda,
Co Louth.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Many architects in employment have experienced pay cuts and three-day weeks.
How chilly does it have to get to reach the Tánaiste’s attention?
For public sector projects the Tánaiste should be aware that architectural services are procured on a competitive basis in accordance with EU and Department of Finance procedures. She must also be aware that architects don’t have recommended, mandatory or minimum fee scales. On the Competition Authority Report, I would expect the Tánaiste or her officials to have read the report or at least the executive summary before making a public statement,because the report was very clear: “the Competition Authority has only a small number of concerns about how the architectural profession operates in Ireland. Unlike some other professions reviewed by the Competition Authority, architects are not restricted by layers of unjustified or disproportionate restrictions or competition. Competition seems to be working well for consumers of architectural services and the economy as a whole”.
The Tánaiste might be better employed in examining the widespread evasion by some Government departments and State bodies generally of prompt payment legislation and why her recent announcement of a 15-days payment period by Government was greeted by incredulity among architects.
If the Tánaiste’s address is indicative of the level of research and evidence based policy in her department on matters of public record, as we face an unprecedented economic crisis, then it won’t just be architects who are made redundant but the entire country. – Yours, etc,
JOHN GRABY,
Director,
Royal Institute of the
Architects of Ireland,
Merrion Square,
Dublin 2.
Madam, – I write in relation to the extraordinary comments attributed to the Tánaiste regarding the “economic conceit” of certain professions during this time of unprecedented economic crisis. I am particularly concerned about Mary Coughlan’s ill-informed reference to architects and engineers in the context of failing to face up to economic and competitive reality. In her role as Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment, I would have expected even the most basic level of awareness of how these and other construction industry professions have been decimated over the last 12 months and the arid landscape that still lies ahead in this sector.
As a director of an architectural and project management company which is enduring the “chill winds of economic reality” during this Government’s watch, our business has reduced from a peak of 81 employees in August 2008 to 27 staff in July 2009. Remaining staff have accepted pay cuts of 30 per cent and short-term working, as a further measure to address this downward spiral. Our situation is far from unique in the construction sector, with other solid companies forced out of business due to the “chill wind”.
It is disappointing that the best efforts of Ms Coughlan’s department and associate agencies such as Enterprise Ireland are undermined by such poorly judged comments and suggest that in the best interests of the economy it is time for the Minister to face up to her own chill wind of reality. – Yours, etc,
JIM GALLAGHER,
Shrewsbury Lawn,
Cabinteely,
Dublin 18.
Madam, – In response to the Tánaiste’s references to the architectural profession in Ireland, I write on behalf of one of the oldest architectural practices in Ireland, which was founded in 1947 by my late father-in-law, John Thompson, over 60 years ago.
We are currently a third-generation practice, which, over the years has employed hundreds of people in Limerick, Dublin and for a short time in Cork. We have seen several “downturns” in the market and have managed to survive by dint of hard work and commitment to both our staff and clients.
Our numbers have gone, in a 12-month period, from 29 people employed in 2008 to 12 today – the lowest number of employees in the company’s history. All the current staff are on a three-week on/one week off (since February of this year) in an attempt to save those remaining jobs.
The three directors have all taken a pay cut of up to 25 per cent even though all are continuing to work extremely long hours. We are doing our best to try to save the jobs and the firm in the face of unbelievable odds.
It is particularly galling that at such a time the Tánaiste sees fit to make comments such as those enunciated at the MacGill Summer School. I refer to an apparent lack of knowledge of the Competition Authority’s comments specifically relating to the architectural profession.
I beg to differ from the Tánaiste’s idea that we have “yet to feel the chill winds of economic reality”. She might prefer that we closed our doors (the far easier option) and put yet another 12 people our of work? – Yours, etc,
FINOLA THOMPSON,
Director,
Thompsons Architects +
Designers,
Ballinacurra,
Limerick.
Madam, – With regard to the Tánaiste’s comments referring to architects, among other professions, as being yet to feel “the chill winds of economic reality”, I would like to ask what planet is she living on? As a young architect in Dublin, I find that the majority of my fellow architects are out of work, have been for several months, and have little or no prospect of finding employment in this State or any other any time soon. I consider myself extremely lucky to still be employed, albeit on a part-time basis.
Is the Tánaiste so out of touch that she is not aware of this? Or does she not consider this to be a “chill wind“? – Yours, etc,
ISABEL COGAN, BArch,
Cambridge Terrace,
York Road,
Dun Laoghaire,
Co Dublin.
Madam, – I was surprised to see that the Tánaiste, Mary Coughlan, believes that architects and engineers have yet to feel the “chill winds of economic reality”. The Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland estimated the unemployment rate among architects at over 40 per cent last December. In the time since this estimate the situation has deteriorated severely. Several high profile architectural practices have gone into examinership and liquidation. The majority of those architects that have kept their jobs have taken pay cuts ranging from 10 per cent to 40 per cent, are working a three-day week or are taking regular unpaid leave. Fee bidding has been commonplace among architecture practices since the abandonment of recommended fee scales by the RIAI in the early 1990s, and is currently at a level that is approximately one tenth that believed to be the case by the Minister for Education, Batt O’Keeffe ( Irish Times September 25th, 2008).
If those charged with steering the economy through this current crisis are so spectacularly out of touch with the reality of the current economic situation, it is proof positive that the only area where the “chill winds” have yet to be felt is within the cocooned environment of Leinster House. – Yours, etc,
MÍCHEÁL de SIÚN, MRIAI,
The Coombe,
Dublin 8.
Madam, – The reference by the Tánaiste Mary Coughlan at the MacGill Summer School that architects and engineers have to feel the “chill wind of economic reality” is simply astonishing .
Given that architects and engineers submit the vast majority of planning applications to planning authorities and these planning authorities in turn are experiencing a drop of some 50 per cent in the receipt of applications, the evidence is manifestly clear that it is the Tánaiste who is not in touch with reality.
Notably, Minister for Environment John Gormley has recognised the fall off in planning applications and has requested Bord Pleanála to take on underused planning authority staff. Back to reality, Tánaiste! – Yours, etc,
JOHN C SCANNELL,
Architect and Planning
Consultant,
Richview Villas,
Clonskeagh,
Dublin 14.
Madam, – I cannot help but smile at the irony of our Tánaiste Mary Coughlan’s call on the professions to reduce our fees. This coming from a Government whose members are grossly overpaid and whose leader is paid more than the president of the US – not to mention unvouched expenses and Ministerial pensions paid to sitting TDs.
If this is not “economic conceit”, please tell me what is? – Yours, etc,
Dr ANGELA KEARNEY,
BDentSc,
Fair Street,
Drogheda,
Co Louth.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Ballymore Eustace scheme cleared in court to go ahead
THE SUPREME Court has cleared the way for a development of houses, shops, a creche and a medical centre at Ballymore Eustace, Co Kildare.
The five-judge court yesterday upheld arguments by Abbeydrive Developments Ltd that it was entitled to a default planning permission for the proposed development because of the failure of Kildare County Council to decide on its planning application within the eight-week period set down by law.
Abbeydrive applied for the permission on December 2nd, 2002, and, unless there was a request served for further information, the eight-week period expired on February 5th, 2003. A notice for further information was served by the council a day later.
Abbeydrive argued in the High Court that the council’s failure to decide within the eight-week period entitled it to default permission but Mr Justice Roderick Murphy rejected that argument.
Abbeydrive appealed that 2005 judgment to the Supreme Court which yesterday allowed the appeal. It adjourned the issue of what order should be made in the case.
Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said the dispute in the appeal arose from the nature of the proposed development. While almost entirely residential, it also included a very small two-storey community facility comprising a creche, neighbourhood shops and a medical centre. That facility represented some 0.2 per cent of the total floor area of the proposed development.
The judge noted the relevant zoning area in the Co Kildare development plan 1999 was described as “solely residential” but the council’s senior planner had accepted this proposed development was “open for consideration”. The judge said Article 34.8 of the Planning Act 2000 provided a default that permission could be granted where a planning authority had failed to make a decision within eight weeks.
Mr Justice Fennelly ruled that the High Court had erred as a valid permission could have been granted through an exercise of discretion by the council in favour of Abbeydrive. It was not open to the High Court to impose a limitation on the effect of Article 34.8, except on the basis of legal power.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The five-judge court yesterday upheld arguments by Abbeydrive Developments Ltd that it was entitled to a default planning permission for the proposed development because of the failure of Kildare County Council to decide on its planning application within the eight-week period set down by law.
Abbeydrive applied for the permission on December 2nd, 2002, and, unless there was a request served for further information, the eight-week period expired on February 5th, 2003. A notice for further information was served by the council a day later.
Abbeydrive argued in the High Court that the council’s failure to decide within the eight-week period entitled it to default permission but Mr Justice Roderick Murphy rejected that argument.
Abbeydrive appealed that 2005 judgment to the Supreme Court which yesterday allowed the appeal. It adjourned the issue of what order should be made in the case.
Mr Justice Nial Fennelly said the dispute in the appeal arose from the nature of the proposed development. While almost entirely residential, it also included a very small two-storey community facility comprising a creche, neighbourhood shops and a medical centre. That facility represented some 0.2 per cent of the total floor area of the proposed development.
The judge noted the relevant zoning area in the Co Kildare development plan 1999 was described as “solely residential” but the council’s senior planner had accepted this proposed development was “open for consideration”. The judge said Article 34.8 of the Planning Act 2000 provided a default that permission could be granted where a planning authority had failed to make a decision within eight weeks.
Mr Justice Fennelly ruled that the High Court had erred as a valid permission could have been granted through an exercise of discretion by the council in favour of Abbeydrive. It was not open to the High Court to impose a limitation on the effect of Article 34.8, except on the basis of legal power.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
No intention to pull down pier, says harbour company
THE DÚN Laoghaire Harbour Company has denied claims that it intends to pull down the historic Carlisle Pier and sell off the harbour to private developers.
The claims were made yesterday by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county councillor Richard Boyd Barrett.
Cllr Boyd Barrett of the People Before Profit Alliance said the company intended to demolish the buildings on the pier without any public consultation.
“It is clearly no coincidence that moves to demolish the pier have commenced during the holiday period when the harbour company knows it will be harder for concerned members of the public to mount opposition,” he said.
However the company said that it was not demolishing the pier but had to remove certain derelict buildings because they were unsafe and included asbestos materials. None of the buildings being demolished was a protected structure, the company said.
The company also denied Cllr Boyd Barrett’s claims that it intended to sell the harbour to ferry company Stena Line.
Cllr Boyd Barrett said yesterday the company was involved in discussions with Stena Line where the sale or handover of the whole harbour was one of a number of options being discussed for the harbour’s future.
“It is totally unacceptable that profit-driven interests should seek to interfere with the public’s harbour or any part of it without public agreement or even worse try to privatise it.
“The public should express their outrage at this disgraceful conniving behind their backs and demand that the harbour remains fully in public ownership and is developed only in the public interest,” he said.
The company said it was not involved in any discussions on the sale of the pier other harbour.
“There is no foundation in the claim that Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company plans the sale or handover of the harbour to any third party. There are no plans for the privatisation of the harbour,” said the company.
Carlisle Pier, site of the old mailboat terminal, has been the subject of several redevelopment schemes over a number of years, all of which have fallen through. The most recent redevelopment scheme collapsed in May 2008 when the preferred bidders pulled out of the project.
A spokeswoman for the harbour company said it would now wait to see the county council’s new development plan, which is being drafted, before making any new redevelopment proposals for the pier.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The claims were made yesterday by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county councillor Richard Boyd Barrett.
Cllr Boyd Barrett of the People Before Profit Alliance said the company intended to demolish the buildings on the pier without any public consultation.
“It is clearly no coincidence that moves to demolish the pier have commenced during the holiday period when the harbour company knows it will be harder for concerned members of the public to mount opposition,” he said.
However the company said that it was not demolishing the pier but had to remove certain derelict buildings because they were unsafe and included asbestos materials. None of the buildings being demolished was a protected structure, the company said.
The company also denied Cllr Boyd Barrett’s claims that it intended to sell the harbour to ferry company Stena Line.
Cllr Boyd Barrett said yesterday the company was involved in discussions with Stena Line where the sale or handover of the whole harbour was one of a number of options being discussed for the harbour’s future.
“It is totally unacceptable that profit-driven interests should seek to interfere with the public’s harbour or any part of it without public agreement or even worse try to privatise it.
“The public should express their outrage at this disgraceful conniving behind their backs and demand that the harbour remains fully in public ownership and is developed only in the public interest,” he said.
The company said it was not involved in any discussions on the sale of the pier other harbour.
“There is no foundation in the claim that Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company plans the sale or handover of the harbour to any third party. There are no plans for the privatisation of the harbour,” said the company.
Carlisle Pier, site of the old mailboat terminal, has been the subject of several redevelopment schemes over a number of years, all of which have fallen through. The most recent redevelopment scheme collapsed in May 2008 when the preferred bidders pulled out of the project.
A spokeswoman for the harbour company said it would now wait to see the county council’s new development plan, which is being drafted, before making any new redevelopment proposals for the pier.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 22 July 2009
Officials claim retail complex would help stem ‘haemorrhage’ of shoppers
A planning application for the complex by Castleisland businessman Tony Walsh has been turned down by Kerry County Council, but councillors are continuing to support his efforts to get the green light.
Kerry mayor Bobby O’Connell, who lives in Castleisland, said his hometown had received very little from the Government or the IDA, and a shopping development would help create much-needed employment.
"It is believed about 60% of shopping business from Castleisland is being haemorrhaged to Tralee. That’s a huge loss to Castleisland and can’t be allowed continue," he said.
The issue was raised at this week’s county council meeting by Independent councillor Brendan Cronin who proposed a 3.2-acre site at Tralee Road, Castleisland, be rezoned from industrial to retail in order to facilitate Mr Walsh’s development.
Mr Cronin said the council had set a precedent for retail development on two sites directly across the road from the site.
"I believe this site [Mr Walsh’s] is ideally located. It is close to the town centre and is inside the route of the new bypass. There’s a huge need in Castleisland for this type of development," he added.
However, senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said the Castleisland local area plan (LAP) was under review and it would be inappropriate to consider individual rezoning proposals in isolation from the overall strategy for the town. "It would not be the best procedure to have a proposal to vary the zoning going on at the same time as a review of the plan. It would not make sense," he stated.
Mr Sheehy also said there were three alternative sites that might be more appropriate for retail development in Castleisland and would make it more competitive for retailers to come in.
Mr Sheehy also suggested it would be in Mr Walsh’s best interests to have rezoning application considered as part of the LAP review rather than as a motion before the council. After some councillors consulted with Mr Walsh, it was agreed to include the rezoning proposal in the review of the Castleisland LAP which has gone on public display in the town this week.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Kerry mayor Bobby O’Connell, who lives in Castleisland, said his hometown had received very little from the Government or the IDA, and a shopping development would help create much-needed employment.
"It is believed about 60% of shopping business from Castleisland is being haemorrhaged to Tralee. That’s a huge loss to Castleisland and can’t be allowed continue," he said.
The issue was raised at this week’s county council meeting by Independent councillor Brendan Cronin who proposed a 3.2-acre site at Tralee Road, Castleisland, be rezoned from industrial to retail in order to facilitate Mr Walsh’s development.
Mr Cronin said the council had set a precedent for retail development on two sites directly across the road from the site.
"I believe this site [Mr Walsh’s] is ideally located. It is close to the town centre and is inside the route of the new bypass. There’s a huge need in Castleisland for this type of development," he added.
However, senior planning engineer Tom Sheehy said the Castleisland local area plan (LAP) was under review and it would be inappropriate to consider individual rezoning proposals in isolation from the overall strategy for the town. "It would not be the best procedure to have a proposal to vary the zoning going on at the same time as a review of the plan. It would not make sense," he stated.
Mr Sheehy also said there were three alternative sites that might be more appropriate for retail development in Castleisland and would make it more competitive for retailers to come in.
Mr Sheehy also suggested it would be in Mr Walsh’s best interests to have rezoning application considered as part of the LAP review rather than as a motion before the council. After some councillors consulted with Mr Walsh, it was agreed to include the rezoning proposal in the review of the Castleisland LAP which has gone on public display in the town this week.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 21 July 2009
Multi-million euro facelift for seafront
BRAY SEAFRONT is in for a major facelift with multi-million euro plans to redevelop both Dawson's and the Star amusements with shops, restaurants, apartments and a crèche.
Owners Brian and Gerry Freeney said the development may do for the southern end of Bray Seafront what the Pavillions Scheme has done for Dun Laoghaire.
'At best we would hope for work to start in around a year and a half after the planning process,' said planning consultant Brendan Buck.
He added that construction would be expected to take around two years.
'The Freeneys would make every effort to employ local people through the whole process,' he said.
The owners, who have lodged two planning applications with the town council, plan to demolish the currently empty Dawson building and replace it with a mixed use development.
The Star building is to be retained and renovated to coordinate with the adjoining Dawson's scheme.
Bray Town Council designated the sites 'opportunity sites', back in 2004.
In a statement, the owners said that the benefits to Bray would be significant and include addressing the currently derelict and 'unattractive' Dawson's building, providing employment, and making Bray more attractive for new residents and tourists.
' This is an opportunity to upgrade this area of the seafront,' said the Freeneys. ' The scheme and its design represent years of hard work and it is hoped this scheme can be constructed quickly and provide local employment at a time when it is badly needed.'
Mr. Buck added that the Freeneys and their team have been working on the plans for the past four years.
While admitting that the plans do contravene the Bray Development Plan, Mr. Buck said that they will be actively seeking a material contravention. He explained that under standard B2 zoning they would fall just about in accordance with the plan but that the unusual 'opportunity status', put some restrictions in place that actually make the process slightly more difficult.
A scale model of the development is on display in Bray Town Council offices.
Mary FOGARTY
Bray People
www.buckplanning.ie
Owners Brian and Gerry Freeney said the development may do for the southern end of Bray Seafront what the Pavillions Scheme has done for Dun Laoghaire.
'At best we would hope for work to start in around a year and a half after the planning process,' said planning consultant Brendan Buck.
He added that construction would be expected to take around two years.
'The Freeneys would make every effort to employ local people through the whole process,' he said.
The owners, who have lodged two planning applications with the town council, plan to demolish the currently empty Dawson building and replace it with a mixed use development.
The Star building is to be retained and renovated to coordinate with the adjoining Dawson's scheme.
Bray Town Council designated the sites 'opportunity sites', back in 2004.
In a statement, the owners said that the benefits to Bray would be significant and include addressing the currently derelict and 'unattractive' Dawson's building, providing employment, and making Bray more attractive for new residents and tourists.
' This is an opportunity to upgrade this area of the seafront,' said the Freeneys. ' The scheme and its design represent years of hard work and it is hoped this scheme can be constructed quickly and provide local employment at a time when it is badly needed.'
Mr. Buck added that the Freeneys and their team have been working on the plans for the past four years.
While admitting that the plans do contravene the Bray Development Plan, Mr. Buck said that they will be actively seeking a material contravention. He explained that under standard B2 zoning they would fall just about in accordance with the plan but that the unusual 'opportunity status', put some restrictions in place that actually make the process slightly more difficult.
A scale model of the development is on display in Bray Town Council offices.
Mary FOGARTY
Bray People
www.buckplanning.ie
Shell says it will honour its word on Corrib emissions
Shell EP Ireland has written to individual Erris fishermen stating that it will honour its 'undertaking' in relation to minimising harmful emissions from the Corrib gas refinery into the marine environment.
However, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says it intends to seek a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency, following advice given in talks with three Government Ministers and two junior ministers in Dublin recently.
The association’s unhappiness with the company’s delay in seeking to change the emission licensing terms was one of a series of issues raised with the Government delegation at a recent meeting.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith - along with Minister for State for Natural Resources Conor Lenihan - attended the talks, which were facilitated by Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Mayo TD, Dara Calleary.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
However, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says it intends to seek a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency, following advice given in talks with three Government Ministers and two junior ministers in Dublin recently.
The association’s unhappiness with the company’s delay in seeking to change the emission licensing terms was one of a series of issues raised with the Government delegation at a recent meeting.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith - along with Minister for State for Natural Resources Conor Lenihan - attended the talks, which were facilitated by Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Mayo TD, Dara Calleary.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
€50m National Competition for Smarter Travel Areas launched
The Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey TD has launched a €50 million national competition aimed at funding and delivering innovative examples of sustainable travel in urban and rural areas right around the country.
The purpose of the competition is to help people to leave their cars at home when they can and for them to opt instead to walk, cycle or use other more sustainable forms of transport, particularly for short journeys.
The Department of Transport-run competition is open to Local Authorities to submit proposals for developing sustainable travel systems in rural areas or towns.
The Minister is committing €50m over five years from 2010-2015 to fund the successful projects that are chosen through this competition.
Speaking to Local Authority Sustainable Travel Officers and City and County Managers at the launch of the National Competition in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Minister Dempsey said - “Too often, our transport solutions have been narrowly designed and have looked at the private car as the primary means of moving people around.
"Today, that focus on the car has to change - I want this competition to help us deliver more people-focused travel and transport systems nationwide. There are many people who would often like to leave their car at home and maybe walk or cycle to work or school if they felt that it was safe and easy to do so. Indeed, there are people who might want to walk or cycle for part of their journeys in combination either with public transport or the car.
"I think it’s time that we concentrated on those people and helped them to travel differently. That’s what this competition is all about.”
Successful bids from Local Authorities will promote sustainable transport modes and better managed traffic in towns, villages or cities nationwide. A Smarter Travel Area funded under this competition could, therefore, include:
* Improved cycling routes, including safe routes to school and major business and workplace zones;
* Secure cycle parking in town centres or at public transport nodes;
* Better walking facilities, including more and improved pedestrian zones;
* Lower speed limits in residential and town centre areas;
* Restricted car access to certain locations;
* School and workplace travel planning;
* e-Working
* Car clubs - and
* Tailored public transport services, such as demand responsive services.
Smarter Travel Areas will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable transport, promoting and encouraging walking and cycling and reducing car travel, by improving travel facilities and promoting and encouraging behavioural change.
In this competition, preference will be given to Local Authority bids that develop proposals around community-based networks, involving local businesses, schools, retail centres, etc.
Initial bids should be submitted by Local Authorities to the Department of Transport by October 30, 2009. Those shortlisted will be invited to submit full proposals and business cases by end March 2010. The winners will be announced in May 2010 with funding beginning in June 2010.
The competition follows on from the publication of the Government's new transport policy in February 2009 - Smarter Travel: a sustainable transport future.
www.buckplanning.ie
The purpose of the competition is to help people to leave their cars at home when they can and for them to opt instead to walk, cycle or use other more sustainable forms of transport, particularly for short journeys.
The Department of Transport-run competition is open to Local Authorities to submit proposals for developing sustainable travel systems in rural areas or towns.
The Minister is committing €50m over five years from 2010-2015 to fund the successful projects that are chosen through this competition.
Speaking to Local Authority Sustainable Travel Officers and City and County Managers at the launch of the National Competition in the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham, Minister Dempsey said - “Too often, our transport solutions have been narrowly designed and have looked at the private car as the primary means of moving people around.
"Today, that focus on the car has to change - I want this competition to help us deliver more people-focused travel and transport systems nationwide. There are many people who would often like to leave their car at home and maybe walk or cycle to work or school if they felt that it was safe and easy to do so. Indeed, there are people who might want to walk or cycle for part of their journeys in combination either with public transport or the car.
"I think it’s time that we concentrated on those people and helped them to travel differently. That’s what this competition is all about.”
Successful bids from Local Authorities will promote sustainable transport modes and better managed traffic in towns, villages or cities nationwide. A Smarter Travel Area funded under this competition could, therefore, include:
* Improved cycling routes, including safe routes to school and major business and workplace zones;
* Secure cycle parking in town centres or at public transport nodes;
* Better walking facilities, including more and improved pedestrian zones;
* Lower speed limits in residential and town centre areas;
* Restricted car access to certain locations;
* School and workplace travel planning;
* e-Working
* Car clubs - and
* Tailored public transport services, such as demand responsive services.
Smarter Travel Areas will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the benefits of sustainable transport, promoting and encouraging walking and cycling and reducing car travel, by improving travel facilities and promoting and encouraging behavioural change.
In this competition, preference will be given to Local Authority bids that develop proposals around community-based networks, involving local businesses, schools, retail centres, etc.
Initial bids should be submitted by Local Authorities to the Department of Transport by October 30, 2009. Those shortlisted will be invited to submit full proposals and business cases by end March 2010. The winners will be announced in May 2010 with funding beginning in June 2010.
The competition follows on from the publication of the Government's new transport policy in February 2009 - Smarter Travel: a sustainable transport future.
www.buckplanning.ie
College Green Bus Corridor
The College Green Bus Corridor comes into effect on Monday July 27th.
It will restrict traffic through College Green during the morning and evening peak traffic periods from Monday to Friday. The scheme will operate from 7am - 10am each morning and from 4pm - 7pm each evening. During these periods, only public transport vehicles and bicycles will have access to the College Green location.
It will not be in operation on Saturdays or Sundays.
The aim of the scheme is to significantly reduce journey times for cross-city public transport and allow for increased reliability and frequency.
In addition, electronic message signs will be put in place on key city centre routes to assist car users during the introduction of the scheme.
The College Green Bus Corridor is a natural progression in traffic management in Dublin City. Access to the city for public transport users will be significantly eased as a result of the implementation of this scheme. Ready access to all of the city and its car parks will be maintained at all times, ensuring that private car users and business traffic will continue to be facilitated.
www.buckplanning.ie
It will restrict traffic through College Green during the morning and evening peak traffic periods from Monday to Friday. The scheme will operate from 7am - 10am each morning and from 4pm - 7pm each evening. During these periods, only public transport vehicles and bicycles will have access to the College Green location.
It will not be in operation on Saturdays or Sundays.
The aim of the scheme is to significantly reduce journey times for cross-city public transport and allow for increased reliability and frequency.
In addition, electronic message signs will be put in place on key city centre routes to assist car users during the introduction of the scheme.
The College Green Bus Corridor is a natural progression in traffic management in Dublin City. Access to the city for public transport users will be significantly eased as a result of the implementation of this scheme. Ready access to all of the city and its car parks will be maintained at all times, ensuring that private car users and business traffic will continue to be facilitated.
www.buckplanning.ie
Cash in place for liffey cable car
The company behind the Liffey cable car proposal has the money in place to fund the project, it has been revealed.
Despite the difficult economic conditions, the Liffey Cable Car Company is ready and able to proceed with the €52m 'Suas' scheme - and the firm is even planning similar projects in other cities in Ireland and in New York.
The ambitious proposal would see cable cars gliding over the Liffey at heights of 80 metres.
All the company needs is the go-ahead from Dublin City Council after it lodges a planning application and it can proceed, said Paddy Duffy, who has been working with the company on the plans.
The tourist attraction, which is inspired by the London Eye, is the brainchild of developer Barry Boland. "Mr Boland is not looking for any public money at all. He has the sizeable amount of money necessary for the project already in place" - Mr Duffy said.
"The next step would be to approach Dublin City Council to see if the officials will support it. That is where the project is at the moment" - he added.
The company is looking to hold pre-planning consultation meetings with the local authority. If given the go-ahead, Suas will run from Heuston Station to the Docklands.
A presentation of the plan was made to the economic special policy committee earlier this year and was well received by councillors, Mr Duffy said. "The team was very heartened by the positive reaction of the engineering committee of the council when they presented it to them" - he added.
www.buckplanning.ie
Despite the difficult economic conditions, the Liffey Cable Car Company is ready and able to proceed with the €52m 'Suas' scheme - and the firm is even planning similar projects in other cities in Ireland and in New York.
The ambitious proposal would see cable cars gliding over the Liffey at heights of 80 metres.
All the company needs is the go-ahead from Dublin City Council after it lodges a planning application and it can proceed, said Paddy Duffy, who has been working with the company on the plans.
The tourist attraction, which is inspired by the London Eye, is the brainchild of developer Barry Boland. "Mr Boland is not looking for any public money at all. He has the sizeable amount of money necessary for the project already in place" - Mr Duffy said.
"The next step would be to approach Dublin City Council to see if the officials will support it. That is where the project is at the moment" - he added.
The company is looking to hold pre-planning consultation meetings with the local authority. If given the go-ahead, Suas will run from Heuston Station to the Docklands.
A presentation of the plan was made to the economic special policy committee earlier this year and was well received by councillors, Mr Duffy said. "The team was very heartened by the positive reaction of the engineering committee of the council when they presented it to them" - he added.
www.buckplanning.ie
Motorists warned to plan route ahead of city centre car ban
MOTORISTS have been warned to plan ahead to avoid traffic chaos when private cars are banned from one of Dublin's busiest streets during rush hour.
Traffic chiefs believe re-routing drivers away from College Green from next Monday will open up the city for more business.
Some 60 million public transport passengers pass through the bottleneck each year, skirting Trinity College and linking Dame Street and Westmoreland Street.
Alternative
Up to 7,000 drivers a day will have to find an alternative route as only buses, taxis and bicycles will be allowed through College Green between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 7pm, Monday to Friday.
The change will see bus journeys reduced by up to 30 minutes, and the city council says the ban will cut traffic congestion, delays and safety issues for pedestrians, which are a "recognised problem" there.
"It is an unsustainable and unsatisfactory position for all its users, be they bus passengers, taxis, cars, pedestrians and cyclists," Tim Brick from the city council said yesterday.
"The benefits of the measure will be reliable, quicker journey times for public transport users, safer pedestrian movements and better access for commuters, shoppers and essential business traffic.
"The key message here is that Dublin city will remain open and accessible to the greatest number of people. The College Green scheme is a measure that had to happen."
More than 4,300 Dublin Bus vehicles pass through the bottleneck every year, carrying 10 times the number of people travelling by private car. Dublin City Council says that 12,883 cars use the College Green route each day, with almost 7,000 of these travelling at peak times.
Signage
Temporary electronic signage will be in place to direct drivers around the capital and satellite navigation systems will be updated. Access to car parks will be maintained, but routes to some will be altered.
Dublin traffic corps Superintendent Frank Clerkin said motorists had a week to pick alternative routes, which are available at www.transportfordublin.ie. Breaking the ban will incur an on-the-spot fine of €60, which, if left unpaid, rises to €90.
"For the first number of days the gardai will use a certain amount of discretion, but that's not to say they won't be enforcing the bus lane regulations," Supt Clerkin warned.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Traffic chiefs believe re-routing drivers away from College Green from next Monday will open up the city for more business.
Some 60 million public transport passengers pass through the bottleneck each year, skirting Trinity College and linking Dame Street and Westmoreland Street.
Alternative
Up to 7,000 drivers a day will have to find an alternative route as only buses, taxis and bicycles will be allowed through College Green between 7am and 10am and 4pm and 7pm, Monday to Friday.
The change will see bus journeys reduced by up to 30 minutes, and the city council says the ban will cut traffic congestion, delays and safety issues for pedestrians, which are a "recognised problem" there.
"It is an unsustainable and unsatisfactory position for all its users, be they bus passengers, taxis, cars, pedestrians and cyclists," Tim Brick from the city council said yesterday.
"The benefits of the measure will be reliable, quicker journey times for public transport users, safer pedestrian movements and better access for commuters, shoppers and essential business traffic.
"The key message here is that Dublin city will remain open and accessible to the greatest number of people. The College Green scheme is a measure that had to happen."
More than 4,300 Dublin Bus vehicles pass through the bottleneck every year, carrying 10 times the number of people travelling by private car. Dublin City Council says that 12,883 cars use the College Green route each day, with almost 7,000 of these travelling at peak times.
Signage
Temporary electronic signage will be in place to direct drivers around the capital and satellite navigation systems will be updated. Access to car parks will be maintained, but routes to some will be altered.
Dublin traffic corps Superintendent Frank Clerkin said motorists had a week to pick alternative routes, which are available at www.transportfordublin.ie. Breaking the ban will incur an on-the-spot fine of €60, which, if left unpaid, rises to €90.
"For the first number of days the gardai will use a certain amount of discretion, but that's not to say they won't be enforcing the bus lane regulations," Supt Clerkin warned.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans advance to extend West Clare railway
PLANS TO extend the West Clare railway to the towns of Kilrush and Kilkee have received a major boost.
This follows Clare County Council declaring its intention to confer equal status on the tourist attraction that the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle currently enjoy in the county development plan.
The fortunes of the West Clare railway were recently buoyed by the return of the restored 117-year old Slieve Callan, which operated on the West Clare rail-line from 1892 to 1952.
The then government closed down the railway in 1961 and 2km of the track has been restored at Moyasta in west Clare as a tourist attraction.
Now, in a report before council members that was discussed on Monday at a meeting behind closed doors, county manager, Tom Coughlan recommended that the new Clare County Development Plan “should contain a specific policy safeguarding the route of the line between Kilrush and Kilkee and the supporting proposals to restore the line to working order.”
West Clare businessman Jackie Whelan, who is behind the project, said that following Mr Coughlan’s recommendation he is “now confident that the line can be extended to Kilrush and Kilkee within the next five years with the co-operation of the people and the council. This is great news.” Describing the West Clare railway as as “icon” of Clare’s history, Mr Coughlan said: “It is hugely important to local people . . . Having reviewed the existing 2005 Clare County Development Plan, I consider that the attention that it pays to the West Clare railway could be improved or given greater emphasis.
“The tourism section of the current 2005 development plan lists the key areas of our tourism resource and the West Clare railway is not mentioned.” Mr Coughlan said that “Jackie Whelan has brought what started out as a small venture, born from sheer enthusiasm and a deep grá for Irish locomotives to getting part of the West Clare railway back on track.”
In his submission to the council, Mr Whelan said that tourism was fighting for its survival in the west of Ireland.
Mr Whelan said the official relaunch of the restored Slieve Callan takes place on August 13th next at Moyasta.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
This follows Clare County Council declaring its intention to confer equal status on the tourist attraction that the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle currently enjoy in the county development plan.
The fortunes of the West Clare railway were recently buoyed by the return of the restored 117-year old Slieve Callan, which operated on the West Clare rail-line from 1892 to 1952.
The then government closed down the railway in 1961 and 2km of the track has been restored at Moyasta in west Clare as a tourist attraction.
Now, in a report before council members that was discussed on Monday at a meeting behind closed doors, county manager, Tom Coughlan recommended that the new Clare County Development Plan “should contain a specific policy safeguarding the route of the line between Kilrush and Kilkee and the supporting proposals to restore the line to working order.”
West Clare businessman Jackie Whelan, who is behind the project, said that following Mr Coughlan’s recommendation he is “now confident that the line can be extended to Kilrush and Kilkee within the next five years with the co-operation of the people and the council. This is great news.” Describing the West Clare railway as as “icon” of Clare’s history, Mr Coughlan said: “It is hugely important to local people . . . Having reviewed the existing 2005 Clare County Development Plan, I consider that the attention that it pays to the West Clare railway could be improved or given greater emphasis.
“The tourism section of the current 2005 development plan lists the key areas of our tourism resource and the West Clare railway is not mentioned.” Mr Coughlan said that “Jackie Whelan has brought what started out as a small venture, born from sheer enthusiasm and a deep grá for Irish locomotives to getting part of the West Clare railway back on track.”
In his submission to the council, Mr Whelan said that tourism was fighting for its survival in the west of Ireland.
Mr Whelan said the official relaunch of the restored Slieve Callan takes place on August 13th next at Moyasta.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Shatter calls for halt to Dáil lawn plans
The Department of the Environment yesterday said a Fine Gael TD appeared to know little about the workings of the Oireachtas when he issued a statement criticising the restoration of the lawn at Leinster House.
Alan Shatter had called for an immediate stop to plans to restore the lawn, parts of which were removed 10 years ago to provide parking spaces for politicians, public servants and journalists.
Mr Shatter said the project will cost €230,000 plus an additional annual expense for the rental of parking spaces, 68 of which will be lost when the lawn is fully restored.
However, Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s spokesman said the decision to proceed with the project was not his responsibility.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Alan Shatter had called for an immediate stop to plans to restore the lawn, parts of which were removed 10 years ago to provide parking spaces for politicians, public servants and journalists.
Mr Shatter said the project will cost €230,000 plus an additional annual expense for the rental of parking spaces, 68 of which will be lost when the lawn is fully restored.
However, Minister for the Environment John Gormley’s spokesman said the decision to proceed with the project was not his responsibility.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Green housing schemes announced
Details of seven low carbon housing schemes were announced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley today.
The two- and three-bedroom houses are expected to cost residents less than €300 a year to run, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland. The A2 building energy rating of the houses should result in low heating and electricity prices.
The local authority housing schemes are to be funded under a €20 million "towards zero carbon homes" programme.
The costings for the seven projects were "very competitive" and indicate that the "leap to carbon neutral housing" can be made without impacting on the overall cost, Mr Gormley said.
The seven projects are in Tramore, Co Waterford, Clondalkin in South Dublin, Tralee, Co Kerry, Newbridge, Co Kildare, Roscommon Town, Tahmahon, Co Wexford, and Portlaoise,
Mr Gormley made the announcement as he turned the sod on the Emerald Project in Ballymun, which is to be one of the most energy efficient housing projects ever built in Ireland.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The two- and three-bedroom houses are expected to cost residents less than €300 a year to run, according to Sustainable Energy Ireland. The A2 building energy rating of the houses should result in low heating and electricity prices.
The local authority housing schemes are to be funded under a €20 million "towards zero carbon homes" programme.
The costings for the seven projects were "very competitive" and indicate that the "leap to carbon neutral housing" can be made without impacting on the overall cost, Mr Gormley said.
The seven projects are in Tramore, Co Waterford, Clondalkin in South Dublin, Tralee, Co Kerry, Newbridge, Co Kildare, Roscommon Town, Tahmahon, Co Wexford, and Portlaoise,
Mr Gormley made the announcement as he turned the sod on the Emerald Project in Ballymun, which is to be one of the most energy efficient housing projects ever built in Ireland.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 19 July 2009
Ross abandons Castleknock hotel plan
Developer Séamus Ross looks set to drop plans to convert Mount Hybla House in Castleknock, Dublin, into a boutique hotel and instead plans to turn it into a nursing home. Ross, via Menolly Homes, first sought permission to develop the restored Victorian house as an upmarket hotel in 2003. He is now planning to use the house itself for nursing home-related uses and to develop an additional 58-bed nursing home and crèche.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Square root of dispute row has origins in granting of car-park licence in shopping centre
The dispute at The Square in Tallaght has its origins in the decision by South Dublin County Council to grant the original developers a licence over the 18-acre car park at the shopping centre. This was done so that the council could develop some small areas of the car park, after what was dubbed a call-back, themselves.
One of those call-back areas is where the Tuansgate office scheme was built by property adviser Sean Davin's company, Lowe Taverns Tallaght. The council granted him a licence to park cars in The Square's car park as part of the deal.
When the owners of The Square tried to progress an expansion of the centre, Lowe Taverns objected because its licence was not just for spaces in front of Tuansgate – it allowed the cars be parked anywhere within the car park. Litigation followed and in 2002 Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan deemed that the Lowe licence applied to the whole of the car park. As a result, the holder of the licence could block development of the shopping centre until they received appropriate compensation.
Eventually, McFeely and O'Mahony paid €55m for Lowe Taverns Tallaght, and with it the licence, through a company called Aifca, which is now majority owned by Liam Carroll.
Later, UCI cinemas came on the market. Smyth bought the cinema and its car-park licence for €52.75m even though Liam Carroll then issued proceedings in the Commercial Court against the Butlers, who were the vendors, but those proceedings were discontinued.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
One of those call-back areas is where the Tuansgate office scheme was built by property adviser Sean Davin's company, Lowe Taverns Tallaght. The council granted him a licence to park cars in The Square's car park as part of the deal.
When the owners of The Square tried to progress an expansion of the centre, Lowe Taverns objected because its licence was not just for spaces in front of Tuansgate – it allowed the cars be parked anywhere within the car park. Litigation followed and in 2002 Ms Justice Finlay Geoghegan deemed that the Lowe licence applied to the whole of the car park. As a result, the holder of the licence could block development of the shopping centre until they received appropriate compensation.
Eventually, McFeely and O'Mahony paid €55m for Lowe Taverns Tallaght, and with it the licence, through a company called Aifca, which is now majority owned by Liam Carroll.
Later, UCI cinemas came on the market. Smyth bought the cinema and its car-park licence for €52.75m even though Liam Carroll then issued proceedings in the Commercial Court against the Butlers, who were the vendors, but those proceedings were discontinued.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
New planning guidelines may put end to legal disputes
Long-running disputes about shopping centres could become a thing of the past if the recommendations of the new retail planning guidelines for the Greater Dublin Area are implemented.
"In planning for growth in town centres, planning authorities should allocate sufficient sites and expansion areas to meet the identified need; and where necessary use compulsory purchase [CPO] powers to bring forward important sites. Large town-centre schemes may require a longer period of time to assemble and this should be reflected both in the development plans and the development management process, allowing for longer planning permissions and greater floor areas, reflecting that they will be catering for demand beyond 2016," the retail strategy document for 2008-2016 states.
Legal disputes have delayed the development of several major shopping centre sites in Dublin, notably The Square, which Mr Justice Peter Kelly has previously said in the High Court seems "to give rise to more litigation than any other piece of real estate".
A long-running case taken by Noel Smyth's Redfern for €140m in damages against Tom McFeely, Larry O'Mahony, Liam Carroll and related companies began hearings in the High Court last week.
Senior counsel Paul Sreenan, for Smyth and Redfern, said that Smyth tried to get South Dublin County Council to CPO the licence and "made submissions to the local authority to try to get them to do that, but they did not move on that". In May 2004, he had offered property adviser Sean Davin a total payment of €12m for his car-park licence (see panel), €5m of which was to be paid upfront, together with one-third of the profits of the development if he came into a joint venture for the further development of The Square.
Davin declined, the court was told, saying that he felt the licence was worth €40m but later dropped the asking price to €36m. Agreement could not be reached however and Davin later sold the Tuansgate development and the car park licence to McFeely and O'Mahony for €55m. Sreenan suggested to the court "that it would probably be reasonable to estimate" that the Tuansgate scheme was worth up to €30m, suggesting the licence value was about €25m.
Sreenan said later that Smyth "will still try to do something with The Square but if he is to do any development in the car park, the only opportunity he will ever have of doing that is that if the Lowe licence is CPO'd. He will certainly try to get it CPO'd but there is no guarantee it ever will be. But even if the Lowe licence was CPO'd and some development could be carried out, at best it would be a break-even development now."
The Square is not the only shopping centre redevelopment to have been delayed by legal disputes.
The site of what is now to be called Dublin Central on O'Connell Street has been subject to numerous legal disputes while a redevelopment of the main centre in Finglas village was also delayed due to a legal dispute.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
"In planning for growth in town centres, planning authorities should allocate sufficient sites and expansion areas to meet the identified need; and where necessary use compulsory purchase [CPO] powers to bring forward important sites. Large town-centre schemes may require a longer period of time to assemble and this should be reflected both in the development plans and the development management process, allowing for longer planning permissions and greater floor areas, reflecting that they will be catering for demand beyond 2016," the retail strategy document for 2008-2016 states.
Legal disputes have delayed the development of several major shopping centre sites in Dublin, notably The Square, which Mr Justice Peter Kelly has previously said in the High Court seems "to give rise to more litigation than any other piece of real estate".
A long-running case taken by Noel Smyth's Redfern for €140m in damages against Tom McFeely, Larry O'Mahony, Liam Carroll and related companies began hearings in the High Court last week.
Senior counsel Paul Sreenan, for Smyth and Redfern, said that Smyth tried to get South Dublin County Council to CPO the licence and "made submissions to the local authority to try to get them to do that, but they did not move on that". In May 2004, he had offered property adviser Sean Davin a total payment of €12m for his car-park licence (see panel), €5m of which was to be paid upfront, together with one-third of the profits of the development if he came into a joint venture for the further development of The Square.
Davin declined, the court was told, saying that he felt the licence was worth €40m but later dropped the asking price to €36m. Agreement could not be reached however and Davin later sold the Tuansgate development and the car park licence to McFeely and O'Mahony for €55m. Sreenan suggested to the court "that it would probably be reasonable to estimate" that the Tuansgate scheme was worth up to €30m, suggesting the licence value was about €25m.
Sreenan said later that Smyth "will still try to do something with The Square but if he is to do any development in the car park, the only opportunity he will ever have of doing that is that if the Lowe licence is CPO'd. He will certainly try to get it CPO'd but there is no guarantee it ever will be. But even if the Lowe licence was CPO'd and some development could be carried out, at best it would be a break-even development now."
The Square is not the only shopping centre redevelopment to have been delayed by legal disputes.
The site of what is now to be called Dublin Central on O'Connell Street has been subject to numerous legal disputes while a redevelopment of the main centre in Finglas village was also delayed due to a legal dispute.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Abolition of town councils proposed
A SINGLE tier of local government consisting of no more than 22 county councils as well as the abolition of all regional authorities and town councils and a cut of €100 million in the Local Government Fund is recommended.
The report proposes that all households be charged for water, initially at a flat rate pending installation of meters, saying this would “open up a new and sustainable source of revenue”.
A single national authority for delivery of water services is recommended to replace county councils, with an ability to plan and manage supplies on the basis of river catchments – in line with the EU Water Framework Directive.
The group recommends a freeze on commercial rates for at least three years “to alleviate pressure on business in the current economic climate”. This would reduce returns from the only independent source of revenue available to local authorities. Without mentioning a return of domestic rates, the report says alternative sources of income “should be explored”.
It notes that local authorities spent more than €12 billion (current and capital) in 2008, or 6.3 per cent of GDP. “Given the scale of the spending and the current challenging budgetary situation, there is scope to reduce current expenditure by at least 10 per cent.”
There “should be rationalisation of the number of local authority structures, including regional, county and town structures, and local authority agencies, to take account of modern circumstances”.
It recommends a move to a single tier of local government through abolition of regional authorities and town councils, and proposes a reduction in the 34 local county or city authorities, in the remaining single tier of local government, to a maximum of 22.
It notes that housing is the largest item of expenditure in the Department of the Environment’s budget, and endorses the move away from construction of social housing in favour of leasing or buying already-built new homes.
It calls for a review of selling existing local authority housing stock, saying “discounts for tenant purchase should be withdrawn”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The report proposes that all households be charged for water, initially at a flat rate pending installation of meters, saying this would “open up a new and sustainable source of revenue”.
A single national authority for delivery of water services is recommended to replace county councils, with an ability to plan and manage supplies on the basis of river catchments – in line with the EU Water Framework Directive.
The group recommends a freeze on commercial rates for at least three years “to alleviate pressure on business in the current economic climate”. This would reduce returns from the only independent source of revenue available to local authorities. Without mentioning a return of domestic rates, the report says alternative sources of income “should be explored”.
It notes that local authorities spent more than €12 billion (current and capital) in 2008, or 6.3 per cent of GDP. “Given the scale of the spending and the current challenging budgetary situation, there is scope to reduce current expenditure by at least 10 per cent.”
There “should be rationalisation of the number of local authority structures, including regional, county and town structures, and local authority agencies, to take account of modern circumstances”.
It recommends a move to a single tier of local government through abolition of regional authorities and town councils, and proposes a reduction in the 34 local county or city authorities, in the remaining single tier of local government, to a maximum of 22.
It notes that housing is the largest item of expenditure in the Department of the Environment’s budget, and endorses the move away from construction of social housing in favour of leasing or buying already-built new homes.
It calls for a review of selling existing local authority housing stock, saying “discounts for tenant purchase should be withdrawn”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
EU's highest court upholds complaints against Ireland
THE GOVERNMENT has broken EU law by failing to conduct environmental impact assessments before allowing work to start on private road projects.
The European Union’s highest court has also ruled that the Irish public is being denied its right under EU law to appeal against developments that could have a significant effect on the environment without facing prohibitive legal costs.
In a judgment yesterday, the European Court of Justice said the practice whereby Irish courts could choose to waive legal costs for an unsuccessful party appealing on environmental grounds did not conform to European law.
The court said it “is merely a discretionary practice on the part of the courts” and could not be regarded as “valid implementation of the obligations arising from” EU directives dating from 1985 and 2003.
The EU directives set out that the procedures established by governments for appealing projects on the basis that they may have a significant effect on the environment should not be “prohibitively expensive”. They form part of a series of EU laws passed over the past three decades aimed at giving the public more rights to participate in the planning project for developments.
The ruling from the European Court of Justice could prompt a major reform of Irish law regarding the financing of planning appeals on environmental grounds.
A spokesman for Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he welcomed the clarification given by the court.
“It is a complex judgment that relates to agencies and bodies outside the Department of the Environment,” Mr Gormley said. “We will engage proactively with the Attorney General and other State agencies to see how best we can implement the judgment.”
The Government said the first part of the judgment, related to not conducting environmental impact assessments before work began on private road projects, had been addressed by the Government.
It has also pledged to try to address a third complaint upheld by the European Court of Justice against a lack of public participation in the planning consent processes handled by agencies such as the Office of Public Works and the Department of Agriculture.
The court found that there were not adequate opportunities for the public to appeal certain types of projects handled by these departments. It found this was contrary to EU law.
However, the European Commission, which took the case against Ireland, was not successful in arguing several other points where it felt the Government had not properly transposed EU directives into national law. For this reason the court ruled that the commission and the Government should bear their own costs in the case.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The European Union’s highest court has also ruled that the Irish public is being denied its right under EU law to appeal against developments that could have a significant effect on the environment without facing prohibitive legal costs.
In a judgment yesterday, the European Court of Justice said the practice whereby Irish courts could choose to waive legal costs for an unsuccessful party appealing on environmental grounds did not conform to European law.
The court said it “is merely a discretionary practice on the part of the courts” and could not be regarded as “valid implementation of the obligations arising from” EU directives dating from 1985 and 2003.
The EU directives set out that the procedures established by governments for appealing projects on the basis that they may have a significant effect on the environment should not be “prohibitively expensive”. They form part of a series of EU laws passed over the past three decades aimed at giving the public more rights to participate in the planning project for developments.
The ruling from the European Court of Justice could prompt a major reform of Irish law regarding the financing of planning appeals on environmental grounds.
A spokesman for Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he welcomed the clarification given by the court.
“It is a complex judgment that relates to agencies and bodies outside the Department of the Environment,” Mr Gormley said. “We will engage proactively with the Attorney General and other State agencies to see how best we can implement the judgment.”
The Government said the first part of the judgment, related to not conducting environmental impact assessments before work began on private road projects, had been addressed by the Government.
It has also pledged to try to address a third complaint upheld by the European Court of Justice against a lack of public participation in the planning consent processes handled by agencies such as the Office of Public Works and the Department of Agriculture.
The court found that there were not adequate opportunities for the public to appeal certain types of projects handled by these departments. It found this was contrary to EU law.
However, the European Commission, which took the case against Ireland, was not successful in arguing several other points where it felt the Government had not properly transposed EU directives into national law. For this reason the court ruled that the commission and the Government should bear their own costs in the case.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New rules to protect Tara area
NEW PROTECTIONS for the Tara-Skryne Valley, which would prevent the construction of retail parks and superstores along the route of the M3, have been announced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley.
Mr Gormley said he could not prevent the construction of the motorway near the Hill of Tara, which continues to be the subject of protests by environmental and heritage groups, but he could protect the landscape to prevent inappropriate development.
In conjunction with Meath County Council, Mr Gormley proposed to designate the Tara-Skryne Valley a Special Conservation Area. This would protect the archeological and historic landscape and make it difficult for any construction to take place within the zone. However, Mr Gormley said it would in particular stop the type of large-scale development, such as shopping centres, or retail parks, which have been built along motorways in the past.
“This will ensure that the very negative sort of development associated with motorways will not impinge on the area . . . the sort of motorway development we’ve seen in the past, the BQs, that would not be acceptable.”
The plans for the designation, which has been allocated €50,000 funding from the Department of the Environment and the Heritage Council, will have to be submitted for public consultation and agreed by Meath county councillors before the designation is confirmed. It is likely that the protection will be in place by the middle of next year.
Mr Gormley said he also intended to increase the protection for national monuments in the new National Monument’s Act, which is currently at draft stage.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Gormley said he could not prevent the construction of the motorway near the Hill of Tara, which continues to be the subject of protests by environmental and heritage groups, but he could protect the landscape to prevent inappropriate development.
In conjunction with Meath County Council, Mr Gormley proposed to designate the Tara-Skryne Valley a Special Conservation Area. This would protect the archeological and historic landscape and make it difficult for any construction to take place within the zone. However, Mr Gormley said it would in particular stop the type of large-scale development, such as shopping centres, or retail parks, which have been built along motorways in the past.
“This will ensure that the very negative sort of development associated with motorways will not impinge on the area . . . the sort of motorway development we’ve seen in the past, the BQs, that would not be acceptable.”
The plans for the designation, which has been allocated €50,000 funding from the Department of the Environment and the Heritage Council, will have to be submitted for public consultation and agreed by Meath county councillors before the designation is confirmed. It is likely that the protection will be in place by the middle of next year.
Mr Gormley said he also intended to increase the protection for national monuments in the new National Monument’s Act, which is currently at draft stage.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 16 July 2009
Call to take drinking water role away from councils
THE OPERATION of drinking water treatment plants should be taken away from local authorities and outsourced to private companies because of repeated failures to provide safe water, the ESRI says.
The economic think-tank has called for a national authority to be established to take responsibility for providing water which meets EU safety standards.
Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the ESRI says that at least one water supply in all Irish cities and counties failed to meet EU standards in 2007.
It also notes that more than 5pc of the population had their drinking water polluted with manganese, iron, lead or aluminium, and that the percentage of people suffering from biological contamination, including e-coli, is "even larger".
"At first sight, these results are alarming," it says.
The 'Drinking Water Quality' bulletin published yesterday says that in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available, water quality was not much better than in 2006.
Skills
In 2006, 88pc of people had something wrong with their water and in 2007 this was 85pc. Many sources that reported a problem in 2006 continued to report the same problem in 2007.
"Maintaining drinking water quality requires particular skills and expertise as well as resources. Given the results set out above, it is questionable whether the existing system, with the local authorities at the centre, is equipped to guarantee drinking water quality," the report says.
It adds that in some counties, the number of people using local supplies do not justify employing a full-time expert to operate plants, and that the civil service "does not offer a career perspective" for specialists.
While local authorities should remain responsible for ensuring safety standards are met, the operation of the plants should be outsourced to specialist companies.
"These problems can be addressed. For example, county councils could outsource the operation of drinking water facilities to specialised companies or responsibility for water services could be transferred to a single national authority."
The City and County Managers Association rejected claims there was no career path for specialists, adding that a "wide range" of approaches were used to manage water infrastructure. It added there was a need for continued investment to ensure standards were maintained.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
The economic think-tank has called for a national authority to be established to take responsibility for providing water which meets EU safety standards.
Using data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the ESRI says that at least one water supply in all Irish cities and counties failed to meet EU standards in 2007.
It also notes that more than 5pc of the population had their drinking water polluted with manganese, iron, lead or aluminium, and that the percentage of people suffering from biological contamination, including e-coli, is "even larger".
"At first sight, these results are alarming," it says.
The 'Drinking Water Quality' bulletin published yesterday says that in 2007, the most recent year for which data is available, water quality was not much better than in 2006.
Skills
In 2006, 88pc of people had something wrong with their water and in 2007 this was 85pc. Many sources that reported a problem in 2006 continued to report the same problem in 2007.
"Maintaining drinking water quality requires particular skills and expertise as well as resources. Given the results set out above, it is questionable whether the existing system, with the local authorities at the centre, is equipped to guarantee drinking water quality," the report says.
It adds that in some counties, the number of people using local supplies do not justify employing a full-time expert to operate plants, and that the civil service "does not offer a career perspective" for specialists.
While local authorities should remain responsible for ensuring safety standards are met, the operation of the plants should be outsourced to specialist companies.
"These problems can be addressed. For example, county councils could outsource the operation of drinking water facilities to specialised companies or responsibility for water services could be transferred to a single national authority."
The City and County Managers Association rejected claims there was no career path for specialists, adding that a "wide range" of approaches were used to manage water infrastructure. It added there was a need for continued investment to ensure standards were maintained.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Reopening of Lissadell House for two months welcomed
TOURISM EXECUTIVES in the northwest yesterday welcomed the announcement that Lissadell House, the ancestral home of 1916 leader Countess Markievicz, is to reopen to the public on a temporary basis from tomorrow.
The historic Co Sligo house has been closed for six months because of a dispute over rights of way. A High Court hearing on the issue is due to open on October 20th and is expected to last up to two weeks.
Isobel Cassidy, manager of the estate, said yesterday that the long-term future of the house depended on the outcome of the hearing.
Pascal Mooney, chairman of North West Tourism, and the mayor of Sligo, Cllr Jim McGarry, were among those who yesterday welcomed the announcement that the house and gardens, which attracted 44,000 visitors last year, will be open to the public from July 17th to September 20th next.
The mayor recently said huge numbers of visitors were turning up to find closed signs on the locked gates at Lissadell.
The reopening comes just a week before the opening of the 50th Yeats International Summer School. Mr Mooney pointed out that Lissadell was an important landmark on the Yeats Trail, launched in Sligo earlier this year by Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney to mark the 70th anniversary of the poet’s death.
In a statement yesterday, owners Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh said they had made the decision to reopen for “a limited period” after discussions with the mayor and local Fine Gael TD John Perry, who had expressed concern about the damage being done to tourism in Sligo and to local businesses as a result of the closure.
“Following discussions with Deputy Perry and Cllr McGarry, and having regard to our pre-existing contractual commitments for this year, we have agreed to open Lissadell to the public on a limited basis for a limited period,” they said.
It is understood that Lissadell is registered with the Revenue Commissioners as a heritage house. Under section 42 of the Finance Bill such properties can avail of tax relief for expenditure on repair and maintenance work but are required to open to the public for 60 days annually, including 40 days from May to September.
But Isabel Cassidy said yesterday that the decision to open had been prompted by the fact that a date had been set for the court hearing and also by the concerns of Mr Perry and the mayor about the impact of the closure to many businesses in Sligo.
She said the family was also anxious to “keep the place alive” in the event that it will be reopening on a permanent basis. “The future of Lissadell depends on the case,” she added.
Ms Cassidy said that since it closed to the public “the place is very sad” but she said that already following the announcement, there was a “great buzz around”.
Mr McGarry recently pointed out that the owners, who purchased the estate from the Gore Booth family, had invested €12 million in it and had employed 34 full-time and part-time staff.
The family said yesterday that a unanimous motion passed by Sligo County Council last December “in which they sought to declare all of the avenues within Lissadell to be subject to public rights of way” had rendered it incapable of being operated as a flagship tourism facility.
Sligo County Council said it would be making no comment on the decision to reopen given that the matter is sub judice.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The historic Co Sligo house has been closed for six months because of a dispute over rights of way. A High Court hearing on the issue is due to open on October 20th and is expected to last up to two weeks.
Isobel Cassidy, manager of the estate, said yesterday that the long-term future of the house depended on the outcome of the hearing.
Pascal Mooney, chairman of North West Tourism, and the mayor of Sligo, Cllr Jim McGarry, were among those who yesterday welcomed the announcement that the house and gardens, which attracted 44,000 visitors last year, will be open to the public from July 17th to September 20th next.
The mayor recently said huge numbers of visitors were turning up to find closed signs on the locked gates at Lissadell.
The reopening comes just a week before the opening of the 50th Yeats International Summer School. Mr Mooney pointed out that Lissadell was an important landmark on the Yeats Trail, launched in Sligo earlier this year by Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney to mark the 70th anniversary of the poet’s death.
In a statement yesterday, owners Constance Cassidy and Edward Walsh said they had made the decision to reopen for “a limited period” after discussions with the mayor and local Fine Gael TD John Perry, who had expressed concern about the damage being done to tourism in Sligo and to local businesses as a result of the closure.
“Following discussions with Deputy Perry and Cllr McGarry, and having regard to our pre-existing contractual commitments for this year, we have agreed to open Lissadell to the public on a limited basis for a limited period,” they said.
It is understood that Lissadell is registered with the Revenue Commissioners as a heritage house. Under section 42 of the Finance Bill such properties can avail of tax relief for expenditure on repair and maintenance work but are required to open to the public for 60 days annually, including 40 days from May to September.
But Isabel Cassidy said yesterday that the decision to open had been prompted by the fact that a date had been set for the court hearing and also by the concerns of Mr Perry and the mayor about the impact of the closure to many businesses in Sligo.
She said the family was also anxious to “keep the place alive” in the event that it will be reopening on a permanent basis. “The future of Lissadell depends on the case,” she added.
Ms Cassidy said that since it closed to the public “the place is very sad” but she said that already following the announcement, there was a “great buzz around”.
Mr McGarry recently pointed out that the owners, who purchased the estate from the Gore Booth family, had invested €12 million in it and had employed 34 full-time and part-time staff.
The family said yesterday that a unanimous motion passed by Sligo County Council last December “in which they sought to declare all of the avenues within Lissadell to be subject to public rights of way” had rendered it incapable of being operated as a flagship tourism facility.
Sligo County Council said it would be making no comment on the decision to reopen given that the matter is sub judice.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Slane HGV ban could mean problems for other road users, committee told
AN ORDER to ban HGVs going through an accident blackspot near the village of Slane will be difficult to implement, the Meath county manager has admitted.
Meath councillors voted earlier this year to ban HGVs going through Slane because of the dangerous and steep incline from the bridge on the N2 into the village. A total of 22 people have died on the stretch in the last 30 years.
County manager Tom Dowling told the Oireachtas Committee on Transport yesterday that a ban might lead to problems elsewhere, with HGVs using roads not built to carry them. He told committee members and local residents that a ban was “not a black and white issue”, and that the only real solution was a village bypass, which is currently in the planning stages.
He said the council was “deeply concerned” a HGV ban would create problems for residents elsewhere. “Yes, we can do it. Yes, the law allows us to do it, but we have just got to find a way,” he said.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd suggested to Mr Dowling that he had to implement the ban. “You don’t have a choice,” he said.
Meath East TD Thomas Byrne (FF) suggested to Mr Dowling he could bring in the ban with a “stroke of your biro”, and that he, an elected representative, would not allow objections from other residents to a Slane HGV ban.
Fellow Meath East TD Shane McEntee (FG) said the stretch of road was the “worst accident blackspot in Europe”. He told officials from the National Roads Authority (NRA) and Mr Dowling they had a responsibility to provide a safe road.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry said it was working closely with Meath County Council on drawing up plans for a bypass, but such a bypass was proving to be challenging because of the special cultural heritage of the area.
Slane residents spokesman John Ryle said the response of the authorities had been very disappointing. “Either they know how serious the situation is and they really don’t care, in which case they are in gross neglect of their responsibilities, or they do not, in fact, understand the extreme urgency of the situation,” he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Meath councillors voted earlier this year to ban HGVs going through Slane because of the dangerous and steep incline from the bridge on the N2 into the village. A total of 22 people have died on the stretch in the last 30 years.
County manager Tom Dowling told the Oireachtas Committee on Transport yesterday that a ban might lead to problems elsewhere, with HGVs using roads not built to carry them. He told committee members and local residents that a ban was “not a black and white issue”, and that the only real solution was a village bypass, which is currently in the planning stages.
He said the council was “deeply concerned” a HGV ban would create problems for residents elsewhere. “Yes, we can do it. Yes, the law allows us to do it, but we have just got to find a way,” he said.
Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd suggested to Mr Dowling that he had to implement the ban. “You don’t have a choice,” he said.
Meath East TD Thomas Byrne (FF) suggested to Mr Dowling he could bring in the ban with a “stroke of your biro”, and that he, an elected representative, would not allow objections from other residents to a Slane HGV ban.
Fellow Meath East TD Shane McEntee (FG) said the stretch of road was the “worst accident blackspot in Europe”. He told officials from the National Roads Authority (NRA) and Mr Dowling they had a responsibility to provide a safe road.
NRA chief executive Fred Barry said it was working closely with Meath County Council on drawing up plans for a bypass, but such a bypass was proving to be challenging because of the special cultural heritage of the area.
Slane residents spokesman John Ryle said the response of the authorities had been very disappointing. “Either they know how serious the situation is and they really don’t care, in which case they are in gross neglect of their responsibilities, or they do not, in fact, understand the extreme urgency of the situation,” he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Smyth lost out on big profit in Tallaght mall, court told
A COMPANY involving solicitor and developer Noel Smyth lost out on huge profits from the proposed redevelopment of The Square shopping centre in Tallaght due to the conduct of three other developers, the Commercial Court was told yesterday.
The 18-acre site at The Square alone was valued at some €375 million in April 2004 without any redevelopment having taken place and it was also estimated in 2004 there could be a €413 million net profit from redevelopment, Paul Sreenan SC, for Redfern Ltd, Mr Smyth’s company, said.
Mr Sreenan said documents indicated Bank of Scotland Ireland had in early 2006 believed the profits from the redevelopment would be some €316 million for Redfern and another €240 million for Aifca Ltd, a company formerly controlled by developers Larry O’Mahony and Thomas McFeely but now controlled by developer Liam Carroll.
Mr Smyth was an experienced developer and had adopted a more conservative approach to profitability, believing the bulk of profits would come from a planned phase four development, Mr Sreenan said.
As a result of the actions of Mr O’Mahony, Mr McFeely and Mr Carroll, Redfern’s interest was now “valueless” and it is entitled to aggravated and exemplary damages of more than €140 million from them as there was now no prospect of carrying out the development as originally planned, counsel said.
While Mr Smyth still hoped to go ahead with some development, the most he could hope for in the current economic climate was to break even, counsel added.
Redfern’s €140 million claim includes general damages of more than €130 million, including for €32.7 million for Redfern’s lost profit share; €21.2 million in lost project management fees and €42 million for loss of rental value.
It is also claiming special damages of more than €8.7 million allegedly incurred through wasted costs and time on progressing a planned joint venture with Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely.
Redfern claims that joint venture never proceeded because Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely instead did a deal behind Redfern’s back with Mr Carroll, owner of a rival development in Tallaght.
Mr Sreenan said it was clear from documents discovered for the legal action that, while Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely were in negotiations with Mr Smyth about a joint venture development of The Square, they were also in contact with Mr Carroll who was being kept informed of developments.
Counsel was continuing his opening of the action in which Redfern alleges Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely broke a deal with Redfern of August 4th, 2005 for redevelopment of The Square and “double dealt” with Mr Carroll.
The case before Mr Justice Brian McGovern is expected to last eight weeks. Redfern claims it was in a key position to develop The Square but needed control of the Lowe licence, required to secure access to large areas of the shopping centre.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The 18-acre site at The Square alone was valued at some €375 million in April 2004 without any redevelopment having taken place and it was also estimated in 2004 there could be a €413 million net profit from redevelopment, Paul Sreenan SC, for Redfern Ltd, Mr Smyth’s company, said.
Mr Sreenan said documents indicated Bank of Scotland Ireland had in early 2006 believed the profits from the redevelopment would be some €316 million for Redfern and another €240 million for Aifca Ltd, a company formerly controlled by developers Larry O’Mahony and Thomas McFeely but now controlled by developer Liam Carroll.
Mr Smyth was an experienced developer and had adopted a more conservative approach to profitability, believing the bulk of profits would come from a planned phase four development, Mr Sreenan said.
As a result of the actions of Mr O’Mahony, Mr McFeely and Mr Carroll, Redfern’s interest was now “valueless” and it is entitled to aggravated and exemplary damages of more than €140 million from them as there was now no prospect of carrying out the development as originally planned, counsel said.
While Mr Smyth still hoped to go ahead with some development, the most he could hope for in the current economic climate was to break even, counsel added.
Redfern’s €140 million claim includes general damages of more than €130 million, including for €32.7 million for Redfern’s lost profit share; €21.2 million in lost project management fees and €42 million for loss of rental value.
It is also claiming special damages of more than €8.7 million allegedly incurred through wasted costs and time on progressing a planned joint venture with Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely.
Redfern claims that joint venture never proceeded because Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely instead did a deal behind Redfern’s back with Mr Carroll, owner of a rival development in Tallaght.
Mr Sreenan said it was clear from documents discovered for the legal action that, while Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely were in negotiations with Mr Smyth about a joint venture development of The Square, they were also in contact with Mr Carroll who was being kept informed of developments.
Counsel was continuing his opening of the action in which Redfern alleges Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely broke a deal with Redfern of August 4th, 2005 for redevelopment of The Square and “double dealt” with Mr Carroll.
The case before Mr Justice Brian McGovern is expected to last eight weeks. Redfern claims it was in a key position to develop The Square but needed control of the Lowe licence, required to secure access to large areas of the shopping centre.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wednesday, 15 July 2009
Developer claims secret Carroll deal sabotaged project
THREE PROMINENT developers – Larry O’Mahony, Thomas McFeely and Liam Carroll – are being sued for €140 million in damages at the Commercial Court over alleged involvement in secret deals related to a planned €300 million development at The Square centre in Tallaght.
“The story is not a pretty one,” Paul Sreenan SC, for Redfern Ltd, said when opening its action before Mr Justice Brian McGovern yesterday. Redfern is a company involving prominent solicitor and developer Noel Smyth, which alleges Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely broke a binding agreement with it for the proposed Tallaght development by, unknown to Redfern, entering a secret deal with Mr Carroll, who had a rival development in Tallaght.
Mr Sreenan said Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely had broken the deal with Redfern of August 4th, 2005, and “double dealt” with Mr Carroll. Counsel said Mr Carroll had, in one stroke, sabotaged the entire joint venture project. Mr Carroll’s insistence on his name being kept secret was almost pathological, counsel added.
There was now “nil prospect” of developing as planned given the financial difficulties of Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely and the economic climate, and his client was entitled to substantial damages, Mr Sreenan said.
Redfern, following agreements with Square Management Ltd, had been in a key position to develop The Square centre some years ago but the “missing piece of the jigsaw” related to securing ownership of what was known as the Lowe licence, required to secure access to large areas of the shopping centre, counsel said.
Mr Smyth had spent two years seeking to buy the Lowe licence from businessman Seán Davin, the original owner of Lowe Taverns Ltd, but believed Mr Davin was seeking too much: €36-40 million.
Counsel said Mr Smyth learned in March 2005 Mr McFeely and Mr O’Mahony had bought the Lowe licence from Mr Davin for €55 million, with finance from Bank of Scotland Ireland, and held that interest through a company, Aifca Ltd. After “torturous” negotiations brokered by former trade union leader Phil Flynn, who was acting for Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, counsel said a binding agreement was signed with Redfern in August 2005, essentially involving the disposal of the Lowe interest to Alburn, a subsidiary of Redfern, and a joint venture development of the centre.
It is alleged that, while Mr Smyth was progressing the development, Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely brokered another deal behind his back with Mr Carroll, causing Aifca’s shares in Lowe to be transferred to Tafica Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Carroll.
“They kept this deal secret for quite some time,” counsel said, adding the details had emerged only after defences were filed in this case. It is claimed an implied term of the agreement meant none of the sides would do anything to hinder or prevent the due completion of the agreement, and therefore Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely were not entitled to dilute or assign their ownership or control of Aifca. Mr Carroll had also unlawfully interfered in another man’s contract, it is alleged.
The defendants deny the claims and in separate defences have alleged Redfern failed to complete the August 2005 agreement which caused serious financial difficulties for Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, resulting in their reaching an agreement with Mr Carroll so as to refinance their borrowings. Mr Carroll and his companies also deny they have any liability under the August 2005 agreement, as they were not party to it.
The proceedings were initiated in July 2007 by Redfern, with registered offices in St Helier, Jersey, against Mr O’Mahony, Shrewsbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin; and Mr McFeely, Ailesbury Road, Dublin. Mr Carroll, of Sycamore Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin; Tafica Ltd, Chapel House, Parnell Street, Dublin; and Aifca Ltd, Upper Mount Street, Dublin, were later also joined as defendants.
Redfern claims Mr Carroll, Tafica and Aifca Ltd knew or must have known of the existence of the August 2005 agreement, and acted with the intention of interfering with due performance of that agreement and/or inducing Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely to breach it. Redfern claims it is the sole beneficial shareholder in Alburn, and, prior to the August 2005 agreement, Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely controlled Lowe Taverns (Tallaght) Ltd through their shareholding in Aifca Ltd. It claims the agreement provided for the sale of Lowe to Alburn in exchange for Redfern’s issue of shares in Alburn to Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely.
Redfern claims it, with the consent of the Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, secured planning permission for development of phase III of The Square, valued at more than €300 million.
That proposed development, expected to be completed by August 2008, was for 1.3 million square feet of mixed-use development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
“The story is not a pretty one,” Paul Sreenan SC, for Redfern Ltd, said when opening its action before Mr Justice Brian McGovern yesterday. Redfern is a company involving prominent solicitor and developer Noel Smyth, which alleges Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely broke a binding agreement with it for the proposed Tallaght development by, unknown to Redfern, entering a secret deal with Mr Carroll, who had a rival development in Tallaght.
Mr Sreenan said Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely had broken the deal with Redfern of August 4th, 2005, and “double dealt” with Mr Carroll. Counsel said Mr Carroll had, in one stroke, sabotaged the entire joint venture project. Mr Carroll’s insistence on his name being kept secret was almost pathological, counsel added.
There was now “nil prospect” of developing as planned given the financial difficulties of Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely and the economic climate, and his client was entitled to substantial damages, Mr Sreenan said.
Redfern, following agreements with Square Management Ltd, had been in a key position to develop The Square centre some years ago but the “missing piece of the jigsaw” related to securing ownership of what was known as the Lowe licence, required to secure access to large areas of the shopping centre, counsel said.
Mr Smyth had spent two years seeking to buy the Lowe licence from businessman Seán Davin, the original owner of Lowe Taverns Ltd, but believed Mr Davin was seeking too much: €36-40 million.
Counsel said Mr Smyth learned in March 2005 Mr McFeely and Mr O’Mahony had bought the Lowe licence from Mr Davin for €55 million, with finance from Bank of Scotland Ireland, and held that interest through a company, Aifca Ltd. After “torturous” negotiations brokered by former trade union leader Phil Flynn, who was acting for Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, counsel said a binding agreement was signed with Redfern in August 2005, essentially involving the disposal of the Lowe interest to Alburn, a subsidiary of Redfern, and a joint venture development of the centre.
It is alleged that, while Mr Smyth was progressing the development, Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely brokered another deal behind his back with Mr Carroll, causing Aifca’s shares in Lowe to be transferred to Tafica Ltd, a company controlled by Mr Carroll.
“They kept this deal secret for quite some time,” counsel said, adding the details had emerged only after defences were filed in this case. It is claimed an implied term of the agreement meant none of the sides would do anything to hinder or prevent the due completion of the agreement, and therefore Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely were not entitled to dilute or assign their ownership or control of Aifca. Mr Carroll had also unlawfully interfered in another man’s contract, it is alleged.
The defendants deny the claims and in separate defences have alleged Redfern failed to complete the August 2005 agreement which caused serious financial difficulties for Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, resulting in their reaching an agreement with Mr Carroll so as to refinance their borrowings. Mr Carroll and his companies also deny they have any liability under the August 2005 agreement, as they were not party to it.
The proceedings were initiated in July 2007 by Redfern, with registered offices in St Helier, Jersey, against Mr O’Mahony, Shrewsbury Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin; and Mr McFeely, Ailesbury Road, Dublin. Mr Carroll, of Sycamore Road, Mount Merrion, Co Dublin; Tafica Ltd, Chapel House, Parnell Street, Dublin; and Aifca Ltd, Upper Mount Street, Dublin, were later also joined as defendants.
Redfern claims Mr Carroll, Tafica and Aifca Ltd knew or must have known of the existence of the August 2005 agreement, and acted with the intention of interfering with due performance of that agreement and/or inducing Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely to breach it. Redfern claims it is the sole beneficial shareholder in Alburn, and, prior to the August 2005 agreement, Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely controlled Lowe Taverns (Tallaght) Ltd through their shareholding in Aifca Ltd. It claims the agreement provided for the sale of Lowe to Alburn in exchange for Redfern’s issue of shares in Alburn to Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely.
Redfern claims it, with the consent of the Mr O’Mahony and Mr McFeely, secured planning permission for development of phase III of The Square, valued at more than €300 million.
That proposed development, expected to be completed by August 2008, was for 1.3 million square feet of mixed-use development.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 14 July 2009
EPA ‘failed in duty on harbour site’
THE Friends of the Irish Environment (FIE) has accused the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of failing in its duty to compel the Government to get a licence for the storage of hazardous waste at the former Irish Steel site at Haulbowline in Cork harbour.
FIE spokesman Tony Lowes said yesterday that the EPA had the power to force the Government’s hand on the future of the site but had failed to do so.
The FIE is now to take legal action itself over the continued holding of waste without a licence at the site. The FIE is seeking an urgent high court injunction to compel Environment Minister John Gormley to either apply for a licence for the site or remove the waste.
"The EPA has been running for cover on this," said Mr Lowes. "They are supposed to be the ones who licence waste facilities. The minister has consistently refused to apply for a licence and no doubt the EPA is aware of this yet they have done nothing about it. We are taking this high court action as a last resort to show that the Government, any more than an individual, cannot be exempt from our environment laws.
"The owner of the site is the Government and that means they have legal responsibility. You would have thought the EPA would have stepped in and done something, but they haven’t. The EPA has remained silent on this issue. Its office of environmental enforcement has not fulfilled its rule and there has been no explanation for this."
The EPA did not respond to a request to address the FIE’s complaint.
Mr Lowes added that his organisation believes the reason for the minister’s failure to apply for a licence is because this would trigger an environment impact assessment which would reveal the full extent of the hazardous waste at Haulbowline.
Already 112,000 tons of hazardous waste has been removed and transported to Germany for treatment but 280,000 tons of material remains. Tests conducted in Germany show levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury among the surface waste taken from the site.
Last week Minister Gormley announced that the Government is to establish a new working group to develop detailed proposals on the future of the site. Mr Gormley said that the group, which is to be chaired by the Office of Public Works, will be asked to determine the optimum use for the site.
However, Mr Lowes described this as a "fudge".
"This is the second working group in the past three years. What we need is a hazardous waste disposal facility established here."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
FIE spokesman Tony Lowes said yesterday that the EPA had the power to force the Government’s hand on the future of the site but had failed to do so.
The FIE is now to take legal action itself over the continued holding of waste without a licence at the site. The FIE is seeking an urgent high court injunction to compel Environment Minister John Gormley to either apply for a licence for the site or remove the waste.
"The EPA has been running for cover on this," said Mr Lowes. "They are supposed to be the ones who licence waste facilities. The minister has consistently refused to apply for a licence and no doubt the EPA is aware of this yet they have done nothing about it. We are taking this high court action as a last resort to show that the Government, any more than an individual, cannot be exempt from our environment laws.
"The owner of the site is the Government and that means they have legal responsibility. You would have thought the EPA would have stepped in and done something, but they haven’t. The EPA has remained silent on this issue. Its office of environmental enforcement has not fulfilled its rule and there has been no explanation for this."
The EPA did not respond to a request to address the FIE’s complaint.
Mr Lowes added that his organisation believes the reason for the minister’s failure to apply for a licence is because this would trigger an environment impact assessment which would reveal the full extent of the hazardous waste at Haulbowline.
Already 112,000 tons of hazardous waste has been removed and transported to Germany for treatment but 280,000 tons of material remains. Tests conducted in Germany show levels of arsenic, lead, cadmium, chromium and mercury among the surface waste taken from the site.
Last week Minister Gormley announced that the Government is to establish a new working group to develop detailed proposals on the future of the site. Mr Gormley said that the group, which is to be chaired by the Office of Public Works, will be asked to determine the optimum use for the site.
However, Mr Lowes described this as a "fudge".
"This is the second working group in the past three years. What we need is a hazardous waste disposal facility established here."
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Plans drawn up to fill in part of toxicwaste dump
PLANS are being drawn up to fill in part of a toxic waste dump in Cork harbour which contained traces of the highly carcenogenic Chromium 6.
County councillors have been informed that backfilling is planned for an exposed lagoon on the eastern side of the dump at Haulbowline. Sharon Corcoran, the council’s director of services, furnished county councillors with a report yesterday on what is likely to happen to the site.
She said backfilling the exposed lagoon on the eastern tip of the site was a short-term objective, as was securing the perimeter boundary. The report was issued just days after Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he was establishing a working group, chaired by the OPW, to look at the long-term future of the site.
Cobh-based Cllr John Mulvihill (Lab) said he wasn’t impressed with Mr Gormley’s pronouncement.
"He can set up all the groups he wants, but the fact is there is still a toxic waste dump there. It’s possible the EU will move on us and make us pay fines for every day it exists. It’s still not cleaned up. If Gormley was in Opposition he’d be sitting in the middle of it on a bike," an angry Mr Mulvihill said. He pointed out cancer rates in Cobh were 44% higher than in other parts of the country.
"There are major concerns down there. We’re trying to develop the harbour as a tourist amenity. Who is going to develop anything with this in the harbour," he added.
Cllr Sean O’Connor (Ind) described Mr Gormley’s response as "not before time". He insisted safeguards would have to be put in place before any work undertaken to ensure hazardous dust didn’t escape from the site.
Cllr Noel Collins (Ind) said Mr Gormley believed there were no health risk associated with the site.
"The jury remains out on that one. Public are confused and frightened. It’s expected the cost of cleaning it up will be €300 million. Regardless of cost this has to go ahead," Mr Mulvihill said.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
County councillors have been informed that backfilling is planned for an exposed lagoon on the eastern side of the dump at Haulbowline. Sharon Corcoran, the council’s director of services, furnished county councillors with a report yesterday on what is likely to happen to the site.
She said backfilling the exposed lagoon on the eastern tip of the site was a short-term objective, as was securing the perimeter boundary. The report was issued just days after Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he was establishing a working group, chaired by the OPW, to look at the long-term future of the site.
Cobh-based Cllr John Mulvihill (Lab) said he wasn’t impressed with Mr Gormley’s pronouncement.
"He can set up all the groups he wants, but the fact is there is still a toxic waste dump there. It’s possible the EU will move on us and make us pay fines for every day it exists. It’s still not cleaned up. If Gormley was in Opposition he’d be sitting in the middle of it on a bike," an angry Mr Mulvihill said. He pointed out cancer rates in Cobh were 44% higher than in other parts of the country.
"There are major concerns down there. We’re trying to develop the harbour as a tourist amenity. Who is going to develop anything with this in the harbour," he added.
Cllr Sean O’Connor (Ind) described Mr Gormley’s response as "not before time". He insisted safeguards would have to be put in place before any work undertaken to ensure hazardous dust didn’t escape from the site.
Cllr Noel Collins (Ind) said Mr Gormley believed there were no health risk associated with the site.
"The jury remains out on that one. Public are confused and frightened. It’s expected the cost of cleaning it up will be €300 million. Regardless of cost this has to go ahead," Mr Mulvihill said.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Shell says it will honour its word on Corrib emissions
SHELL E&P Ireland has written to individual Erris fishermen stating that it will honour its “undertaking” in relation to minimising harmful emissions from the Corrib gas refinery into the marine environment.
However, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says it intends to seek a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency, following advice given in talks with three Government Ministers and two junior ministers in Dublin on Friday.
The association’s unhappiness with the company’s delay in seeking to change the emission licensing terms was one of a series of issues raised with the Government delegation at Friday’s meeting.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith, along with Minister for State for Natural Resources Conor Lenihan, attended the talks, which were facilitated by Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Mayo TD, Dara Calleary.
The Erris association initially sought the meeting after the arrest of two fishermen and impounding of their two vessels by gardaí hours before the arrival of the Corrib gas offshore pipelaying vessel, Solitaire, last month.
Association chairman Eddie Diver had expressed anger that the Government was not clarifying the legal situation concerning the rights of the two fishermen, Pat and Jonathon O’Donnell, to continue fishing versus the terms of the foreshore licence awarded to Shell EP Ireland.
The two fishermen did not sign up to an agreement involving €30,000 a head in compensation for association members while the pipelaying was taking place. Under existing legislation, valid fishing licence-holders cannot be compelled to leave the marine area.
Gardaí said they were enforcing a 500-metre exclusion zone after the fishermen were arrested, but the Department of Transport confirmed that it had issued no such exclusion zone. Shell had “advised” mariners to forego any activity within a 500-metre radius of the Solitaire “to avoid damage” to fishing equipment.
Mr Diver said the association was happy with the discussions with the Ministers, although they had “given no firm commitment”.
He added: “On the issue of the confiscation of fishing boats . . . we believe that Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern have to explain why such directions were given under the Maritime Safety Act.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
However, the Erris Inshore Fishermen’s Association says it intends to seek a meeting with the Environmental Protection Agency, following advice given in talks with three Government Ministers and two junior ministers in Dublin on Friday.
The association’s unhappiness with the company’s delay in seeking to change the emission licensing terms was one of a series of issues raised with the Government delegation at Friday’s meeting.
Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív and Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Brendan Smith, along with Minister for State for Natural Resources Conor Lenihan, attended the talks, which were facilitated by Minister of State for Enterprise, Trade and Employment and Mayo TD, Dara Calleary.
The Erris association initially sought the meeting after the arrest of two fishermen and impounding of their two vessels by gardaí hours before the arrival of the Corrib gas offshore pipelaying vessel, Solitaire, last month.
Association chairman Eddie Diver had expressed anger that the Government was not clarifying the legal situation concerning the rights of the two fishermen, Pat and Jonathon O’Donnell, to continue fishing versus the terms of the foreshore licence awarded to Shell EP Ireland.
The two fishermen did not sign up to an agreement involving €30,000 a head in compensation for association members while the pipelaying was taking place. Under existing legislation, valid fishing licence-holders cannot be compelled to leave the marine area.
Gardaí said they were enforcing a 500-metre exclusion zone after the fishermen were arrested, but the Department of Transport confirmed that it had issued no such exclusion zone. Shell had “advised” mariners to forego any activity within a 500-metre radius of the Solitaire “to avoid damage” to fishing equipment.
Mr Diver said the association was happy with the discussions with the Ministers, although they had “given no firm commitment”.
He added: “On the issue of the confiscation of fishing boats . . . we believe that Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey and Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern have to explain why such directions were given under the Maritime Safety Act.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Planning should serve society, says new IPI chief
PLANNING EXISTS to serve the common good and not landowners or property developers, according to Gerry Sheeran, the new president of the Irish Planning Institute (IPI), which represents 700 professional planners.
A senior planner with Limerick County Council, Mr Sheeran pointed to the “history of excessive zoning of land for development” which benefited private individuals but not the community.
He welcomed the new Planning Amendment Bill announced recently by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, saying it would address many of these issues raised by the institute. The IPI is to make submissions on the proposed legislation.
Mr Sheeran said the recession offered “an opportunity to focus not solely on economic growth but on . . . challenges which loom ahead”. In this, planners could lead by putting a more sustainable framework in place.
Future plans needed to be “closely integrated”, with a strong link between national strategies, and local area plans, and decisions on planning applications made in terms of these agreed plans.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
A senior planner with Limerick County Council, Mr Sheeran pointed to the “history of excessive zoning of land for development” which benefited private individuals but not the community.
He welcomed the new Planning Amendment Bill announced recently by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, saying it would address many of these issues raised by the institute. The IPI is to make submissions on the proposed legislation.
Mr Sheeran said the recession offered “an opportunity to focus not solely on economic growth but on . . . challenges which loom ahead”. In this, planners could lead by putting a more sustainable framework in place.
Future plans needed to be “closely integrated”, with a strong link between national strategies, and local area plans, and decisions on planning applications made in terms of these agreed plans.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New consultations on planned Sligo runway
SLIGO COUNTY Council has opened a fresh round of public consultations on plans by Sligo North West Airport Company to extend its runway at Strandhill into an adjoining Special Protection Area under the EU Birds Directive.
The airport company sought planning permission for the controversial project last August, after being officially told by the Irish Aviation Authority that it needed to provide runway safety areas at either end of the existing runway.
It said these were needed “to bring the airport into compliance with the safety standards of the Irish Aviation Authority to maintain a public use aerodrome licence and the security requirements of the Department of Transport”.
Every passenger travelling to Sligo and other regional airports has their air trip subsidised by an average of €140, dispensed by the department under its Public Service Obligation regime. By contrast, the mainline rail subsidy is €10.70 a ticket.
The proposed development would involve infilling 12 acres of Sligo Bay and reconfiguring the runway to provide the required safety areas. It would extend the existing runway, which is 1,170 metres long, by a further 285 metres.
It also includes the installation of an instrument landing system and new runway lighting, as well as replacing the existing runway approach lighting with a new lighting system that would extend more than 400 metres from the end of the runway.
However, the airport is practically surrounded by the Special Protection Area (SPA) and by a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU habitats directive. It is understood that an earlier plan to extend the runway into the sea was ruled out on cost grounds.
Following a request from the county council and an unusually large number of submissions – some 200 in all, most of them against the plan – the airport company has now submitted further information on the proposed extension into Sligo Bay.
Contentious issues include the ecology and hydrology of the Sligo Bay SPA and SAC, visual aspects of the proposed runway extension and the potential impact of it on a clam nursery which operates in the channel that would be crossed by it.
There is also local concern about the potential impact on the road to Coney Island, which is only available for use at low tide, despite an assurance in the environmental impact statement (EIS) by RPS Kirk McClure Norton that it would not be at risk.
According to Sligo-based environmental consultant Suzanne Tynan, the EIS “failed to examine alternative designs for the runway extension or to make any real effort to look at alternative locations before dismissing them, largely on cost grounds”.
She said this was not consistent with EU guidance on the treatment of Natura 2000 sites – the network of SPA- and SAC-protected areas throughout Europe.
There is no provision in the guidance for alternatives to be ruled out because of their cost alone.
One of the options not considered would involve installing “cinder beds” at each end of the runway, instead of a solid construction, to cater for Aer Arann’s ATR 32 jet-prop planes, which operate to and from Dublin twice a day in each direction.
Ms Tynan complained that hydraulic modelling in the airport company’s EIS “appears to have complete certainty about there being no impact and makes no reference to the existing draft designation of Sligo Bay under the EU Shellfish Directive”.
Other objectors include Birdwatch Ireland, the Dorrins and Cummeen Strand Conservation Group, Dorrins Shellfish Ltd, Lissadell Shellfish Ltd, IFA Aquaculture and the Northwest Clam Marketing Group. The deadline for further submissions is July 31st.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The airport company sought planning permission for the controversial project last August, after being officially told by the Irish Aviation Authority that it needed to provide runway safety areas at either end of the existing runway.
It said these were needed “to bring the airport into compliance with the safety standards of the Irish Aviation Authority to maintain a public use aerodrome licence and the security requirements of the Department of Transport”.
Every passenger travelling to Sligo and other regional airports has their air trip subsidised by an average of €140, dispensed by the department under its Public Service Obligation regime. By contrast, the mainline rail subsidy is €10.70 a ticket.
The proposed development would involve infilling 12 acres of Sligo Bay and reconfiguring the runway to provide the required safety areas. It would extend the existing runway, which is 1,170 metres long, by a further 285 metres.
It also includes the installation of an instrument landing system and new runway lighting, as well as replacing the existing runway approach lighting with a new lighting system that would extend more than 400 metres from the end of the runway.
However, the airport is practically surrounded by the Special Protection Area (SPA) and by a candidate Special Area of Conservation (SAC) under the EU habitats directive. It is understood that an earlier plan to extend the runway into the sea was ruled out on cost grounds.
Following a request from the county council and an unusually large number of submissions – some 200 in all, most of them against the plan – the airport company has now submitted further information on the proposed extension into Sligo Bay.
Contentious issues include the ecology and hydrology of the Sligo Bay SPA and SAC, visual aspects of the proposed runway extension and the potential impact of it on a clam nursery which operates in the channel that would be crossed by it.
There is also local concern about the potential impact on the road to Coney Island, which is only available for use at low tide, despite an assurance in the environmental impact statement (EIS) by RPS Kirk McClure Norton that it would not be at risk.
According to Sligo-based environmental consultant Suzanne Tynan, the EIS “failed to examine alternative designs for the runway extension or to make any real effort to look at alternative locations before dismissing them, largely on cost grounds”.
She said this was not consistent with EU guidance on the treatment of Natura 2000 sites – the network of SPA- and SAC-protected areas throughout Europe.
There is no provision in the guidance for alternatives to be ruled out because of their cost alone.
One of the options not considered would involve installing “cinder beds” at each end of the runway, instead of a solid construction, to cater for Aer Arann’s ATR 32 jet-prop planes, which operate to and from Dublin twice a day in each direction.
Ms Tynan complained that hydraulic modelling in the airport company’s EIS “appears to have complete certainty about there being no impact and makes no reference to the existing draft designation of Sligo Bay under the EU Shellfish Directive”.
Other objectors include Birdwatch Ireland, the Dorrins and Cummeen Strand Conservation Group, Dorrins Shellfish Ltd, Lissadell Shellfish Ltd, IFA Aquaculture and the Northwest Clam Marketing Group. The deadline for further submissions is July 31st.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Gormley faces suit over waste storage
THE FRIENDS of the Irish Environment (FIE) has announced that it is to take legal action against the Minister for the Environment over the continued holding of waste without a licence at the former Irish Steel site at Haulbowline in Cork harbour.
FIE spokesman Tony Lowes has told The Irish Times that solicitors for the group have informed John Gormley of its intention to seek an order in the High Court compelling him to either remove the waste at Haulbowline or obtain a licence for its continued storage.
Mr Lowes said FIE was concerned about serious levels of pollution from heavy metals, including lead, from the continued holding of waste on the site and that this had been acknowledged by the Department of the Environment as far back as 2004.
He cited an affidavit sworn by the current department secretary, Geraldine Tallon, in a legal action to recover costs from the Ispat liquidator in 2004, that “there is serious environmental pollution at the site as a result of holding, recovering or disposing of waste”.
Mr Lowes said that under the Waste Management Act 1996, any person or body holding waste for more than six months must have a licence. Despite repeated requests to the Minister for the Environment, he had failed to apply for a licence to hold the waste.
“We have repeatedly written to the Ministers involved requesting them to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for a waste licence, but the only response has been to establish yet another ‘working group’,” he said.
In the letter, lawyers for Friends of the Irish Environment say: “Our client formally calls upon you to apply to the EPA for a licence for the ongoing holding of waste or, in the alternative, for the decontamination of the island by means of removal and proper licensed disposal of the waste currently held on the island.”
A department spokesman said he could not comment on the legal letter sent by FIE as it had not yet been received, but that it would forwarded to the department’s legal advisers for consideration upon receipt.
The spokesman said there had been “ongoing engagement” between the Department of the Environment and the EPA in relation to the site and that Mr Gormley was committed to cleaning up the site and achieving a long-term sustainable solution.
“One of the key issues for Minister Gormley is that deciding the future of the site would be done in consultation with everybody, including the regulatory authorities such as the EPA as well as with the local community and that remains his objective,” he said.
“This site has a history going back 70 years and since he took office, Minister Gormley has spent more and done more to involve the appropriate experts and relevant stakeholders to ensure a long-term sustainable solution.”
Last week, Mr Gormley said the Government would establish a new working group, chaired by the Office of Public Works and involving a range of departments and State agencies, to develop detailed proposals for the future use of the site.
Meanwhile, Cork East TD Seán Sherlock (Labour) has voiced strong criticism of Mr Gormley’s plan. “Setting up a working group is a classic kick to touch. There has to be a concrete set of proposals for the site. Whether that will mean excavation or containment is for the Minister to ultimately decide, but he should make that call now.”
Mr Sherlock welcomed the prospect of local involvement in the process of deciding the future use of the former Irish Steel site, but stressed that the time had come for straight-talking.
“If it is going to cost more than €100 million to contain or manage the site, then let’s say so,” he said. “If the money isn’t there to do that at the moment, then let’s be honest about that too.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
FIE spokesman Tony Lowes has told The Irish Times that solicitors for the group have informed John Gormley of its intention to seek an order in the High Court compelling him to either remove the waste at Haulbowline or obtain a licence for its continued storage.
Mr Lowes said FIE was concerned about serious levels of pollution from heavy metals, including lead, from the continued holding of waste on the site and that this had been acknowledged by the Department of the Environment as far back as 2004.
He cited an affidavit sworn by the current department secretary, Geraldine Tallon, in a legal action to recover costs from the Ispat liquidator in 2004, that “there is serious environmental pollution at the site as a result of holding, recovering or disposing of waste”.
Mr Lowes said that under the Waste Management Act 1996, any person or body holding waste for more than six months must have a licence. Despite repeated requests to the Minister for the Environment, he had failed to apply for a licence to hold the waste.
“We have repeatedly written to the Ministers involved requesting them to apply to the Environmental Protection Agency for a waste licence, but the only response has been to establish yet another ‘working group’,” he said.
In the letter, lawyers for Friends of the Irish Environment say: “Our client formally calls upon you to apply to the EPA for a licence for the ongoing holding of waste or, in the alternative, for the decontamination of the island by means of removal and proper licensed disposal of the waste currently held on the island.”
A department spokesman said he could not comment on the legal letter sent by FIE as it had not yet been received, but that it would forwarded to the department’s legal advisers for consideration upon receipt.
The spokesman said there had been “ongoing engagement” between the Department of the Environment and the EPA in relation to the site and that Mr Gormley was committed to cleaning up the site and achieving a long-term sustainable solution.
“One of the key issues for Minister Gormley is that deciding the future of the site would be done in consultation with everybody, including the regulatory authorities such as the EPA as well as with the local community and that remains his objective,” he said.
“This site has a history going back 70 years and since he took office, Minister Gormley has spent more and done more to involve the appropriate experts and relevant stakeholders to ensure a long-term sustainable solution.”
Last week, Mr Gormley said the Government would establish a new working group, chaired by the Office of Public Works and involving a range of departments and State agencies, to develop detailed proposals for the future use of the site.
Meanwhile, Cork East TD Seán Sherlock (Labour) has voiced strong criticism of Mr Gormley’s plan. “Setting up a working group is a classic kick to touch. There has to be a concrete set of proposals for the site. Whether that will mean excavation or containment is for the Minister to ultimately decide, but he should make that call now.”
Mr Sherlock welcomed the prospect of local involvement in the process of deciding the future use of the former Irish Steel site, but stressed that the time had come for straight-talking.
“If it is going to cost more than €100 million to contain or manage the site, then let’s say so,” he said. “If the money isn’t there to do that at the moment, then let’s be honest about that too.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Copying costs 'impeding planning'
Local authorities are obstructing the planning process by charging “excessive and unjust” rates for photocopying planning documents, Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has said.
In a report submitted to both houses of the Oireachtas today, Ms O’Reilly said many local authorities were deliberately ignoring Department of Environment guidelines on what was reasonable to charge for such services in order to create revenue streams.
The report found some 60 per cent of local councils were levying charges for simple black and white photocopying that were completely out of line with commercial rates, in some cases up to 100-times the market rate or €5 per single sheet of A4 paper.
The Ombudsman said this could not be justified and posed “a direct impediment to a properly functioning planning process".
"Public participation in the planning process should be encouraged, not checked. People are put off, by excessive charges, from taking part in the planning process despite the fact that in law they are entitled to inspect and obtain copies of certain planning documents.
Ms O'Reilly said: “Voluntary organisations interested in preserving and protecting our heritage, the built environment and balanced regional development, are hugely disadvantaged by these excessive charges.”
“Disproportionate charges could be viewed as a subversion of what should be an open and crystal-clear planning process by placing obstacles in the way of people interested in particular planning applications, for whatever reason,” she said.
The report found there was a lack of consistency across local authorities on charges imposed for photocopying, with charges ranging from zero to €5, and many also failed to set minimum and/or maximum charges for the service.
The worst offending local authorities for setting a minimum charge to copy a standard A4 sheet were Galway, Kildare, Longford, Roscommon, Tipperary NR and Waterford County Councils, and
The authorities which imposed the most excessive charges by reference to Department of Environment guidelines, ranging from 50 cent to 80 cent and up to €5 for an A4-sheet copy were Cavan ,Clare, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Galway, Kerry , Laois, Limerick, Louth, South Dublin, South Tipperary and Wexford County Councils.
Ms O'Reilly called on local authorities that were overcharging to immediately review their rates, saying her preference was for authorities to put their own houses in order voluntarily.
But Ms O’Reilly warned that in the absence of any real change and a fair system of charges, she would consider calling for legislative change in the future, “as the present situation is untenable”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a report submitted to both houses of the Oireachtas today, Ms O’Reilly said many local authorities were deliberately ignoring Department of Environment guidelines on what was reasonable to charge for such services in order to create revenue streams.
The report found some 60 per cent of local councils were levying charges for simple black and white photocopying that were completely out of line with commercial rates, in some cases up to 100-times the market rate or €5 per single sheet of A4 paper.
The Ombudsman said this could not be justified and posed “a direct impediment to a properly functioning planning process".
"Public participation in the planning process should be encouraged, not checked. People are put off, by excessive charges, from taking part in the planning process despite the fact that in law they are entitled to inspect and obtain copies of certain planning documents.
Ms O'Reilly said: “Voluntary organisations interested in preserving and protecting our heritage, the built environment and balanced regional development, are hugely disadvantaged by these excessive charges.”
“Disproportionate charges could be viewed as a subversion of what should be an open and crystal-clear planning process by placing obstacles in the way of people interested in particular planning applications, for whatever reason,” she said.
The report found there was a lack of consistency across local authorities on charges imposed for photocopying, with charges ranging from zero to €5, and many also failed to set minimum and/or maximum charges for the service.
The worst offending local authorities for setting a minimum charge to copy a standard A4 sheet were Galway, Kildare, Longford, Roscommon, Tipperary NR and Waterford County Councils, and
The authorities which imposed the most excessive charges by reference to Department of Environment guidelines, ranging from 50 cent to 80 cent and up to €5 for an A4-sheet copy were Cavan ,Clare, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown, Galway, Kerry , Laois, Limerick, Louth, South Dublin, South Tipperary and Wexford County Councils.
Ms O'Reilly called on local authorities that were overcharging to immediately review their rates, saying her preference was for authorities to put their own houses in order voluntarily.
But Ms O’Reilly warned that in the absence of any real change and a fair system of charges, she would consider calling for legislative change in the future, “as the present situation is untenable”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
State could have secured Carton for a small sum
CARTON HOUSE, standing on over 1,100 acres of parkland is enclosed by a five-mile stone wall.
The mansion might have been acquired by the State in the mid-1990s for a relatively small sum. Instead, it became one of several great Irish demesnes to be developed as a luxury golf resort.
Designed by Richard Cassels (or Castle) in 1739 for the Earl of Kildare, it was landscaped under the supervision of Emily FitzGerald, the first Duchess of Leinster, in the then very fashionable jardin anglais manner popularised by Lancelot “Capability” Brown.
The Palladian-style house remained unaltered until 1815, when the third Duke sold Leinster House in Dublin (also by Cassels) to the RDS and made Carton his principal residence. It was then remodelled and “turned around” by Richard Morrison.
Carton, birthplace of Lord Edward FitzGerald, one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion, not only had a magnificent house but also probably the most important landscaped parkland in Ireland. It was also one of the few great demesnes to survive intact.
Carton was blessed in having the Rye Water running through it. This allowed a lake to be created as a major feature of the parkland, as depicted by Thomas Roberts, the 18th-century landscape painter.
A more unusual feature, the Shell Cottage overlooking the Rye, was added in the early 19th century. Decorated with an extraordinary variety of sea shells, one of its more recent occupants was singer Marianne Faithfull, who lived there in early 1970s.
Having passed from the FitzGeralds into the ownership of Lord Brocket – to meet a gambling debt – the entire demesne was sold in 1977 to Powerscreen Ltd, a Co Tyrone-based firm manufacturing equipment for stone crushing, screening, washing and recycling.
The house and land, then closed to the public, was later acquired by Lee Mallaghan, one of Powerscreen’s directors, and plans were prepared to turn it into a luxury golf resort – first in partnership with the Gleneagles group, then Sheraton and finally Starwood.
Planning permission for a 140-bedroom hotel, a conference centre, two championship golf courses and 78 houses dotted around the demesne was confirmed by Bord Pleanála in 1992, despite strenuous objections from An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
The Hon Desmond Guinness, who founded the society at Carton with his first wife Mariga in 1958 (they had been renting it for a couple of years after their marriage), said it was a “national scandal” that the demesne would now be “irretrievably lost”.
Mr Guinness added: “Such a national treasure, one of the finest in Europe, should not be left in the hands of commercial developers; it deserves State care and attention of the highest order.”
But successive governments remained blind to Carton’s fate.
Lee Mallaghan’s son Conor, who became accustomed to taking flak from conservationists, defended the proposed development.
“If there was to be a mission statement, it would be to bring Carton back to life again and this is the only way to do so,” he said.
The project, designed by architects Murray O’Laoire, included full restoration of the house, at an estimated cost of €12.5 million, with its ground-floor converted into a hotel lobby and function rooms, and the addition of a separate bedroom block and spa.
Carton has established itself as one of the top golf venues in Ireland, hosting the Irish Open in 2005, and membership is expensive.
The 18-hole parkland course was designed by Mark O’Meara, while a second “inland links” course was designed by Colin Montgomerie.
The first batch of 35 new houses on the estate was sold by tender in 2005 at prices ranging from €650,000 to €1.35 million.
Six years earlier, the Government paid nearly €30 million for Farmleigh House near Castleknock, which never ranked in the same league as Carton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The mansion might have been acquired by the State in the mid-1990s for a relatively small sum. Instead, it became one of several great Irish demesnes to be developed as a luxury golf resort.
Designed by Richard Cassels (or Castle) in 1739 for the Earl of Kildare, it was landscaped under the supervision of Emily FitzGerald, the first Duchess of Leinster, in the then very fashionable jardin anglais manner popularised by Lancelot “Capability” Brown.
The Palladian-style house remained unaltered until 1815, when the third Duke sold Leinster House in Dublin (also by Cassels) to the RDS and made Carton his principal residence. It was then remodelled and “turned around” by Richard Morrison.
Carton, birthplace of Lord Edward FitzGerald, one of the leaders of the 1798 rebellion, not only had a magnificent house but also probably the most important landscaped parkland in Ireland. It was also one of the few great demesnes to survive intact.
Carton was blessed in having the Rye Water running through it. This allowed a lake to be created as a major feature of the parkland, as depicted by Thomas Roberts, the 18th-century landscape painter.
A more unusual feature, the Shell Cottage overlooking the Rye, was added in the early 19th century. Decorated with an extraordinary variety of sea shells, one of its more recent occupants was singer Marianne Faithfull, who lived there in early 1970s.
Having passed from the FitzGeralds into the ownership of Lord Brocket – to meet a gambling debt – the entire demesne was sold in 1977 to Powerscreen Ltd, a Co Tyrone-based firm manufacturing equipment for stone crushing, screening, washing and recycling.
The house and land, then closed to the public, was later acquired by Lee Mallaghan, one of Powerscreen’s directors, and plans were prepared to turn it into a luxury golf resort – first in partnership with the Gleneagles group, then Sheraton and finally Starwood.
Planning permission for a 140-bedroom hotel, a conference centre, two championship golf courses and 78 houses dotted around the demesne was confirmed by Bord Pleanála in 1992, despite strenuous objections from An Taisce and the Irish Georgian Society.
The Hon Desmond Guinness, who founded the society at Carton with his first wife Mariga in 1958 (they had been renting it for a couple of years after their marriage), said it was a “national scandal” that the demesne would now be “irretrievably lost”.
Mr Guinness added: “Such a national treasure, one of the finest in Europe, should not be left in the hands of commercial developers; it deserves State care and attention of the highest order.”
But successive governments remained blind to Carton’s fate.
Lee Mallaghan’s son Conor, who became accustomed to taking flak from conservationists, defended the proposed development.
“If there was to be a mission statement, it would be to bring Carton back to life again and this is the only way to do so,” he said.
The project, designed by architects Murray O’Laoire, included full restoration of the house, at an estimated cost of €12.5 million, with its ground-floor converted into a hotel lobby and function rooms, and the addition of a separate bedroom block and spa.
Carton has established itself as one of the top golf venues in Ireland, hosting the Irish Open in 2005, and membership is expensive.
The 18-hole parkland course was designed by Mark O’Meara, while a second “inland links” course was designed by Colin Montgomerie.
The first batch of 35 new houses on the estate was sold by tender in 2005 at prices ranging from €650,000 to €1.35 million.
Six years earlier, the Government paid nearly €30 million for Farmleigh House near Castleknock, which never ranked in the same league as Carton.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Travellers must leave Galway site today
THE GALWAY Traveller Movement has called for cross-departmental commitment to resolve Traveller accommodation issues, following the continued impasse over halting sites in Galway city.
An 11-strong group of Traveller families with 28 young children are due to leave a temporary halting site in the city today, as a result of a High Court order obtained by the local authority.
The site, which is the subject of a Bord Pleanála appeal for planning approval, is due to remain open until November – but only four families are permitted to stay there until then.
The 11 families ordered to leave by today have said they will respect the court decision.
However, they believe that they are being singled out by the local authority for taking legal action earlier this year over their right to a nomadic lifestyle. The Delaney, Stokes and Corcoran families say they will inevitably attract complaints from residents wherever they go, and that they are anxious to keep their children in primary school.
The 11 families have long maintained that they do not want to live in housing, as this is not part of their culture – and they moved out of temporary housing after the suicide of one of their group.
Earlier this year, Galway city councillors voted to remove provision of halting sites from its Traveller accommodation plan for 2009-14, with one councillor, Donal Lyons (Ind), describing such hard stands as a “failed concept”.
The city manager warned at the time that the decision, which was supported by all but four of the 15 councillors, could be open to legal challenge.
That ruling is to be the subject of a judicial review later this year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An 11-strong group of Traveller families with 28 young children are due to leave a temporary halting site in the city today, as a result of a High Court order obtained by the local authority.
The site, which is the subject of a Bord Pleanála appeal for planning approval, is due to remain open until November – but only four families are permitted to stay there until then.
The 11 families ordered to leave by today have said they will respect the court decision.
However, they believe that they are being singled out by the local authority for taking legal action earlier this year over their right to a nomadic lifestyle. The Delaney, Stokes and Corcoran families say they will inevitably attract complaints from residents wherever they go, and that they are anxious to keep their children in primary school.
The 11 families have long maintained that they do not want to live in housing, as this is not part of their culture – and they moved out of temporary housing after the suicide of one of their group.
Earlier this year, Galway city councillors voted to remove provision of halting sites from its Traveller accommodation plan for 2009-14, with one councillor, Donal Lyons (Ind), describing such hard stands as a “failed concept”.
The city manager warned at the time that the decision, which was supported by all but four of the 15 councillors, could be open to legal challenge.
That ruling is to be the subject of a judicial review later this year.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 12 July 2009
EPA identifies new sanctions that could be used in Ireland to protect the environment
The EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE) has published a report entitled - A Study on the Use of Administrative Sanctions for Environmental Offences in other comparable countries and assessment of their possible use in Ireland.
The report reviewed the use of civil/administrative sanctions relevant to environmental protection in Ireland, the UK, USA, Germany and Australia.
The drivers for the study, from a regulatory point of view, were -
* The burden of proof required to use the current criminal code for regulatory offences and the associated resources.
* The lack of options between the maximum District Court Sanction of €3,000 and the maximum Circuit Court Sanction of €15m.
The study, commissioned by the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE), identified 20 administrative sanctions that are available to environmental regulators to enforce environmental law without resort to criminal or civil court proceedings.
In total, Ireland already has access to 11 of the 20 non-criminal sanctions identified. Some of the non-criminal sanctions that Ireland either does not have, or does not have a legislative basis for are -
* Enforcement Undertaking
Written undertakings to remedy the harm done that can be enforceable in court.
* Fixed or variable Penalties
Payment of specified or variable monetary amounts to discharge or compensate for the breach (on-the-spot fines or infringement notices).
* Environmental or Community Services Order
Offender carries out a specified project for public benefit. Examples include the provision of recycling facilities, conservation or remediation work, training or education initiatives, etc.
* Compensation Order
Offender compensates the regulator or third party for costs incurred in taking action.
* Name and Shame or Publicity Orders
Order requiring publicity of environmental consequences, penalties, etc.
“New environmental legislation and the nature of illegal activity requires an increasingly sophisticated and flexible enforcement response to attain compliance” - said Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement.
“Administrative sanctions have the potential to put the environmental regulator in a better position to match their response to the realities of enforcement. This report will contribute positively to the debate about better regulation” - he added.
The study also identified a number of hurdles that would need to addressed if additional administrative sanctions were to be introduced. These include the identification of the costs versus the benefits, the right to appeal against a sanction and the protection of the constitutional rights of the individual.
www.buckplanning.ie
The report reviewed the use of civil/administrative sanctions relevant to environmental protection in Ireland, the UK, USA, Germany and Australia.
The drivers for the study, from a regulatory point of view, were -
* The burden of proof required to use the current criminal code for regulatory offences and the associated resources.
* The lack of options between the maximum District Court Sanction of €3,000 and the maximum Circuit Court Sanction of €15m.
The study, commissioned by the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement (OEE), identified 20 administrative sanctions that are available to environmental regulators to enforce environmental law without resort to criminal or civil court proceedings.
In total, Ireland already has access to 11 of the 20 non-criminal sanctions identified. Some of the non-criminal sanctions that Ireland either does not have, or does not have a legislative basis for are -
* Enforcement Undertaking
Written undertakings to remedy the harm done that can be enforceable in court.
* Fixed or variable Penalties
Payment of specified or variable monetary amounts to discharge or compensate for the breach (on-the-spot fines or infringement notices).
* Environmental or Community Services Order
Offender carries out a specified project for public benefit. Examples include the provision of recycling facilities, conservation or remediation work, training or education initiatives, etc.
* Compensation Order
Offender compensates the regulator or third party for costs incurred in taking action.
* Name and Shame or Publicity Orders
Order requiring publicity of environmental consequences, penalties, etc.
“New environmental legislation and the nature of illegal activity requires an increasingly sophisticated and flexible enforcement response to attain compliance” - said Dara Lynott, Director of the EPA’s Office of Environmental Enforcement.
“Administrative sanctions have the potential to put the environmental regulator in a better position to match their response to the realities of enforcement. This report will contribute positively to the debate about better regulation” - he added.
The study also identified a number of hurdles that would need to addressed if additional administrative sanctions were to be introduced. These include the identification of the costs versus the benefits, the right to appeal against a sanction and the protection of the constitutional rights of the individual.
www.buckplanning.ie
McNamara abandons Burlington plans
Property developer Bernard McNamara has abandoned plans for a €1 billion redevelopment of the Burlington Hotel in Dublin for at least five years.
The businessman has signed a longterm management agreement with Tifco,the Irish hotel operator, to operate the hotel for an initial five years. The deal was signed last week. This means that McNamara has effectively shelved ambitious plans to build offices,shops and a number of landmark towers on the site for the foreseeable future.
McNamara bought the Burlington Hotel and adjacent Allianz building in 2006 for €388 million,with the intention of redeveloping the site.
Glasbay,a company controlled by McNamara,recently secured planning permission for the mixed-use scheme. At the time,the company said it was unsure when it would begin building. The company has now handed over the management of the hotel to Tifco with immediate effect. There have been no job losses as a result of the deal,and all Burlington staff have been retained.
Tifco operates the Clontarf Castle hotel in Dublin and the Crown Plaza hotels in Ireland. The company is owned by Gerry Houlihan,the founder of electrical goods chain DID Electrical, Aidan Crowe,a businessman and former bank manager,and Enda O’Meara,the company’s managing director.
John Clifton,general manager of the Burlington,said: ‘‘We believe that this long-term commitment offers enormous growth potential for the Burlington Hotel,and we look forward to working closely with Tifco to realise this exciting opportunity.”
McNamara’s original plan for the Burlington included offices,shops, leisure facilities and a medical centre in three blocks. He also secured permission for a public plaza and gardens.
The first phase of the project involved 300,000 square feet of office space on the Allianz portion of the site. There were also to be 185 residential units, office space,a creche,restaurant/wine bar and leisure centre.
One block,fronting onto Sussex Road and the Mespil Estate,was to contain 102 residential units,retail, restaurants, a creche and leisure centre. It was to be between six and eight storeys. However,An Bord Pleana´la stipulated that the height be reduced by three floors.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
The businessman has signed a longterm management agreement with Tifco,the Irish hotel operator, to operate the hotel for an initial five years. The deal was signed last week. This means that McNamara has effectively shelved ambitious plans to build offices,shops and a number of landmark towers on the site for the foreseeable future.
McNamara bought the Burlington Hotel and adjacent Allianz building in 2006 for €388 million,with the intention of redeveloping the site.
Glasbay,a company controlled by McNamara,recently secured planning permission for the mixed-use scheme. At the time,the company said it was unsure when it would begin building. The company has now handed over the management of the hotel to Tifco with immediate effect. There have been no job losses as a result of the deal,and all Burlington staff have been retained.
Tifco operates the Clontarf Castle hotel in Dublin and the Crown Plaza hotels in Ireland. The company is owned by Gerry Houlihan,the founder of electrical goods chain DID Electrical, Aidan Crowe,a businessman and former bank manager,and Enda O’Meara,the company’s managing director.
John Clifton,general manager of the Burlington,said: ‘‘We believe that this long-term commitment offers enormous growth potential for the Burlington Hotel,and we look forward to working closely with Tifco to realise this exciting opportunity.”
McNamara’s original plan for the Burlington included offices,shops, leisure facilities and a medical centre in three blocks. He also secured permission for a public plaza and gardens.
The first phase of the project involved 300,000 square feet of office space on the Allianz portion of the site. There were also to be 185 residential units, office space,a creche,restaurant/wine bar and leisure centre.
One block,fronting onto Sussex Road and the Mespil Estate,was to contain 102 residential units,retail, restaurants, a creche and leisure centre. It was to be between six and eight storeys. However,An Bord Pleana´la stipulated that the height be reduced by three floors.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
€50m project for St Patrick’s College
St Patrick’s teacher training college has been given the go head for a major campus development project expected to cost €50 million. Minister for Education & Science Batt O’Keeffe is to announce tomorrow that the project for St Patrick’s College of Education in Drumcondra, Dublin, can go to tender.
Building work should begin next year on the project, which includes 18 new lecture theatres, two new libraries and offices. Funded by the National Development Plan, the project will result in all the college’s 2,400 students being based at the Drumcondra campus. Currently, there are 1,500 students at the north Dublin campus.
The Department of Education said the project was given the go-ahead following a rigorous government appraisal which applied to all proposals for large-scale building projects in higher education.
It was also the subject of a detailed cost-benefit analysis, ‘‘which robustly validated the underlying need for investment’’, a spokesman said.
‘‘This project will transform the campus in St Patrick’s College of Education and bring its facilities to a new level of state of the-art modernity,” said O’Keeffe.
‘‘Eighteen new lecture theatres will replace temporary prefabricated units and two new libraries will end cramped conditions for students.”
The project, located to the rear of the existing buildings, will also include specialist teaching areas and extra seminar rooms. The college’s existing stock of buildings dates from the 1800s, with some additions having been made during the 1960s and 1970s.
‘‘The campus development plan will radically modernise St Patrick’s and I’m delighted to be in a position to announce the move,” said O’Keeffe.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Building work should begin next year on the project, which includes 18 new lecture theatres, two new libraries and offices. Funded by the National Development Plan, the project will result in all the college’s 2,400 students being based at the Drumcondra campus. Currently, there are 1,500 students at the north Dublin campus.
The Department of Education said the project was given the go-ahead following a rigorous government appraisal which applied to all proposals for large-scale building projects in higher education.
It was also the subject of a detailed cost-benefit analysis, ‘‘which robustly validated the underlying need for investment’’, a spokesman said.
‘‘This project will transform the campus in St Patrick’s College of Education and bring its facilities to a new level of state of the-art modernity,” said O’Keeffe.
‘‘Eighteen new lecture theatres will replace temporary prefabricated units and two new libraries will end cramped conditions for students.”
The project, located to the rear of the existing buildings, will also include specialist teaching areas and extra seminar rooms. The college’s existing stock of buildings dates from the 1800s, with some additions having been made during the 1960s and 1970s.
‘‘The campus development plan will radically modernise St Patrick’s and I’m delighted to be in a position to announce the move,” said O’Keeffe.
Sunday Business Post
www.buckplanning.ie
Carroll presses on with Cherrywood developments
Developer Liam Carroll is seeking permission to develop a new €50m scheme comprising an office building, shops and over 100 apartments at Cherrywood Science & Technology Park in south Dublin, despite difficulties with some of his lenders.
If approved, the scheme will have three buildings rising up to five and six storeys as well as 607 car parking spaces.
Carroll became involved in Cherrywood when he mounted a hostile takeover of Dunloe Ewart and later bought out British Land's interest in the 412-acre site. The county council owns a third of the science park, which makes up about 10% of the site.
Carroll planned to develop a Dundrum-style shopping centre and about 11,000 residential units as well as offices and other uses on the rest of the site. Dunloe had previously stated in a submission to the council that it was planning to spend €400m alone on "basement substructures" before construction reached ground level.
Carroll told the High Court recently that he has assets of €259.5m, his bank debt is €149m and he has annual rental income of €9.85m while paying interest of €7.9m. He has lost at least €260m in stock market investments, according to the last filed accounts, and he and his companies have faced numerous High Court proceedings this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
If approved, the scheme will have three buildings rising up to five and six storeys as well as 607 car parking spaces.
Carroll became involved in Cherrywood when he mounted a hostile takeover of Dunloe Ewart and later bought out British Land's interest in the 412-acre site. The county council owns a third of the science park, which makes up about 10% of the site.
Carroll planned to develop a Dundrum-style shopping centre and about 11,000 residential units as well as offices and other uses on the rest of the site. Dunloe had previously stated in a submission to the council that it was planning to spend €400m alone on "basement substructures" before construction reached ground level.
Carroll told the High Court recently that he has assets of €259.5m, his bank debt is €149m and he has annual rental income of €9.85m while paying interest of €7.9m. He has lost at least €260m in stock market investments, according to the last filed accounts, and he and his companies have faced numerous High Court proceedings this year.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Ikea claims to have recruited 70% of local applicants
IKEA, the world's largest home-furnishing retailer, has given jobs at its new Ballymun superstore to more than two out of three local applicants, according to figures provided by a local community group. The store is due to open on 27 July despite ongoing problems with the local road network.
Figures supplied by the Ballymun Regeneration group show that of 98 Ballymun residents who did interviews with the retailer, 69 were successful and offered positions with the firm, a 70% success rate for the Ballymun applicants.
Ikea worked closely with many partners in developing a pre-employment training programme to assist 30 long-term unemployed and lone parents to train for and apply for Ikea positions. "From those who did the training course, there were 24 successful candidates who will be starting work on 27 July after being out of work for more than a year," said the Ballymun spokesperson.
A spokesman for Ikea said it expected between up to 2.7 million visitors to the superstore in the first year, despite traffic problems as the M50 is still undergoing a major expansion and work on the Ballymun interchange is still undergoing construction.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Figures supplied by the Ballymun Regeneration group show that of 98 Ballymun residents who did interviews with the retailer, 69 were successful and offered positions with the firm, a 70% success rate for the Ballymun applicants.
Ikea worked closely with many partners in developing a pre-employment training programme to assist 30 long-term unemployed and lone parents to train for and apply for Ikea positions. "From those who did the training course, there were 24 successful candidates who will be starting work on 27 July after being out of work for more than a year," said the Ballymun spokesperson.
A spokesman for Ikea said it expected between up to 2.7 million visitors to the superstore in the first year, despite traffic problems as the M50 is still undergoing a major expansion and work on the Ballymun interchange is still undergoing construction.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
'Dragon' plans massive house in Dublin 4
Black Tie founder, Dragons' Den judge and property developer Niall O'Farrell is seeking planning permission to demolish a house at Shrewsbury Road in Dublin 4 that he bought for more than €7.5m in 2005, despite the current property downturn.
The developer wants to build a new house on the property. His planned three-storey-over-basement house would measure 985 square metres, nearly 10 times the size of an average house, with balconies to the front. It would more than double the size of the existing three-storey house, which is close to the junction with Ailesbury Road.
The house was originally built by concert promoter Harry Crosbie before becoming home to one of the McCormacks, who are involved in property development.
The existing front boundary wall and entrance gates will also be demolished if O'Farrell gets the thumbs-up for his plan, and a new front boundary will then be built.
The record price for a house at Shrewsbury Road is €58m, which was the amount paid for Walford, the most expensive house ever sold in Ireland.
Earlier this year the O'Malleys were given the go-ahead to redevelop the former Chester Beatty library site there after a series of planning battles. They will now be able to build seven three-storey-over-basement houses on the one-acre site there, a decade after they purchased it for more than €9m.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The developer wants to build a new house on the property. His planned three-storey-over-basement house would measure 985 square metres, nearly 10 times the size of an average house, with balconies to the front. It would more than double the size of the existing three-storey house, which is close to the junction with Ailesbury Road.
The house was originally built by concert promoter Harry Crosbie before becoming home to one of the McCormacks, who are involved in property development.
The existing front boundary wall and entrance gates will also be demolished if O'Farrell gets the thumbs-up for his plan, and a new front boundary will then be built.
The record price for a house at Shrewsbury Road is €58m, which was the amount paid for Walford, the most expensive house ever sold in Ireland.
Earlier this year the O'Malleys were given the go-ahead to redevelop the former Chester Beatty library site there after a series of planning battles. They will now be able to build seven three-storey-over-basement houses on the one-acre site there, a decade after they purchased it for more than €9m.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Developers eye Harold's Cross revamp
A number of developers have expressed interest in a redevelopment of Harold's Cross village in Dublin 6, according to documents circulated by Dublin City Council. "They advised that the revitalisation of the village... was the main reason for their request" to have the right of way at the rear of the Shamrock Villas area extinguished, councillors have been told.
Landowner Derek Whelan held seven meetings of local residents to see whether they would support "a reasonably large redevelopment of the village" but the initial scheme was not progressed and no further work took place on it from October 2008. However, a smaller scheme was then considered and "informal conversations with city council planners suggested the city council considered that the village would benefit from revitalisation".
The area manager is opposed to ending the right of way, stating a determination should not be made without "specific developments being available so that the value of such a right of way can be assessed properly". Eircom had objected because a substantial Eircom plant is being considered for there. The ESB objected on the basis of both underground and overhead services, while some local residents also objected.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Landowner Derek Whelan held seven meetings of local residents to see whether they would support "a reasonably large redevelopment of the village" but the initial scheme was not progressed and no further work took place on it from October 2008. However, a smaller scheme was then considered and "informal conversations with city council planners suggested the city council considered that the village would benefit from revitalisation".
The area manager is opposed to ending the right of way, stating a determination should not be made without "specific developments being available so that the value of such a right of way can be assessed properly". Eircom had objected because a substantial Eircom plant is being considered for there. The ESB objected on the basis of both underground and overhead services, while some local residents also objected.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Company offers to meet objectors to Kerry mast http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/company-offers-to-meet-objectors-to-kerry-mast-96165.html#ixzz0L4
A COMMUNICATIONS company has offered to meet objectors to a 24-metre mast it plans to erect in Co Kerry.
Residents in the Glenbeigh area last night mounted a protest at the site earmarked by Hutchinson 3G Ireland for a mast to provide broadband internet access.
The company has applied to Kerry County Council for planning permission for the mast.
However, the council is expected to refuse the application because of its rule which bans such masts within 1km of houses and other residential buildings because of health issues.
Objectors claim there are more than 40 houses within 1km of the site on Coillte-owned land, at Ballintleave, on the Killorglin side of Glenbeigh.
Spokesperson for the objecting residents, Karen Clifford, said the vast majority of householders were opposed to the development. "We’re not anti-broadband, but we have concerns about health and safety. There are alternative ways of bringing broadband to people, such as underground fibre-optic cables, without putting people’s health in danger."
Ms Clifford welcomed Hutchinson’s willingness to meet the residents, but said they were still waiting to hear from the company.
Robert Marshall, spokesman for Hutchinson, said they were willing to meet the objectors.
"We’re prepared to discuss with them any concerns they have. We would welcome an opportunity to allay their fears and will be completely open and transparent," he said.
Mr Marshall also said their technical team found the site, between the Red Fox Inn and Dooks Golf Club, to be the best location in the area for a mast.
If the planning application is rejected, an appeal is expected to be lodged with An Bord Pleanála which has overturned the 1km rule on several occasions.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Residents in the Glenbeigh area last night mounted a protest at the site earmarked by Hutchinson 3G Ireland for a mast to provide broadband internet access.
The company has applied to Kerry County Council for planning permission for the mast.
However, the council is expected to refuse the application because of its rule which bans such masts within 1km of houses and other residential buildings because of health issues.
Objectors claim there are more than 40 houses within 1km of the site on Coillte-owned land, at Ballintleave, on the Killorglin side of Glenbeigh.
Spokesperson for the objecting residents, Karen Clifford, said the vast majority of householders were opposed to the development. "We’re not anti-broadband, but we have concerns about health and safety. There are alternative ways of bringing broadband to people, such as underground fibre-optic cables, without putting people’s health in danger."
Ms Clifford welcomed Hutchinson’s willingness to meet the residents, but said they were still waiting to hear from the company.
Robert Marshall, spokesman for Hutchinson, said they were willing to meet the objectors.
"We’re prepared to discuss with them any concerns they have. We would welcome an opportunity to allay their fears and will be completely open and transparent," he said.
Mr Marshall also said their technical team found the site, between the Red Fox Inn and Dooks Golf Club, to be the best location in the area for a mast.
If the planning application is rejected, an appeal is expected to be lodged with An Bord Pleanála which has overturned the 1km rule on several occasions.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Here we go round the chimney pot
HERITAGE AND HABITAT: Urban playgrounds have changed since the days of drab, concrete squares; the new Docklands Chimney Park is designed with input from children, and mixes old and new to vibrant effect
THERE WAS a time, in the not too distant past, when a child’s playground was an altogether different place. Standardised and regimented, they were identical right down to the potentially lethal tarmac flooring. An obligatory slide, with centrepiece set of swings; a roundabout intent on bringing your lunch back up and, if you were really lucky, a rusty rocket that barely moved despite Herculean efforts to push it.
In the last decade, the city’s playgrounds have undergone massive change, supposedly reflecting the Continental aspirations the Celtic Tiger ushered in. These new spaces are about “letting kids figure out for themselves how they want to play”, according to Mette Boye, project manager of a new park initiative in Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. The Docklands Chimney Park, which opened last month, has attempted to redefine what a play space means and who it belongs to.
“During the park’s planning we organised a series of meetings and workshops with the local community to find out what they wanted from a park in their area,” says Boye, “We thought that by getting the input of the people who would ultimately use the park, it would create a sense of ownership for them.”
Top of the list for canvassing were children themselves. Rather than quiz them about the kind of equipment they wanted, UK playground design specialists Snug and Outdoor set about asking different questions. “They sat down with the kids and asked them about the concept of play and how it makes them feel,” says Boye. So children were challenged to put a mirror under their chin, watch their reflection and try to walk in a straight line. They were also asked about whether they liked water play and encouraged to let their imaginations run amok in conjuring up their ideal playground.
The fruits of this consultation resulted in a quirky fusion of past and present, with the new park centred around a redbrick 19th-century Gasworks chimney. Originally used for coal-burning in the production of gas, the conservation report states that it is “one of the only remaining structures that symbolises the industrial history of the Docklands area”. The seemingly opposite concepts of work and play are united in the chimney itself which was incorporated into the park in more ways than one. Writer Chris Meade worked with children from City Quays National School on a poem called The Talking Chimney, lines from which have been engraved into the park’s seating. The chimney, standing at 38m (125ft), now sports a basketball hoop on one side and climbing footholds (with specially made bricks) on the other.
From a preservation and heritage point of view, there were limits to what could be done, according to Susan Cogan, an architect with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA). “We had a lot of ideas for the chimney, but there were technical limitations. One plan was to install a telescope at the top so that you could see the whole of Dublin, but structurally it wasn’t possible.”
The park also features palm trees, which were imported from Sicily. Their inclusion came about because of a childhood memory related by Mette Boye. “During the consultations, an adult told us that they remembered playing in trees and that it was one of their happiest experiences of playing as a child.”
TRADITIONALLY, PARKS in the city centre have been architectural squares such as Merrion or Fitzwilliam Squares or historical spaces such as the Garden of Remembrance or St Stephen’s Green. Suburban parks such as Herbert or Fairview Park offer a huge range of amenities and most of Dublin’s parks now offer play spaces alongside the usual football pitches or duck ponds. Gerry Breen, Dublin City Parks Superintendent, is in charge of 35 major parks in the city, many of which started life as tip heads and old quarries. He cites Bushy Park as the best example of what a city park can be and how they’ve come a long way.
“A big change came about in playgrounds about 12-15 years ago. Apart from the fact that concrete surfaces weren’t safe, the industry got more sophisticated and the range of equipment available really took off.”
Many parks started using woodchip or recycled rubber and opted for equipment for different age groups that had multiple elements to them. Instead of a rudimentary slide, it could now be housed in a tower that resembles a boat or castle, with climbing footholds, rope bridges and an abacus on the wall or compass points on the ground if the physical stuff gets too much. Mountjoy Square Park has an interactive game powered by solar panels and Bushy Park is home to the concrete bowl of a public skatepark. “It almost doesn’t matter what equipment a playground has because the real value of it for children is social,” says Breen. “It’s a safe location where they can make friends and where parents can also meet up.” Dublin City Council’s playground refurbishment programme is almost at an end, with most parks having been upgraded. No bad thing from a timing point of view, as the average cost is €300,000-€400,000 per playground, money that would be difficult to find in the current economic climate.
A key element in Dublin’s modern playgrounds is the effort to appeal to various age groups. Children have microscopic attention spans at the best of times, so holding their interest when they’ve grown out of something is crucial, rather than applying a one-size-fits all policy to equipment. The Docklands Chimney Park has tackled this in a couple of ways, says Susan Cogan.
“We wanted to focus on a couple of groups, especially young children, so we opted for the water feature and the sand area.” Apart from the paths, the Chimney park surface is comprised of sand, which works well as a safety feature beneath the climbing footholds on the chimney itself.
LOCALS WERE at first resistant to the idea of using sand in the park. “Some people thought it would be messy or hard to maintain, but we’ll be keeping an eye on things to see how well it works,” says Mette Boye. “Lots of playgrounds in continental Europe use sand surfaces so there’s no reason it can’t work here.”
The park is also aimed at young people caught in the limbo between being a child and adulthood, when social options are limited.
“We held a forum for young people and teenagers of 13 and 14 told us that there were very few places they could just meet their friends and chat. This park has no gates so it will be open all the time and will hopefully feel like a space of their own.”
With that kind of access there is a risk of anti-social behaviour or vandalism, but there will be security monitoring the park. Creating a sanctuary has merit, but on a day-to-day basis – not least because of insurance – safety is paramount to any children’s space. Gerry Breen believes that “good contractors and daily checks by staff” can help eliminate the rare incidence of accidents or injuries. The UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RSPA) carries out checks here to ensure safety standards are being enforced. Susan Cogan tells me that while the DDDA liaised with the RSPA, they were determined not to let things get too restrictive.
“Kids need to test themselves and we wanted the Chimney Park to be a rich play experience but also a place where kids can challenge themselves.”
Boulders line the park’s path, creating texture, and there is a mirrored wall at one end. Next to the chimney is a bright blue lounging wall, which serves as a backdrop to a small stage which can be used for outdoor performances.
It’s a small but striking place, dubbed – in planning terms – a “pocket park”. There are plans for a larger leisure space in the Docklands area called the Chocolate Factory Park but it’s unlikely to have the unique combination of old Dublin architecture with modern playground landscaping that the Docklands Chimney Factory Park has. “I love the way the palm trees in the park echo the verticality of the chimney,” says Cogan, “It’s whimsical and fun.” A whole new generation of Docklands children would certainly agree.
The Docklands Chimney Park is located near Grand Canal Square in Dublin’s southside Docklands
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
THERE WAS a time, in the not too distant past, when a child’s playground was an altogether different place. Standardised and regimented, they were identical right down to the potentially lethal tarmac flooring. An obligatory slide, with centrepiece set of swings; a roundabout intent on bringing your lunch back up and, if you were really lucky, a rusty rocket that barely moved despite Herculean efforts to push it.
In the last decade, the city’s playgrounds have undergone massive change, supposedly reflecting the Continental aspirations the Celtic Tiger ushered in. These new spaces are about “letting kids figure out for themselves how they want to play”, according to Mette Boye, project manager of a new park initiative in Grand Canal Dock in Dublin. The Docklands Chimney Park, which opened last month, has attempted to redefine what a play space means and who it belongs to.
“During the park’s planning we organised a series of meetings and workshops with the local community to find out what they wanted from a park in their area,” says Boye, “We thought that by getting the input of the people who would ultimately use the park, it would create a sense of ownership for them.”
Top of the list for canvassing were children themselves. Rather than quiz them about the kind of equipment they wanted, UK playground design specialists Snug and Outdoor set about asking different questions. “They sat down with the kids and asked them about the concept of play and how it makes them feel,” says Boye. So children were challenged to put a mirror under their chin, watch their reflection and try to walk in a straight line. They were also asked about whether they liked water play and encouraged to let their imaginations run amok in conjuring up their ideal playground.
The fruits of this consultation resulted in a quirky fusion of past and present, with the new park centred around a redbrick 19th-century Gasworks chimney. Originally used for coal-burning in the production of gas, the conservation report states that it is “one of the only remaining structures that symbolises the industrial history of the Docklands area”. The seemingly opposite concepts of work and play are united in the chimney itself which was incorporated into the park in more ways than one. Writer Chris Meade worked with children from City Quays National School on a poem called The Talking Chimney, lines from which have been engraved into the park’s seating. The chimney, standing at 38m (125ft), now sports a basketball hoop on one side and climbing footholds (with specially made bricks) on the other.
From a preservation and heritage point of view, there were limits to what could be done, according to Susan Cogan, an architect with the Dublin Docklands Development Authority (DDDA). “We had a lot of ideas for the chimney, but there were technical limitations. One plan was to install a telescope at the top so that you could see the whole of Dublin, but structurally it wasn’t possible.”
The park also features palm trees, which were imported from Sicily. Their inclusion came about because of a childhood memory related by Mette Boye. “During the consultations, an adult told us that they remembered playing in trees and that it was one of their happiest experiences of playing as a child.”
TRADITIONALLY, PARKS in the city centre have been architectural squares such as Merrion or Fitzwilliam Squares or historical spaces such as the Garden of Remembrance or St Stephen’s Green. Suburban parks such as Herbert or Fairview Park offer a huge range of amenities and most of Dublin’s parks now offer play spaces alongside the usual football pitches or duck ponds. Gerry Breen, Dublin City Parks Superintendent, is in charge of 35 major parks in the city, many of which started life as tip heads and old quarries. He cites Bushy Park as the best example of what a city park can be and how they’ve come a long way.
“A big change came about in playgrounds about 12-15 years ago. Apart from the fact that concrete surfaces weren’t safe, the industry got more sophisticated and the range of equipment available really took off.”
Many parks started using woodchip or recycled rubber and opted for equipment for different age groups that had multiple elements to them. Instead of a rudimentary slide, it could now be housed in a tower that resembles a boat or castle, with climbing footholds, rope bridges and an abacus on the wall or compass points on the ground if the physical stuff gets too much. Mountjoy Square Park has an interactive game powered by solar panels and Bushy Park is home to the concrete bowl of a public skatepark. “It almost doesn’t matter what equipment a playground has because the real value of it for children is social,” says Breen. “It’s a safe location where they can make friends and where parents can also meet up.” Dublin City Council’s playground refurbishment programme is almost at an end, with most parks having been upgraded. No bad thing from a timing point of view, as the average cost is €300,000-€400,000 per playground, money that would be difficult to find in the current economic climate.
A key element in Dublin’s modern playgrounds is the effort to appeal to various age groups. Children have microscopic attention spans at the best of times, so holding their interest when they’ve grown out of something is crucial, rather than applying a one-size-fits all policy to equipment. The Docklands Chimney Park has tackled this in a couple of ways, says Susan Cogan.
“We wanted to focus on a couple of groups, especially young children, so we opted for the water feature and the sand area.” Apart from the paths, the Chimney park surface is comprised of sand, which works well as a safety feature beneath the climbing footholds on the chimney itself.
LOCALS WERE at first resistant to the idea of using sand in the park. “Some people thought it would be messy or hard to maintain, but we’ll be keeping an eye on things to see how well it works,” says Mette Boye. “Lots of playgrounds in continental Europe use sand surfaces so there’s no reason it can’t work here.”
The park is also aimed at young people caught in the limbo between being a child and adulthood, when social options are limited.
“We held a forum for young people and teenagers of 13 and 14 told us that there were very few places they could just meet their friends and chat. This park has no gates so it will be open all the time and will hopefully feel like a space of their own.”
With that kind of access there is a risk of anti-social behaviour or vandalism, but there will be security monitoring the park. Creating a sanctuary has merit, but on a day-to-day basis – not least because of insurance – safety is paramount to any children’s space. Gerry Breen believes that “good contractors and daily checks by staff” can help eliminate the rare incidence of accidents or injuries. The UK-based Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RSPA) carries out checks here to ensure safety standards are being enforced. Susan Cogan tells me that while the DDDA liaised with the RSPA, they were determined not to let things get too restrictive.
“Kids need to test themselves and we wanted the Chimney Park to be a rich play experience but also a place where kids can challenge themselves.”
Boulders line the park’s path, creating texture, and there is a mirrored wall at one end. Next to the chimney is a bright blue lounging wall, which serves as a backdrop to a small stage which can be used for outdoor performances.
It’s a small but striking place, dubbed – in planning terms – a “pocket park”. There are plans for a larger leisure space in the Docklands area called the Chocolate Factory Park but it’s unlikely to have the unique combination of old Dublin architecture with modern playground landscaping that the Docklands Chimney Factory Park has. “I love the way the palm trees in the park echo the verticality of the chimney,” says Cogan, “It’s whimsical and fun.” A whole new generation of Docklands children would certainly agree.
The Docklands Chimney Park is located near Grand Canal Square in Dublin’s southside Docklands
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Irish architects maintain their winning touch
IRISH ARCHITECTS may be on their knees, with up to half of the profession made redundant or working three-day weeks due to the collapse of the construction industry here, but with more time on their hands, they can enter competitions abroad – and win them.
Dublin-based O’Donnell Tuomey have just won a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) competition to design a new students’ union building at the London School of Economics (LSE), beating such strong contenders as David Chipperfield and Danish practice 3XN, previously known as Nielsen, Neilsen and Neilsen.
The multiple-award-winning Irish firm took the commission for this £21 million (€24.3 million) project. LSE director of planning Julian Robinson hailed their winning scheme as “sensitive, erudite and engaging” and said it had the potential to become a world-class piece of university architecture.
LSE students’ union general secretary Aled Dilwyn Fisher said O’Donnell Tuomey had shown that they were open to further discussion with the students to “deliver the building we need” – one that would “glow with light and activity at night, and be engaging, open and social at all times”.
The daring angular design for this pivotal building on LSE’s main Aldwych campus, in the heart of London, is intended to replace a hotchpotch of buildings that date from 1903, when they were built as the Strand Union Workhouse Infirmary.
Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, who both studied and worked in London in the early 1980s, will be glad to get the extra work: just over two months ago, their £16 million (€18.5 million) Photographers Gallery in Soho was cancelled because its promoters couldn’t raise the money to build it.
“We are delighted to win this opportunity to build a significant building in London, the city of our second schooling in architecture”, they told BD magazine. “We hope to make a special building for the students’ union, one that derives from and contributes to the characteristic qualities of the LSE.”
Recent O’Donnell Tuomey-designed buildings include the colourful “Swiss cheese” Seán O’Casey Community Centre in East Wall, Dublin, and the Timberyard social housing on the otherwise harsh Coombe bypass in the Liberties, which was named as Best Housing Scheme in the recent Irish Architecture Awards. There is nothing new about Irish architects winning commissions for prestigious projects overseas. One of the great coups happened in 2003, when Dublin-based Heneghan Peng beat 1,500 entrants from 83 countries to win the commission to design the Grand Egyptian Museum at the Pyramids of Giza.
Last April, this cutting-edge practice – headed by Róisín Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng – won another competition for a new bridge over the River Rhine, near one of Germany’s most sensitive sites, the “Lorelei” rock, whose legend was immortalised by Richard Wagner’s Nibelungen; their trick was to make it almost invisible.
Heneghan Peng also won competitions closer to home, for a new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway in Co Antrim – a scheme now reinstated after being displaced (briefly) by a DUP-promoted private sector alternative – and for one of the new bridges planned for the 2012 Olympics site in London.
Ironically, the carnage on the home front is happening at a time when the international profile of Irish architects has never been higher. Most spectacular was the achievement of Grafton Architects, run by Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, in winning the 2008 World Building of the Year award for their Bocconi University project in Milan.
Meanwhile, Murray Ó Laoire won joint third prize in an international competition to re-design Richard Wagner Platz in Nuremberg, right in front of the city’s opera house. Joined by former colleague, landscape architect Remi Salles of Bordeaux, their entry was was among 50 shortlisted in the competition.
Murray Ó Laoire have had an international presence since 1992 when they opened an office in Moscow, later expanding to Bratislava in Slovakia and Aachen in Germany. Headed by Hugh Murray and Seán Ó Laoire – currently president of the RIAI – they’ve been cutting back lately due to the recession.
Internationally, the outlook is almost as bleak as it is in Ireland. The latest quarterly survey by the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) found that more than 60 per cent of the respondents judged the current picture “bad” or “very bad”, compared to 46 per cent in April, while only 8 per cent thought it was a “good” or “very good”.
Not surprisingly, the ACE has called for “an immediate increased public investment in sustainable construction and, in particular, energy-efficiency upgrading of existing buildings” as the most effective way of helping the profession – a line that would be enthusiastically endorsed by Seán Ó Laoire and RIBA president Sunand Prasad.
In the meantime, expect architects to be scouring the EU’s Official Journal and their own professional publications for competition news.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Dublin-based O’Donnell Tuomey have just won a Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) competition to design a new students’ union building at the London School of Economics (LSE), beating such strong contenders as David Chipperfield and Danish practice 3XN, previously known as Nielsen, Neilsen and Neilsen.
The multiple-award-winning Irish firm took the commission for this £21 million (€24.3 million) project. LSE director of planning Julian Robinson hailed their winning scheme as “sensitive, erudite and engaging” and said it had the potential to become a world-class piece of university architecture.
LSE students’ union general secretary Aled Dilwyn Fisher said O’Donnell Tuomey had shown that they were open to further discussion with the students to “deliver the building we need” – one that would “glow with light and activity at night, and be engaging, open and social at all times”.
The daring angular design for this pivotal building on LSE’s main Aldwych campus, in the heart of London, is intended to replace a hotchpotch of buildings that date from 1903, when they were built as the Strand Union Workhouse Infirmary.
Sheila O’Donnell and John Tuomey, who both studied and worked in London in the early 1980s, will be glad to get the extra work: just over two months ago, their £16 million (€18.5 million) Photographers Gallery in Soho was cancelled because its promoters couldn’t raise the money to build it.
“We are delighted to win this opportunity to build a significant building in London, the city of our second schooling in architecture”, they told BD magazine. “We hope to make a special building for the students’ union, one that derives from and contributes to the characteristic qualities of the LSE.”
Recent O’Donnell Tuomey-designed buildings include the colourful “Swiss cheese” Seán O’Casey Community Centre in East Wall, Dublin, and the Timberyard social housing on the otherwise harsh Coombe bypass in the Liberties, which was named as Best Housing Scheme in the recent Irish Architecture Awards. There is nothing new about Irish architects winning commissions for prestigious projects overseas. One of the great coups happened in 2003, when Dublin-based Heneghan Peng beat 1,500 entrants from 83 countries to win the commission to design the Grand Egyptian Museum at the Pyramids of Giza.
Last April, this cutting-edge practice – headed by Róisín Heneghan and Shih-fu Peng – won another competition for a new bridge over the River Rhine, near one of Germany’s most sensitive sites, the “Lorelei” rock, whose legend was immortalised by Richard Wagner’s Nibelungen; their trick was to make it almost invisible.
Heneghan Peng also won competitions closer to home, for a new visitor centre at the Giant’s Causeway in Co Antrim – a scheme now reinstated after being displaced (briefly) by a DUP-promoted private sector alternative – and for one of the new bridges planned for the 2012 Olympics site in London.
Ironically, the carnage on the home front is happening at a time when the international profile of Irish architects has never been higher. Most spectacular was the achievement of Grafton Architects, run by Shelley McNamara and Yvonne Farrell, in winning the 2008 World Building of the Year award for their Bocconi University project in Milan.
Meanwhile, Murray Ó Laoire won joint third prize in an international competition to re-design Richard Wagner Platz in Nuremberg, right in front of the city’s opera house. Joined by former colleague, landscape architect Remi Salles of Bordeaux, their entry was was among 50 shortlisted in the competition.
Murray Ó Laoire have had an international presence since 1992 when they opened an office in Moscow, later expanding to Bratislava in Slovakia and Aachen in Germany. Headed by Hugh Murray and Seán Ó Laoire – currently president of the RIAI – they’ve been cutting back lately due to the recession.
Internationally, the outlook is almost as bleak as it is in Ireland. The latest quarterly survey by the Architects’ Council of Europe (ACE) found that more than 60 per cent of the respondents judged the current picture “bad” or “very bad”, compared to 46 per cent in April, while only 8 per cent thought it was a “good” or “very good”.
Not surprisingly, the ACE has called for “an immediate increased public investment in sustainable construction and, in particular, energy-efficiency upgrading of existing buildings” as the most effective way of helping the profession – a line that would be enthusiastically endorsed by Seán Ó Laoire and RIBA president Sunand Prasad.
In the meantime, expect architects to be scouring the EU’s Official Journal and their own professional publications for competition news.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Kilkenny support for route decision
THE STATE-SPONSORED Heritage Council and Kilkenny Archaeological Society have both given a qualified welcome to An Bord Pleanála’s decision calling for the medieval city’s central access route to be radically redesigned.
Kilkenny County Council had proposed an elevated cable-stayed bridge over the river Nore as part of the route, but the appeals board said it would be “inappropriate for this sensitive location within the historic core of Kilkenny”.
Although it accepted the principle of the road while rejecting extensions of the route to Loughmacask and the town’s western environs, the board said it should be redesigned as an “urban street”, integrated with the existing street network.
“It is considered that the route of Phase 1 of the proposed scheme is not appropriate as a major traffic artery or inner relief road because of the physical structures proposed and the additional traffic that would be attracted to traverse the city centre.”
Referring to the bridge, the board said this should be “appropriately designed . . . to integrate into and enhance its riverside context to take account of its sensitive location in views of Kilkenny Castle”. A revised environmental impact statement is also required.
Commenting on the planning board’s “provisional” decision, Heritage Council chief executive Michael Starrett said its bridge and road requirements “reflect and take account of the heritage issues and historic setting of Kilkenny”.
Kilkenny Archaeological Society, which had also opposed the original plans, said An Bord Pleanála had “almost entirely rejected the scheme and . . . there is no approval in place for the project”, which was condemned by archaeologists.
“This is a complex, nuanced and somewhat unusual decision, but it is clear that objections of the country’s heritage organisations have been entirely vindicated. In particular, the concept of an inner relief road as a major traffic artery being constructed through the oldest quarter of the walled city has also been rejected.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Kilkenny County Council had proposed an elevated cable-stayed bridge over the river Nore as part of the route, but the appeals board said it would be “inappropriate for this sensitive location within the historic core of Kilkenny”.
Although it accepted the principle of the road while rejecting extensions of the route to Loughmacask and the town’s western environs, the board said it should be redesigned as an “urban street”, integrated with the existing street network.
“It is considered that the route of Phase 1 of the proposed scheme is not appropriate as a major traffic artery or inner relief road because of the physical structures proposed and the additional traffic that would be attracted to traverse the city centre.”
Referring to the bridge, the board said this should be “appropriately designed . . . to integrate into and enhance its riverside context to take account of its sensitive location in views of Kilkenny Castle”. A revised environmental impact statement is also required.
Commenting on the planning board’s “provisional” decision, Heritage Council chief executive Michael Starrett said its bridge and road requirements “reflect and take account of the heritage issues and historic setting of Kilkenny”.
Kilkenny Archaeological Society, which had also opposed the original plans, said An Bord Pleanála had “almost entirely rejected the scheme and . . . there is no approval in place for the project”, which was condemned by archaeologists.
“This is a complex, nuanced and somewhat unusual decision, but it is clear that objections of the country’s heritage organisations have been entirely vindicated. In particular, the concept of an inner relief road as a major traffic artery being constructed through the oldest quarter of the walled city has also been rejected.”
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
What next in a land divided?
EVERYTHING IS quiet in Glengad. The sun is threatening to break through the clouds scudding over Broadhaven Bay and nearby a group of sand martins are dancing on the wind. In the distance, the quartzite peaks of the Nephin Beg mountains are obscured by mist. The silence is broken only by the faint drone of a generator and the crunch of a digger filling in a large trench on the beach.
Just a few days ago, the contrast couldn’t have been greater. For the best part of the past month, this isolated area was transformed into one of the most heavily policed areas in the State as the Corrib gas project entered a crucial phase.
The pipe-laying ship, the Solitaire , arrived in what was a massive show of force, surrounded by Garda aqua units, private security boats and the Navy. On land, the approach roads swarmed with more than 200 gardaí and the same number of security men to prevent protesters disrupting the project.
In the end, this latest phase was completed. The 83km pipe now connects this north Mayo community to the Corrib gas reservoir, with just 9km to go before it reaches its destination, the gas terminal at Bellanaboy.
But while most of the security staff, gardaí and protesters have moved on, it has left behind something more disturbing. This is a community increasingly under strain, riven by deep divisions over whether the project should go ahead or be relocated elsewhere. The tensions have severed links between families, broken lifelong friendships and bred a culture of mistrust between the residents opposed to it and those who accept it. Neighbours, work colleagues, even members of the clergy are increasingly defined by their support or opposition to the project. Those who support the project welcome the jobs (1,000 during construction; about 50 longer term) and economic boost it promises; those opposed to it say it threatens the health and safety of families right across the area.
IN ESSENCE, the Corrib gas controversy resembles a complex and emotional morality tale that speaks of our elemental attachment to the land. But it’s also a very modern struggle between our unyielding hunger for energy and the need to protect the environment.
“It takes its toll, of course it does,” says Colm Henry (60), one of the protesters, looking out the front window of his bungalow at Glengad. Down below, the diggers are filling in the pipe trench, protected behind high wire fencing and security cameras. “It has created tensions and bad feelings. People are more wary of each other. The atmosphere has changed. It’s a pity, but that’s the way it is.
“Shell has been going around offering money, which some people find hard to refuse. But I can’t see how this benefits the community in one way.” If it was safe, he says, he would support the project, but he feels he’s living within the “killing zone” of the pipeline should it ever rupture.
“Now, we feel like we’re living in an open prison because we oppose it. We’re basically under surveillance with cameras pointed at the house here, watching everything we do. I can’t go down to the beach with my daughters or grandchildren. I’m no radical, we’re from a big Fianna Fáil family. I’m just standing up for my family.”
At a house a few fields away, and even closer to the pipeline, the mood is very different. The owner, who declines to give his name, says he is in favour of the proposal and feels reassured about the safety of the project.
“They’ve done a fairly good job on the safety side of things,” he says. “I don’t know why they keep protesting. There are lots of dangers out there; every time you drive, you’re at risk. In Galway there are big fuel drums near residential areas and no one says anything. If you looked at things that way, you wouldn’t get up in the morning.” He says most are in favour of the project but are afraid to speak out.
“Most people here, maybe 70 per cent, are in favour of it. But they don’t want to be seen to be on the wrong side of the rope, if you know what I mean. As it is, there are friends who cross over to the other side of the road when they see you, or drink in different pubs now. Hopefully, it will settle down eventually, but I’m not so sure it ever will.”
Farther along the road, towards the village of Rossport, the signs of opposition become more obvious. “Stop Shell” is daubed on the wall of a house, while “no raw gas” signs appear with increasing regularity on the electricity poles.
On the roof of an abandoned cottage is another slogan: “Community is our strength”. In the circumstances, it sounds more like an appeal than a statement.
It’s almost impossible to gauge accurately the level of support or opposition for the project. In outlying areas, such as Belmullet, where the hotels, guesthouses and pubs are full most nights of the week with the 1,000 workers employed on the project, opinion on the project is largely positive. For the isolated communities directly affected by the project, the level of support depends on who you talk to.
What is clear is that the numbers signing up to give their consent to the project are significant. Of the 21 landowners directly affected, excluding areas of commonage, Shell says 15 have signed agreements for their land to be used in exchange for compensation. When local fishermen were offered compensation for disruption caused by pipe-laying this summer, the vast majority of the 40 or so affected opted to take payments of between €30,000 and €40,000 each; only a handful refused.
One thing everyone agrees on is the need for gas. Located at the end of Europe’s networks of gas pipelines, more than 90 per cent of our gas comes via interconnectors with the UK. Kinsale, which used to meet about half of our need, now meets less than 10 per cent of it.
The Corrib field, a medium-sized reservoir in global terms, will supply up to 60 per cent of Ireland’s gas at peak production, according to a report from Goodbody economic consultants. The project is now around 80 per cent complete. If planning authorities agree to a modified route for 9km of pipeline over land to a processing terminal at Bellanaboy, the gas could be flowing within a year and a half.
LOCAL PEOPLE SAY the sense of excitement when gas was first discovered off the coast almost 15 years ago was palpable.
“Many of us emigrated over the years and worked on the building sites in the UK and elsewhere, so we began to think there would be possibilities here,” says Vincent McGrath, one of the Rossport Five who was jailed in 2005 for breaching a court injunction preventing him interfering with the project.
Things soon turned sour. They weren’t helped by a public relations fiasco involving the original backer of the project, Enterprise Oil, which failed to engage in any meaningful way with the local community.
“You had people coming in with English accents and wearing shades, waving permits around and digging test trenches,” admits a Government source. “Those earlier years of the project led to a real breakdown in trust which was always going to be difficult to regain.” When the Rossport Five were detained, community relations with Shell – which had taken over the project – were at an all-time low. The company admitted it got it wrong and quickly changed tack.
Following a report from the Government-appointed mediator, Peter Cassells, Shell agreed to address community concerns by lowering the pressure in onshore pipelines and proposing a new route, twice the distance – 140 metres away – from occupied housing. It also launched a positive public relations drive by holding regular tours of the new terminal for local groups and providing grants for local community groups and students.
The changes, though, have failed to appease groups such as Pobal Chill Chomain, the main group representing local opposition, as well as Shell to Sea, a more radical grouping of environmentalists and students who, for the most part, are from outside of the area. They feel they’re being steam-rolled into submission through a combination of Shell, the Garda and other State agencies. “We’re not against gas being brought ashore,” says McGrath, a member of the group.
“Our issue is health and safety and the environment. As citizens we should be entitled to protection in this regard by the State, but the rules are being bent for Shell all over the place.”
The arrival of gardaí and private security has raised tensions here to a new level in recent weeks. It has also led to a series of murky and bizarre incidents. Willie Corduff, one of the Rossport Five, alleged he was beaten up by security staff as he protested under a truck at the Shell site in late April. The allegations were rejected by Integrate Risk Management Services (IRMS), a private security firm employed by Shell.
Events took another twist when Pat O’Donnell, a fisherman known as “the chief” and a prominent critic of the project, claimed his boat had been sunk after being boarded by masked men with foreign accents in the dead of night. Gardaí, however, said there was no sign of any vessel when they responded to a rescue call. Again, IRMS was blamed.
To some protesters, the incidents are a sign of heavy-handed tactics being used by the oil and gas multinational. Gardaí say privately the incidents are groundless and are part of a strategy to try to turn public opinion against Shell and the Corrib project.
Sitting in his jeep, looking out towards the bay where the incident is said to have occurred, O’Donnell is spitting with anger. He is due in court the next morning for a public order offence. Another example, he says, of being victimised by gardaí.
“I’ve been hospitalised, bruised, I’ve had my ribs and teeth broken,” he says, pulling on a cigarette. “The windows of my boat have been smashed earlier this year, and my boat was attacked and sunk.” He says he’s aware that some in the community portray him as an extreme and fringe element of the protesters. He insists he’s just protecting his family.
“One of my boats is sunk, three more have been confiscated. I’ve signed on the dole for the first time with my son. That’s not a life I want. I just want to stop this project for the sake of my children and the community.”
Back at Glengad, the job of burying the gas pipeline under tonnes of rubble and rock continues. As you approach the site, surrounded by layers of security, cameras and high metal gates, the first sight of the pipe feels almost anti-climactic. Buried about seven or eight metres under the ground, the pipe is about 20 inches wide and one inch thick. Dwarfed by the machinery and security around it, it seems difficult to believe this is what much of the fuss is about. The pipe will eventually be covered with several layers of protective coating, including plastic and concrete, to protect it from external corrosion, according to Shell.
“I have people who are a bit embarrassed when they see it,” says Colin Joyce, a spokesman for Shell. “I’ve brought local landowners to the Netherlands, where they’ve lived with these pipes for the past 50 or 60 years. When you ask a farmer what they think about it, they say, ‘I don’t care. It doesn’t affect me’.” That sentiment does little to ease the fears of Vincent McGrath. He says the local pipeline is potentially lethal, even if it runs at half the pressure it was designed for. “We’re the ones who’ll be living with this. There were 15 explosions in Bord Gais pipes over the past 12 years. A house was destroyed in Blackrock in Dublin a few months ago due to a gas pipe, which was around 1.8 bars of pressure. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
IF ANYONE WAS under the impression that the protests were drawing to a close since the pipes have been laid at sea, they would be mistaken.
Construction of the 9km onshore pipeline is due to begin later this year, if An Bord Pleanála gives its approval to the new route. It’s a relatively easy project from an engineering point of view, but the protests could easily dwarf anything that has been seen to date.
“I do fear for what will happen,” says McGrath. “The fact that we’re talking to Shell shows we’re committed to finding a solution. I can see legal challenges, constitutional challenges. The opposition on the ground will be as strong as ever.”
However, not everyone feels gloomy about the future. Gerry Coyle, a Fine Gael councillor who topped the popular vote, is convinced that the compromise and consultation will yet yield a critical mass of support for the project and help ease much of the tension and ill-feeling in the area.
“Look around here, it’s absolutely beautiful,” says Coyle, pointing to the rolling expanse of Broadwater Bay. “Consultation is the key. Yes, let there be gas, let there be tourism, let the whole area benefit.
“There can be a solution that will be to most people’s agreement, if we are willing to compromise on both sides.”
It may be wishful thinking. But the residents of Rossport, Glengad and other villages in Chill Chomain parish must hope he’s right.
THE KEY ISSUES
PIPELINE ROUTE
Shell says: The selected route strikes the best balance between the competing priorities of local community concerns, environmental issues and the technical aspects of the project. The proposed route is 140 metres from the nearest occupied house, twice as far away from occupied housing compared to the previously approved route.
Protesters say: The pipeline still runs too close to residential areas, placing dozens of homes in potential danger, and should be relocated to lesser populated areas such as Glinsk. In addition, it crosses the key roads in several places, potentially hindering the movement of people in the event of an explosion.
GAS PRESSURE
Shell says: The pressure running through the pipes has been reduced by half from 345 bars (the tyre pressure of a typical car tyre is around two bars) to a maximum of 144 bars in residential areas, following concerns from locals. The normal operating pressure in the pipeline will be approximately 120 bars and this will reduce as gas in the Corrib reservoir naturally depletes.
Protesters say: The pressure is still too high for dozens of houses in the path of the onshore pipeline. Even with gas running through pipes at a reduced level of 144 bars, any houses within a 230-metre radius could “burn spontaneously” from heat radiation. They say this has been accepted by consultants employed by Shell at a recent planning hearing. At present, the pipe runs within 170 metres of the many houses.
PROCESS AT SEA OR ON LAND
Shell says : Onshore processing of Corrib gas is the best option for a field of this type and size from a safety, environmental and economic point of view. The harsh Atlantic location and deep water make Corrib unsuitable for offshore processing. An offshore platform would still require an onshore terminal, albeit a smaller one, and a high-pressure onshore pipeline.
Protesters say: Some local groups accept that the gas may need to be processed on land, although Shell To Sea is opposed and says the processing terminal is on unstable bogland and will release harmful gases into the atmosphere. It says there are at least 16 houses affected in the immediate vicinity. In addition, it says waste-water and other materials are in danger of entering Carrowmore Lake, which feeds the water supply of the Erris area.
WE’RE SELLING OFF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TOO CHEAPLY
Shell says: Successive Irish governments, like many others in Europe, have chosen to invite private companies to shoulder the significant financial risks associated with exploration. About 140 wells have been drilled by different companies over the past 30 years at a cost of €2 billion. Despite this drilling, Ireland has only one gas field in production – the Kinsale field, which is nearly depleted. Once in production, the Corrib Gas Partners will pay 25 per cent tax on profits, twice the rate of normal corporation tax.
Protesters say: Groups like Shell to Sea say that only Cameroon has a lower share of revenues from its oil and gas reserves compared to Ireland. It says deals negotiated by former minister Ray Burke and other ministers mean there is no State shareholding in natural resources, and no automatic bonus or royalty payments.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Just a few days ago, the contrast couldn’t have been greater. For the best part of the past month, this isolated area was transformed into one of the most heavily policed areas in the State as the Corrib gas project entered a crucial phase.
The pipe-laying ship, the Solitaire , arrived in what was a massive show of force, surrounded by Garda aqua units, private security boats and the Navy. On land, the approach roads swarmed with more than 200 gardaí and the same number of security men to prevent protesters disrupting the project.
In the end, this latest phase was completed. The 83km pipe now connects this north Mayo community to the Corrib gas reservoir, with just 9km to go before it reaches its destination, the gas terminal at Bellanaboy.
But while most of the security staff, gardaí and protesters have moved on, it has left behind something more disturbing. This is a community increasingly under strain, riven by deep divisions over whether the project should go ahead or be relocated elsewhere. The tensions have severed links between families, broken lifelong friendships and bred a culture of mistrust between the residents opposed to it and those who accept it. Neighbours, work colleagues, even members of the clergy are increasingly defined by their support or opposition to the project. Those who support the project welcome the jobs (1,000 during construction; about 50 longer term) and economic boost it promises; those opposed to it say it threatens the health and safety of families right across the area.
IN ESSENCE, the Corrib gas controversy resembles a complex and emotional morality tale that speaks of our elemental attachment to the land. But it’s also a very modern struggle between our unyielding hunger for energy and the need to protect the environment.
“It takes its toll, of course it does,” says Colm Henry (60), one of the protesters, looking out the front window of his bungalow at Glengad. Down below, the diggers are filling in the pipe trench, protected behind high wire fencing and security cameras. “It has created tensions and bad feelings. People are more wary of each other. The atmosphere has changed. It’s a pity, but that’s the way it is.
“Shell has been going around offering money, which some people find hard to refuse. But I can’t see how this benefits the community in one way.” If it was safe, he says, he would support the project, but he feels he’s living within the “killing zone” of the pipeline should it ever rupture.
“Now, we feel like we’re living in an open prison because we oppose it. We’re basically under surveillance with cameras pointed at the house here, watching everything we do. I can’t go down to the beach with my daughters or grandchildren. I’m no radical, we’re from a big Fianna Fáil family. I’m just standing up for my family.”
At a house a few fields away, and even closer to the pipeline, the mood is very different. The owner, who declines to give his name, says he is in favour of the proposal and feels reassured about the safety of the project.
“They’ve done a fairly good job on the safety side of things,” he says. “I don’t know why they keep protesting. There are lots of dangers out there; every time you drive, you’re at risk. In Galway there are big fuel drums near residential areas and no one says anything. If you looked at things that way, you wouldn’t get up in the morning.” He says most are in favour of the project but are afraid to speak out.
“Most people here, maybe 70 per cent, are in favour of it. But they don’t want to be seen to be on the wrong side of the rope, if you know what I mean. As it is, there are friends who cross over to the other side of the road when they see you, or drink in different pubs now. Hopefully, it will settle down eventually, but I’m not so sure it ever will.”
Farther along the road, towards the village of Rossport, the signs of opposition become more obvious. “Stop Shell” is daubed on the wall of a house, while “no raw gas” signs appear with increasing regularity on the electricity poles.
On the roof of an abandoned cottage is another slogan: “Community is our strength”. In the circumstances, it sounds more like an appeal than a statement.
It’s almost impossible to gauge accurately the level of support or opposition for the project. In outlying areas, such as Belmullet, where the hotels, guesthouses and pubs are full most nights of the week with the 1,000 workers employed on the project, opinion on the project is largely positive. For the isolated communities directly affected by the project, the level of support depends on who you talk to.
What is clear is that the numbers signing up to give their consent to the project are significant. Of the 21 landowners directly affected, excluding areas of commonage, Shell says 15 have signed agreements for their land to be used in exchange for compensation. When local fishermen were offered compensation for disruption caused by pipe-laying this summer, the vast majority of the 40 or so affected opted to take payments of between €30,000 and €40,000 each; only a handful refused.
One thing everyone agrees on is the need for gas. Located at the end of Europe’s networks of gas pipelines, more than 90 per cent of our gas comes via interconnectors with the UK. Kinsale, which used to meet about half of our need, now meets less than 10 per cent of it.
The Corrib field, a medium-sized reservoir in global terms, will supply up to 60 per cent of Ireland’s gas at peak production, according to a report from Goodbody economic consultants. The project is now around 80 per cent complete. If planning authorities agree to a modified route for 9km of pipeline over land to a processing terminal at Bellanaboy, the gas could be flowing within a year and a half.
LOCAL PEOPLE SAY the sense of excitement when gas was first discovered off the coast almost 15 years ago was palpable.
“Many of us emigrated over the years and worked on the building sites in the UK and elsewhere, so we began to think there would be possibilities here,” says Vincent McGrath, one of the Rossport Five who was jailed in 2005 for breaching a court injunction preventing him interfering with the project.
Things soon turned sour. They weren’t helped by a public relations fiasco involving the original backer of the project, Enterprise Oil, which failed to engage in any meaningful way with the local community.
“You had people coming in with English accents and wearing shades, waving permits around and digging test trenches,” admits a Government source. “Those earlier years of the project led to a real breakdown in trust which was always going to be difficult to regain.” When the Rossport Five were detained, community relations with Shell – which had taken over the project – were at an all-time low. The company admitted it got it wrong and quickly changed tack.
Following a report from the Government-appointed mediator, Peter Cassells, Shell agreed to address community concerns by lowering the pressure in onshore pipelines and proposing a new route, twice the distance – 140 metres away – from occupied housing. It also launched a positive public relations drive by holding regular tours of the new terminal for local groups and providing grants for local community groups and students.
The changes, though, have failed to appease groups such as Pobal Chill Chomain, the main group representing local opposition, as well as Shell to Sea, a more radical grouping of environmentalists and students who, for the most part, are from outside of the area. They feel they’re being steam-rolled into submission through a combination of Shell, the Garda and other State agencies. “We’re not against gas being brought ashore,” says McGrath, a member of the group.
“Our issue is health and safety and the environment. As citizens we should be entitled to protection in this regard by the State, but the rules are being bent for Shell all over the place.”
The arrival of gardaí and private security has raised tensions here to a new level in recent weeks. It has also led to a series of murky and bizarre incidents. Willie Corduff, one of the Rossport Five, alleged he was beaten up by security staff as he protested under a truck at the Shell site in late April. The allegations were rejected by Integrate Risk Management Services (IRMS), a private security firm employed by Shell.
Events took another twist when Pat O’Donnell, a fisherman known as “the chief” and a prominent critic of the project, claimed his boat had been sunk after being boarded by masked men with foreign accents in the dead of night. Gardaí, however, said there was no sign of any vessel when they responded to a rescue call. Again, IRMS was blamed.
To some protesters, the incidents are a sign of heavy-handed tactics being used by the oil and gas multinational. Gardaí say privately the incidents are groundless and are part of a strategy to try to turn public opinion against Shell and the Corrib project.
Sitting in his jeep, looking out towards the bay where the incident is said to have occurred, O’Donnell is spitting with anger. He is due in court the next morning for a public order offence. Another example, he says, of being victimised by gardaí.
“I’ve been hospitalised, bruised, I’ve had my ribs and teeth broken,” he says, pulling on a cigarette. “The windows of my boat have been smashed earlier this year, and my boat was attacked and sunk.” He says he’s aware that some in the community portray him as an extreme and fringe element of the protesters. He insists he’s just protecting his family.
“One of my boats is sunk, three more have been confiscated. I’ve signed on the dole for the first time with my son. That’s not a life I want. I just want to stop this project for the sake of my children and the community.”
Back at Glengad, the job of burying the gas pipeline under tonnes of rubble and rock continues. As you approach the site, surrounded by layers of security, cameras and high metal gates, the first sight of the pipe feels almost anti-climactic. Buried about seven or eight metres under the ground, the pipe is about 20 inches wide and one inch thick. Dwarfed by the machinery and security around it, it seems difficult to believe this is what much of the fuss is about. The pipe will eventually be covered with several layers of protective coating, including plastic and concrete, to protect it from external corrosion, according to Shell.
“I have people who are a bit embarrassed when they see it,” says Colin Joyce, a spokesman for Shell. “I’ve brought local landowners to the Netherlands, where they’ve lived with these pipes for the past 50 or 60 years. When you ask a farmer what they think about it, they say, ‘I don’t care. It doesn’t affect me’.” That sentiment does little to ease the fears of Vincent McGrath. He says the local pipeline is potentially lethal, even if it runs at half the pressure it was designed for. “We’re the ones who’ll be living with this. There were 15 explosions in Bord Gais pipes over the past 12 years. A house was destroyed in Blackrock in Dublin a few months ago due to a gas pipe, which was around 1.8 bars of pressure. That’s what we’re dealing with.”
IF ANYONE WAS under the impression that the protests were drawing to a close since the pipes have been laid at sea, they would be mistaken.
Construction of the 9km onshore pipeline is due to begin later this year, if An Bord Pleanála gives its approval to the new route. It’s a relatively easy project from an engineering point of view, but the protests could easily dwarf anything that has been seen to date.
“I do fear for what will happen,” says McGrath. “The fact that we’re talking to Shell shows we’re committed to finding a solution. I can see legal challenges, constitutional challenges. The opposition on the ground will be as strong as ever.”
However, not everyone feels gloomy about the future. Gerry Coyle, a Fine Gael councillor who topped the popular vote, is convinced that the compromise and consultation will yet yield a critical mass of support for the project and help ease much of the tension and ill-feeling in the area.
“Look around here, it’s absolutely beautiful,” says Coyle, pointing to the rolling expanse of Broadwater Bay. “Consultation is the key. Yes, let there be gas, let there be tourism, let the whole area benefit.
“There can be a solution that will be to most people’s agreement, if we are willing to compromise on both sides.”
It may be wishful thinking. But the residents of Rossport, Glengad and other villages in Chill Chomain parish must hope he’s right.
THE KEY ISSUES
PIPELINE ROUTE
Shell says: The selected route strikes the best balance between the competing priorities of local community concerns, environmental issues and the technical aspects of the project. The proposed route is 140 metres from the nearest occupied house, twice as far away from occupied housing compared to the previously approved route.
Protesters say: The pipeline still runs too close to residential areas, placing dozens of homes in potential danger, and should be relocated to lesser populated areas such as Glinsk. In addition, it crosses the key roads in several places, potentially hindering the movement of people in the event of an explosion.
GAS PRESSURE
Shell says: The pressure running through the pipes has been reduced by half from 345 bars (the tyre pressure of a typical car tyre is around two bars) to a maximum of 144 bars in residential areas, following concerns from locals. The normal operating pressure in the pipeline will be approximately 120 bars and this will reduce as gas in the Corrib reservoir naturally depletes.
Protesters say: The pressure is still too high for dozens of houses in the path of the onshore pipeline. Even with gas running through pipes at a reduced level of 144 bars, any houses within a 230-metre radius could “burn spontaneously” from heat radiation. They say this has been accepted by consultants employed by Shell at a recent planning hearing. At present, the pipe runs within 170 metres of the many houses.
PROCESS AT SEA OR ON LAND
Shell says : Onshore processing of Corrib gas is the best option for a field of this type and size from a safety, environmental and economic point of view. The harsh Atlantic location and deep water make Corrib unsuitable for offshore processing. An offshore platform would still require an onshore terminal, albeit a smaller one, and a high-pressure onshore pipeline.
Protesters say: Some local groups accept that the gas may need to be processed on land, although Shell To Sea is opposed and says the processing terminal is on unstable bogland and will release harmful gases into the atmosphere. It says there are at least 16 houses affected in the immediate vicinity. In addition, it says waste-water and other materials are in danger of entering Carrowmore Lake, which feeds the water supply of the Erris area.
WE’RE SELLING OFF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES TOO CHEAPLY
Shell says: Successive Irish governments, like many others in Europe, have chosen to invite private companies to shoulder the significant financial risks associated with exploration. About 140 wells have been drilled by different companies over the past 30 years at a cost of €2 billion. Despite this drilling, Ireland has only one gas field in production – the Kinsale field, which is nearly depleted. Once in production, the Corrib Gas Partners will pay 25 per cent tax on profits, twice the rate of normal corporation tax.
Protesters say: Groups like Shell to Sea say that only Cameroon has a lower share of revenues from its oil and gas reserves compared to Ireland. It says deals negotiated by former minister Ray Burke and other ministers mean there is no State shareholding in natural resources, and no automatic bonus or royalty payments.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mayo resident may inspect location of Shell pipeline
A NORTH Mayo resident has been given permission by Shell EP Ireland to carry out up to two inspections of its controversial landfall location for the Corrib gas pipeline.
The inspections of the location, close to Colm Henry’s home at Glengad beach, have been granted in advance of a full Circuit Court hearing in October into the Corrib gas project works at the landfall in Broadhaven Bay.
Mr Henry had sought an injunction at Galway Circuit Court yesterday in a hearing before Judge Raymond Groarke.
In the injunction application, he had sought to stop further works at the landfall valve installation, which is designed to limit pressure from the offshore pipeline if the installation is approved by An Bord Pleanála.
He has also sought an injunction restraining the defendants, Shell EP Ireland, from conducting further works along two specified locations on the pipeline route and restraining the defendants or its agents from videotaping or harassing him at or near Pollathomas.
Mr Henry also sought an order directing the defendant to restore the beach at Glengad, near Pollathomas, to its original condition and restraining the defendant or agents from committing further “acts of nuisance” at or near the landfall valve installation at Pollathomas.
When the hearing opened yesterday, Diarmuid Connolly, barrister for Mr Henry, advised the judge that it would be a complex case and that both parties were trying to come to an understanding to facilitate a smooth hearing in October which, he said, could last eight to 10 days. The judge said having read some of the papers in the case, his understanding was that the plaintiff’s concerns related to the manner in which the work was conducted so far and what the result would be when completed.
Barrister for Shell John Kiely said he was also working to make the matter as efficient for the courts as possible, but he said very serious allegations had been made about Shell by the plaintiff and he wanted them put on the record.
The judge agreed some time for both parties to consult as he said he didn’t “want a game of tennis to start with a practice match”.
After several hours of discussion, the parties informed the judge they had reached agreement on some of the issues. A consent order dated July 10th, 2009, stated that the defendant agreed to permit Mr Henry to have up to two inspections of the landfall site within the steel fence as per a photograph provided.
The order said the plaintiff would give two weeks notice to the defendant of the inspection and would communicate names and addresses of the persons involved.
The order said that the inspection would be confined to matters at issue in the civil bill. The two parties also agreed to an order and cross order for discovery. The interlocutory injunction sought by Mr Henry would be adjourned until the full hearing of the action, it was agreed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The inspections of the location, close to Colm Henry’s home at Glengad beach, have been granted in advance of a full Circuit Court hearing in October into the Corrib gas project works at the landfall in Broadhaven Bay.
Mr Henry had sought an injunction at Galway Circuit Court yesterday in a hearing before Judge Raymond Groarke.
In the injunction application, he had sought to stop further works at the landfall valve installation, which is designed to limit pressure from the offshore pipeline if the installation is approved by An Bord Pleanála.
He has also sought an injunction restraining the defendants, Shell EP Ireland, from conducting further works along two specified locations on the pipeline route and restraining the defendants or its agents from videotaping or harassing him at or near Pollathomas.
Mr Henry also sought an order directing the defendant to restore the beach at Glengad, near Pollathomas, to its original condition and restraining the defendant or agents from committing further “acts of nuisance” at or near the landfall valve installation at Pollathomas.
When the hearing opened yesterday, Diarmuid Connolly, barrister for Mr Henry, advised the judge that it would be a complex case and that both parties were trying to come to an understanding to facilitate a smooth hearing in October which, he said, could last eight to 10 days. The judge said having read some of the papers in the case, his understanding was that the plaintiff’s concerns related to the manner in which the work was conducted so far and what the result would be when completed.
Barrister for Shell John Kiely said he was also working to make the matter as efficient for the courts as possible, but he said very serious allegations had been made about Shell by the plaintiff and he wanted them put on the record.
The judge agreed some time for both parties to consult as he said he didn’t “want a game of tennis to start with a practice match”.
After several hours of discussion, the parties informed the judge they had reached agreement on some of the issues. A consent order dated July 10th, 2009, stated that the defendant agreed to permit Mr Henry to have up to two inspections of the landfall site within the steel fence as per a photograph provided.
The order said the plaintiff would give two weeks notice to the defendant of the inspection and would communicate names and addresses of the persons involved.
The order said that the inspection would be confined to matters at issue in the civil bill. The two parties also agreed to an order and cross order for discovery. The interlocutory injunction sought by Mr Henry would be adjourned until the full hearing of the action, it was agreed.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 9 July 2009
Action over costs of cleaning up illegal dump in Wicklow
A LEGAL action to determine who is responsible for the costs of restoring lands in west Co Wicklow on which large quantities of untreated hospital and other hazardous waste were dumped has opened before the High Court.
Wicklow County Council has claimed the dumping caused, and continues to cause, environmental pollution and has denied claims it too was engaged in dumping waste on the lands at Whitestown, Co Wicklow, situated between Blessington and Baltinglass in the flood plain of the Carrigower river, a tributary of the river Slaney.
Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe is hearing two sets of proceedings to determine what remediation works should be carried out and who is liable for the costs of such works.
In the first action, Wicklow County Council is seeking orders under the Waste Management Act against the former owner of the Whitestown lands, John O’Reilly; Brownfield Restoration Ireland Ltd, which bought the lands from Mr O’Reilly in 2003; and two waste companies, Swalcliffe Ltd, trading as Dublin Waste, and Dean Waste Co Ltd.
The council claims John O’Reilly has admitted he had allowed Dublin Waste and Dean Waste to dump waste on the lands and had received payment for that. It also claims Brownfield entered into a contract with Mr O’Reilly in 2003 to buy the lands and took possession of the lands in September 2003 in full knowledge of the illegal activities.
Investigations carried out on the Whitestown site had revealed some 286,000 tonnes of waste, which in turn had contaminated surrounding soil, the council claims. Some 1,140,000 tonnes of waste and contaminated soil will need to be removed and/or treated, it argued.
One landfill area on the site had been found to hold more than 90,000 tonnes of waste, equivalent to the loads of some 4,686 20-tonne waste trucks, the council said. Material in that area had been traced to Dublin Waste, including blood and hospital waste.
The council claims most of that waste was put there in 2000 and 2001, but some could date back to the late 1990s.
The council claims Dean Waste dumped other waste in another landfill area on the site and alleges there is evidence to support claims that company was responsible for a large volume of polluting material found on that site.
Dean Waste claims it dumped only construction and demolition waste there in early 1998 and such waste is not an environmental hazard. Other waste on another landfill site, including the remains of a burned out pub, appeared to relate to Mr O’Reilly only, the council claimed. In its claim against Brownfield, the council claims it has been the holder of the waste since it took possession of the lands in 2003 and remains in possession or control of the waste.
It alleges Brownfield has ongoing obligations which, under the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, render it accountable for the waste on the site.
In cross-proceedings, Brownfield and Dean Waste alleges the council was itself engaged in dumping on the lands, including of road work materials, and should bear the remediation costs. The council denies those claims.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Wicklow County Council has claimed the dumping caused, and continues to cause, environmental pollution and has denied claims it too was engaged in dumping waste on the lands at Whitestown, Co Wicklow, situated between Blessington and Baltinglass in the flood plain of the Carrigower river, a tributary of the river Slaney.
Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe is hearing two sets of proceedings to determine what remediation works should be carried out and who is liable for the costs of such works.
In the first action, Wicklow County Council is seeking orders under the Waste Management Act against the former owner of the Whitestown lands, John O’Reilly; Brownfield Restoration Ireland Ltd, which bought the lands from Mr O’Reilly in 2003; and two waste companies, Swalcliffe Ltd, trading as Dublin Waste, and Dean Waste Co Ltd.
The council claims John O’Reilly has admitted he had allowed Dublin Waste and Dean Waste to dump waste on the lands and had received payment for that. It also claims Brownfield entered into a contract with Mr O’Reilly in 2003 to buy the lands and took possession of the lands in September 2003 in full knowledge of the illegal activities.
Investigations carried out on the Whitestown site had revealed some 286,000 tonnes of waste, which in turn had contaminated surrounding soil, the council claims. Some 1,140,000 tonnes of waste and contaminated soil will need to be removed and/or treated, it argued.
One landfill area on the site had been found to hold more than 90,000 tonnes of waste, equivalent to the loads of some 4,686 20-tonne waste trucks, the council said. Material in that area had been traced to Dublin Waste, including blood and hospital waste.
The council claims most of that waste was put there in 2000 and 2001, but some could date back to the late 1990s.
The council claims Dean Waste dumped other waste in another landfill area on the site and alleges there is evidence to support claims that company was responsible for a large volume of polluting material found on that site.
Dean Waste claims it dumped only construction and demolition waste there in early 1998 and such waste is not an environmental hazard. Other waste on another landfill site, including the remains of a burned out pub, appeared to relate to Mr O’Reilly only, the council claimed. In its claim against Brownfield, the council claims it has been the holder of the waste since it took possession of the lands in 2003 and remains in possession or control of the waste.
It alleges Brownfield has ongoing obligations which, under the Protection of the Environment Act 2003, render it accountable for the waste on the site.
In cross-proceedings, Brownfield and Dean Waste alleges the council was itself engaged in dumping on the lands, including of road work materials, and should bear the remediation costs. The council denies those claims.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Group to decide on Irish Steel site
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley yesterday announced that the Government is to establish a new working group to develop detailed proposals on the future of the former Irish Steel/Ispat site at Haulbowline in Cork harbour.
Mr Gormley said that the group, which is to be chaired by the Office of Public Works, will involve a range of Government department and State agencies and will be asked to determine the optimum use for the site.
The group would also look at legacy issues relating to pollution at the site and proper public consultation with the local community would be a priority for the group, he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Gormley said that the group, which is to be chaired by the Office of Public Works, will involve a range of Government department and State agencies and will be asked to determine the optimum use for the site.
The group would also look at legacy issues relating to pollution at the site and proper public consultation with the local community would be a priority for the group, he said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
RTÉ request to have 31-acre site rezoned seen as valuation exercise
RTÉ’S REQUEST to Dublin City Council to have its 31-acre site in Donnybrook rezoned for mixed-use development, including offices, retail and residential, is being seen as a long-term land valuation exercise.
The fact that its two-page submission on the draft city development plan was signed by chief financial controller Conor Hayes suggests the move is not unrelated to the State broadcaster’s financial crisis, which could see it losing €68 million this year.
The letter from Mr Hayes to the city council’s planning department notes that RTÉ began operating from Montrose – the name of the original Victorian house on the Donnybrook site – in 1960 and, since then, it has “become synonymous with Irish broadcasting”.
It points out that roughly half of the site is occupied by a combination of studio production facilities and ancillary office accommodation. These include the main television and radio buildings, all of which were designed by leading architects Scott Tallon Walker (STW).
The remainder of the site, as the letter notes, is “open space/ parkland”, although it does not mention that much of this is used for car parking. The landscaped parkland setting of the RTÉ buildings was also a critical element of STW’s masterplan.
Mr Hayes notes that Donnybrook itself has “undergone very substantial change during the past 50 years and can no longer realistically be characterised as “leafy suburbia”, as it might have been in 1960 but rather part of an extended city centre.
“The recently developed Donnybrook rugby stadium, the expansion of St Vincent’s University Hospital, the ongoing revitalisation of Donnybrook village, the modernisation of the nearby RDS and the expansion of UCD . . . have all combined to contribute to its recharacterisation.”
The letter refers to the city council planning department’s paper in relation to the draft development plan, saying it “very sensibly acknowledges that a ‘sustainable Dublin’ is one that involves developing a more compact city with an intensification of mixed-use development . . .
“In tandem with this view, we have formed the opinion that in the long term, the appropriate development of the Montrose site has the potential to be harnessed to contribute to the creation of a more compact urban environment,” as Mr Hayes explains RTÉ’s latest position.
“Our understanding of current best practice relating to sustainable development, including the need for the wide use of resources and the efficient management of the urban ecosystem, suggests that ‘brownfield’ sites like Montrose can offer a significant opportunity to enhance sustainable urban living.”
The term “brownfield” is usually applied, however, to redundant industrial land, such as the former Dublin Gas sites in Docklands. It is not used to describe sites that are in use or extensively landscaped as parkland. In the case of Montrose, this includes many mature specimen trees.
Mr Hayes’s letter says the current zoning of the RTÉ campus for “institutional and community use” (Z15) would not allow for its potential to be realised. It is seeking to have the site rezoned to “consolidate and facilitate the development of inner suburban sites for mixed-use development” (Z10).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The fact that its two-page submission on the draft city development plan was signed by chief financial controller Conor Hayes suggests the move is not unrelated to the State broadcaster’s financial crisis, which could see it losing €68 million this year.
The letter from Mr Hayes to the city council’s planning department notes that RTÉ began operating from Montrose – the name of the original Victorian house on the Donnybrook site – in 1960 and, since then, it has “become synonymous with Irish broadcasting”.
It points out that roughly half of the site is occupied by a combination of studio production facilities and ancillary office accommodation. These include the main television and radio buildings, all of which were designed by leading architects Scott Tallon Walker (STW).
The remainder of the site, as the letter notes, is “open space/ parkland”, although it does not mention that much of this is used for car parking. The landscaped parkland setting of the RTÉ buildings was also a critical element of STW’s masterplan.
Mr Hayes notes that Donnybrook itself has “undergone very substantial change during the past 50 years and can no longer realistically be characterised as “leafy suburbia”, as it might have been in 1960 but rather part of an extended city centre.
“The recently developed Donnybrook rugby stadium, the expansion of St Vincent’s University Hospital, the ongoing revitalisation of Donnybrook village, the modernisation of the nearby RDS and the expansion of UCD . . . have all combined to contribute to its recharacterisation.”
The letter refers to the city council planning department’s paper in relation to the draft development plan, saying it “very sensibly acknowledges that a ‘sustainable Dublin’ is one that involves developing a more compact city with an intensification of mixed-use development . . .
“In tandem with this view, we have formed the opinion that in the long term, the appropriate development of the Montrose site has the potential to be harnessed to contribute to the creation of a more compact urban environment,” as Mr Hayes explains RTÉ’s latest position.
“Our understanding of current best practice relating to sustainable development, including the need for the wide use of resources and the efficient management of the urban ecosystem, suggests that ‘brownfield’ sites like Montrose can offer a significant opportunity to enhance sustainable urban living.”
The term “brownfield” is usually applied, however, to redundant industrial land, such as the former Dublin Gas sites in Docklands. It is not used to describe sites that are in use or extensively landscaped as parkland. In the case of Montrose, this includes many mature specimen trees.
Mr Hayes’s letter says the current zoning of the RTÉ campus for “institutional and community use” (Z15) would not allow for its potential to be realised. It is seeking to have the site rezoned to “consolidate and facilitate the development of inner suburban sites for mixed-use development” (Z10).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
'Unbalanced' development highlighted
The "unbalanced" nature of Ireland’s economic development must be addressed despite the economic downturn, a report on the west of Ireland said today.
The report published by economist Jim Power of Friends First examined the effect of the boom years on counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Offaly, Galway and Westmeath.
“One of the most worrying features of the strong Irish economic performance of recent years has been the unbalanced nature of regional economic growth and development,” Mr Power said at the report’s launch in Galway this morning.
“It is incumbent on policy makers and stakeholders to rectify this regional imbalance which won’t be easy in today’s testing economic and financial circumstances.”
He said the Government must ensure that national policies, such as Transport 21 and the National Development Plan, are delivered to the fullest extent possible despite the difficult economic and financial environment.
“Already, some projects are being deferred or delayed and certainly there is a clear risk that this will get worse over the next couple of years as the Government struggles to rebalance the national finances,” Mr Power added
Mr Power highlighted a number of measures, which he said should be taken:
The completion of the inter-urban motorway network by 2010;
The funding of essential capital works at the six existing regional airports;
The upgrading of the N5 with an investment of €220 million over four years to protect 9,000 manufacturing jobs. According to the Mayo Industries Group the bad condition of the road from Longford to Scramogue in Roscommon is damaging product, delivery and travel times are slow and cost competitiveness is being negatively affected;
Broadband availability needs to be improved as it is “a key business and economic enabler particularly important for geographically remote areas”.
The report highlighted the fact that the midlands region had the lowest level of disposable income in the State (9.4 per cent lower than the national average and 19.3 per cent lower than the highest region Dublin). The Border region had second lowest (8.9 per cent lower than national average and 18.9 per cent lower than Dublin) and the west region third lowest (7 per cent lower than national average and 17.2 per cent lower than Dublin).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The report published by economist Jim Power of Friends First examined the effect of the boom years on counties Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Mayo, Roscommon, Longford, Offaly, Galway and Westmeath.
“One of the most worrying features of the strong Irish economic performance of recent years has been the unbalanced nature of regional economic growth and development,” Mr Power said at the report’s launch in Galway this morning.
“It is incumbent on policy makers and stakeholders to rectify this regional imbalance which won’t be easy in today’s testing economic and financial circumstances.”
He said the Government must ensure that national policies, such as Transport 21 and the National Development Plan, are delivered to the fullest extent possible despite the difficult economic and financial environment.
“Already, some projects are being deferred or delayed and certainly there is a clear risk that this will get worse over the next couple of years as the Government struggles to rebalance the national finances,” Mr Power added
Mr Power highlighted a number of measures, which he said should be taken:
The completion of the inter-urban motorway network by 2010;
The funding of essential capital works at the six existing regional airports;
The upgrading of the N5 with an investment of €220 million over four years to protect 9,000 manufacturing jobs. According to the Mayo Industries Group the bad condition of the road from Longford to Scramogue in Roscommon is damaging product, delivery and travel times are slow and cost competitiveness is being negatively affected;
Broadband availability needs to be improved as it is “a key business and economic enabler particularly important for geographically remote areas”.
The report highlighted the fact that the midlands region had the lowest level of disposable income in the State (9.4 per cent lower than the national average and 19.3 per cent lower than the highest region Dublin). The Border region had second lowest (8.9 per cent lower than national average and 18.9 per cent lower than Dublin) and the west region third lowest (7 per cent lower than national average and 17.2 per cent lower than Dublin).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
New building regulations issued for consultation
NEW BUILDING regulations which will improve access for people with disabilities to shops, hotels, institutional buildings and private houses have been released for public consultation by the Minister for the Environment.
Current building regulations already require that all new buildings, except houses, be designed and constructed so that people with a range of disabilities can safely and independently approach and gain access, move around and use the relevant facilities, including toilets.
The proposed amendments to the building regulations would require these rules to be followed in any material alterations to buildings. They would also apply if buildings are converted to use as a daycare centre, hotel, institutional building, place of assembly, shop, or shopping centre.
“I would urge all interested parties, representative organisations and professional representative bodies to comment on these proposals,” the Minister, John Gormley, said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Current building regulations already require that all new buildings, except houses, be designed and constructed so that people with a range of disabilities can safely and independently approach and gain access, move around and use the relevant facilities, including toilets.
The proposed amendments to the building regulations would require these rules to be followed in any material alterations to buildings. They would also apply if buildings are converted to use as a daycare centre, hotel, institutional building, place of assembly, shop, or shopping centre.
“I would urge all interested parties, representative organisations and professional representative bodies to comment on these proposals,” the Minister, John Gormley, said.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Site for Cork harbour terminal sought
A REVIEW of potential sites for the development of a new container terminal in Cork harbour will be completed by early next year, according to Port of Cork chief executive Brendan Keating.
Mr Keating said the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a new container terminal and multipurpose berth at Oysterbank near Ringaskiddy was disappointing, but the company was moving ahead to find alternatives.
Mr Keating conceded that the decision was a setback for the company and was all the more disappointing given the recognition of the project as being of strategic importance to the economy.
After the project was refused in June 2008, the company completed a review of all aspects of the application and the decision by An Bord Pleanála, said Mr Keating.
“Following the review of the planning decision, the port is also . . . undertaking a review of the strategic plan and is committed to re-examination and consultation on potential suitable sites within Cork Harbour and we aim to have this completed by early 2010.
“It is our strong belief that the development of new port infrastructure capacity is essential for economic enhancement of Cork city and region and for the competitiveness of the Irish economy, enabling it to realise its economic potential and facilitate growth and trade.”
Mr Keating made his comments as the Port of Cork published its report for 2008 which showed an increase in annual turnover of 5.5 per cent to €26.3 million despite a reduction in traffic by 5 per cent attributable to the slowdown of the economy.
The report showed the company reported a profit of ordinary activity before tax of €4.1 million and a profit after tax of €3.3 million after cost of sales, administration expenses and exceptional items were deducted.
Total traffic at the port fell by 5 per cent to 10.1 million tonnes in 2008. Oil traffic fell by 4.4 per cent to 5.8 million tonnes and accounted for 57.6 per cent of cargo handled through the port.
Non-oil traffic accounted for 4.28 million tonnes in 2008 marking a decrease of 179,185 tonnes or 4.56 per cent compared with the same period in 2007 while cereals, coal, bulk fertiliser and animal feed showed marginal increases.
Cork remains the second busiest port in Ireland in terms of container traffic despite a reduction of 6.97 per cent.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Keating said the decision by An Bord Pleanála to refuse planning permission for a new container terminal and multipurpose berth at Oysterbank near Ringaskiddy was disappointing, but the company was moving ahead to find alternatives.
Mr Keating conceded that the decision was a setback for the company and was all the more disappointing given the recognition of the project as being of strategic importance to the economy.
After the project was refused in June 2008, the company completed a review of all aspects of the application and the decision by An Bord Pleanála, said Mr Keating.
“Following the review of the planning decision, the port is also . . . undertaking a review of the strategic plan and is committed to re-examination and consultation on potential suitable sites within Cork Harbour and we aim to have this completed by early 2010.
“It is our strong belief that the development of new port infrastructure capacity is essential for economic enhancement of Cork city and region and for the competitiveness of the Irish economy, enabling it to realise its economic potential and facilitate growth and trade.”
Mr Keating made his comments as the Port of Cork published its report for 2008 which showed an increase in annual turnover of 5.5 per cent to €26.3 million despite a reduction in traffic by 5 per cent attributable to the slowdown of the economy.
The report showed the company reported a profit of ordinary activity before tax of €4.1 million and a profit after tax of €3.3 million after cost of sales, administration expenses and exceptional items were deducted.
Total traffic at the port fell by 5 per cent to 10.1 million tonnes in 2008. Oil traffic fell by 4.4 per cent to 5.8 million tonnes and accounted for 57.6 per cent of cargo handled through the port.
Non-oil traffic accounted for 4.28 million tonnes in 2008 marking a decrease of 179,185 tonnes or 4.56 per cent compared with the same period in 2007 while cereals, coal, bulk fertiliser and animal feed showed marginal increases.
Cork remains the second busiest port in Ireland in terms of container traffic despite a reduction of 6.97 per cent.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
High Court again overturns permission for Kildare landfill
A HIGH COURT judge has overturned a second grant of planning permission by An Bord Pleanála for a landfill development in Co Kildare after ruling that the board displayed “objective bias” in how it granted that permission and that its attempted explanations were “deeply unconvincing”.
Mr Justice John MacMenamin’s decision overturning the board’s July 2008 permission for the proposed landfill at Usk comes two years after Mr Justice Peter Kelly, in overturning the 2006 permission for the landfill in light of admitted defects by the board, made several recommendations about how the board should reconsider the matter.
In upholding the challenge by Usk and District Residents Association Ltd to the 2008 permission, Mr Justice MacMenamin was strongly critical of the board’s failure to adhere to those recommendations, describing as “unfathomable” the reasoning for its decision.
It was “remarkable” that the board, a statutory body entrusted with decision-making of national importance, when taking upon itself to ignore the spirit if not the letter of a High Court order, appeared not to have taken special care to ensure what it did was fair, the judge said.
He concluded the 2006 decision was used as “a template” for the 2008 decision and also noted most of the board members involved in the 2006 decision, including board chairman John O’Connor, had also made the 2008 decision, contrary to Mr Justice Kelly’s recommendations.
The decision to deploy four of the same persons involved in the 2006 decision appeared “a conscious one”, he added.
The chairman and deputy chairman maintained there was an established practice they specifically should be involved in decisions on significant infrastructural projects, meaning they would be involved despite the High Court recommendations, but the rationale for their stance “was not clear”.
There was also “the surprising conclusion” that the exclusion of the five members who took the quashed decision of 2006 would “weaken the level of expertise and experience available to the board”. However, the five board members not involved in the 2006 decision appeared to have a high level of expertise in the relevant areas.
While the chairman and deputy chairman also had significant planning experience, that was not the point and there was “no objective justification” for specific categories of decision being dealt with by particular board members.
The judge ruled there were “very substantial departures” by the board from the 2007 High Court judgment, although the very object of that judgment was to avoid the appearance of bias when the matter was reconsidered by the board.
Such departures led to the conclusion a reasonable objective observer would conclude the decision-making process was not impartial, he ruled. An objective observer could only conclude four of the six board members who unanimously granted permission in 2008 had substantively determined the issues previously and nor could the procedures adopted be legally justified.
The judge described as “totally unclear” the board’s reasons for disagreeing with its own inspector’s twice-made recommendation to refuse permission. The inspector recommended refusal based on substantive planning considerations related to lack of clarity about restoration works at the site, works which were required by court order.
The board had simply stated it took “a different view” and considered this “a legal matter”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Mr Justice John MacMenamin’s decision overturning the board’s July 2008 permission for the proposed landfill at Usk comes two years after Mr Justice Peter Kelly, in overturning the 2006 permission for the landfill in light of admitted defects by the board, made several recommendations about how the board should reconsider the matter.
In upholding the challenge by Usk and District Residents Association Ltd to the 2008 permission, Mr Justice MacMenamin was strongly critical of the board’s failure to adhere to those recommendations, describing as “unfathomable” the reasoning for its decision.
It was “remarkable” that the board, a statutory body entrusted with decision-making of national importance, when taking upon itself to ignore the spirit if not the letter of a High Court order, appeared not to have taken special care to ensure what it did was fair, the judge said.
He concluded the 2006 decision was used as “a template” for the 2008 decision and also noted most of the board members involved in the 2006 decision, including board chairman John O’Connor, had also made the 2008 decision, contrary to Mr Justice Kelly’s recommendations.
The decision to deploy four of the same persons involved in the 2006 decision appeared “a conscious one”, he added.
The chairman and deputy chairman maintained there was an established practice they specifically should be involved in decisions on significant infrastructural projects, meaning they would be involved despite the High Court recommendations, but the rationale for their stance “was not clear”.
There was also “the surprising conclusion” that the exclusion of the five members who took the quashed decision of 2006 would “weaken the level of expertise and experience available to the board”. However, the five board members not involved in the 2006 decision appeared to have a high level of expertise in the relevant areas.
While the chairman and deputy chairman also had significant planning experience, that was not the point and there was “no objective justification” for specific categories of decision being dealt with by particular board members.
The judge ruled there were “very substantial departures” by the board from the 2007 High Court judgment, although the very object of that judgment was to avoid the appearance of bias when the matter was reconsidered by the board.
Such departures led to the conclusion a reasonable objective observer would conclude the decision-making process was not impartial, he ruled. An objective observer could only conclude four of the six board members who unanimously granted permission in 2008 had substantively determined the issues previously and nor could the procedures adopted be legally justified.
The judge described as “totally unclear” the board’s reasons for disagreeing with its own inspector’s twice-made recommendation to refuse permission. The inspector recommended refusal based on substantive planning considerations related to lack of clarity about restoration works at the site, works which were required by court order.
The board had simply stated it took “a different view” and considered this “a legal matter”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An Bord Pleanála rejects Dunleer schemes
AN TAISCE has won its third successive appeal against decisions by Louth County Council to grant permission for residential-led developments in Dunleer, with An Bord Pleanála overturning all three of the proposed schemes.
The latest decision by the appeals board relates to a revised plan by Tony Mallon, of A1 Design Services, for 12 townhouses, five apartments and three shops, car parking and a service road on a site adjoining the former railway station.
Refusing permission, the board said it was “not satisfied that the development of the site in the manner proposed would facilitate the reopening of Dunleer railway station”, which it noted is an objective of the county development plan. This was because of “the absence of a coherent proposal for the lands in this overall area providing for access for cars, buses, pedestrians and car-parking” associated with the station.
Accordingly, it would be “contrary to proper planning and sustainable development”.
Another reason cited by the board was that the proposed layout “would deliver a scheme with poor residential amenity for future occupants by reason of the poor quality of open space, both private and public, and poor disposition of [car] parking”.
In December 2007, also on foot of an appeal lodged by Gerry Crilly, a local member of An Taisce’s national council, An Bord Pleanála overturned an earlier, significantly larger scheme for the site by the same developer, for similar reasons.
In that case, the board said it would “result in the over-development of this land at a higher density than is found in the environs of the site and would result in a form of development which would be incongruous in this part of the town”. A much larger scheme of 167 apartments and 12 retail units in 11 buildings rising to five storeys in height, which had also been approved by the county council for a site off Main Street, Dunleer, was also appealed successfully by An Taisce in 2007.
In this case, An Bord Pleanála said the proposed development would “constitute a significant, high density and intensive expansion relative to the existing town and, by reason of its design, would fail to integrate with the existing settlement of Dunleer”.
The board was also “not satisfied that development of this site in the manner proposed would not prejudice the comprehensive redevelopment of the station and its environs”. As a result, it would be contrary to proper planning and sustainable development.
Commenting on the board’s latest decision, Mr Crilly said Dunleer had “won a very important battle” and now had an opportunity to develop community and local amenities “with the needs of the local people at the core of all plans that will be developed in the near future”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The latest decision by the appeals board relates to a revised plan by Tony Mallon, of A1 Design Services, for 12 townhouses, five apartments and three shops, car parking and a service road on a site adjoining the former railway station.
Refusing permission, the board said it was “not satisfied that the development of the site in the manner proposed would facilitate the reopening of Dunleer railway station”, which it noted is an objective of the county development plan. This was because of “the absence of a coherent proposal for the lands in this overall area providing for access for cars, buses, pedestrians and car-parking” associated with the station.
Accordingly, it would be “contrary to proper planning and sustainable development”.
Another reason cited by the board was that the proposed layout “would deliver a scheme with poor residential amenity for future occupants by reason of the poor quality of open space, both private and public, and poor disposition of [car] parking”.
In December 2007, also on foot of an appeal lodged by Gerry Crilly, a local member of An Taisce’s national council, An Bord Pleanála overturned an earlier, significantly larger scheme for the site by the same developer, for similar reasons.
In that case, the board said it would “result in the over-development of this land at a higher density than is found in the environs of the site and would result in a form of development which would be incongruous in this part of the town”. A much larger scheme of 167 apartments and 12 retail units in 11 buildings rising to five storeys in height, which had also been approved by the county council for a site off Main Street, Dunleer, was also appealed successfully by An Taisce in 2007.
In this case, An Bord Pleanála said the proposed development would “constitute a significant, high density and intensive expansion relative to the existing town and, by reason of its design, would fail to integrate with the existing settlement of Dunleer”.
The board was also “not satisfied that development of this site in the manner proposed would not prejudice the comprehensive redevelopment of the station and its environs”. As a result, it would be contrary to proper planning and sustainable development.
Commenting on the board’s latest decision, Mr Crilly said Dunleer had “won a very important battle” and now had an opportunity to develop community and local amenities “with the needs of the local people at the core of all plans that will be developed in the near future”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Kilkenny mayor criticises bridge plan
THE NEW Green Party mayor of Kilkenny has described as “absolutely disgraceful” the provisional support of An Bord Pleanála for a new bridge over the river Nore which he claims would “destroy” the city’s mediaeval architectural heritage.
Cllr Malcolm Noonan said building the new bridge could “scupper” the council’s budget “for years to come” and added: “this is a bad decision, for planning, heritage, and the city’s future development.”
However, there is widespread support for the plans in Kilkenny.
Mr Noonan said most councillors from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour supported the project and he accepted that his opposition would be “massively outvoted”.
The bridge is a key element in a controversial new “inner relief” road scheme proposed to alleviate chronic traffic congestion in Kilkenny and allow for the partial pedestrianisation of streets close to major tourist attractions.
The plans were the subject of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála last year and were strongly criticised by the Heritage Council as an “inappropriate intrusion into the setting of one of Ireland’s most important medieval towns”.
Yesterday a spokesman for the board said no final decision had been made although the planning authority was “provisionally of a view” that the new bridge would be “appropriate to approve” subject to certain conditions.
The board has written to the local authority to say that while the current design concept for a cable-stay bridge is unsuitable, the necessity for an additional river crossing is judged to be appropriate.
Kilkenny county manager, Joe Crockett said that a new design for the bridge would be submitted.
Last year 22 academics wrote to The Irish Times concerning the proposed inner relief road and bridge scheme and expressed their “profound dismay” at a proposal which they claimed would have “a devastating impact on the historic centre of . . . Ireland’s only intact medieval city and a place of international importance”.
Signatories to the letter included university professors from Ireland, Britain, Germany and the US as well as representatives of the British Archaeological Association, London’s Courtauld Institute of Art, Boston’s McMullan Museum of Art and Limerick’s Hunt Museum. They said the project “quite apart from bringing heavy goods vehicles into the core of Kilkenny” would also “entail the destruction of much ancient fabric of the city, both upstanding and buried”.
They claimed that the proposed new bridge “endangers the supposedly protected setting” of an existing “fine Palladian bridge” and added that “this proposal flagrantly disregards the strenuous efforts that are now being made throughout Europe to keep traffic out of historic city centres”.
In its submission to An Bord Pleanála, the Heritage Council claimed that Kilkenny County Council “failed to adequately consider sustainable alternatives such as proper or increased public transport provision within the historic city”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Cllr Malcolm Noonan said building the new bridge could “scupper” the council’s budget “for years to come” and added: “this is a bad decision, for planning, heritage, and the city’s future development.”
However, there is widespread support for the plans in Kilkenny.
Mr Noonan said most councillors from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour supported the project and he accepted that his opposition would be “massively outvoted”.
The bridge is a key element in a controversial new “inner relief” road scheme proposed to alleviate chronic traffic congestion in Kilkenny and allow for the partial pedestrianisation of streets close to major tourist attractions.
The plans were the subject of an oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála last year and were strongly criticised by the Heritage Council as an “inappropriate intrusion into the setting of one of Ireland’s most important medieval towns”.
Yesterday a spokesman for the board said no final decision had been made although the planning authority was “provisionally of a view” that the new bridge would be “appropriate to approve” subject to certain conditions.
The board has written to the local authority to say that while the current design concept for a cable-stay bridge is unsuitable, the necessity for an additional river crossing is judged to be appropriate.
Kilkenny county manager, Joe Crockett said that a new design for the bridge would be submitted.
Last year 22 academics wrote to The Irish Times concerning the proposed inner relief road and bridge scheme and expressed their “profound dismay” at a proposal which they claimed would have “a devastating impact on the historic centre of . . . Ireland’s only intact medieval city and a place of international importance”.
Signatories to the letter included university professors from Ireland, Britain, Germany and the US as well as representatives of the British Archaeological Association, London’s Courtauld Institute of Art, Boston’s McMullan Museum of Art and Limerick’s Hunt Museum. They said the project “quite apart from bringing heavy goods vehicles into the core of Kilkenny” would also “entail the destruction of much ancient fabric of the city, both upstanding and buried”.
They claimed that the proposed new bridge “endangers the supposedly protected setting” of an existing “fine Palladian bridge” and added that “this proposal flagrantly disregards the strenuous efforts that are now being made throughout Europe to keep traffic out of historic city centres”.
In its submission to An Bord Pleanála, the Heritage Council claimed that Kilkenny County Council “failed to adequately consider sustainable alternatives such as proper or increased public transport provision within the historic city”.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Tuesday, 7 July 2009
College Green car ban to start within weeks
A hugely controversial car ban for Dublin City's College Green will be introduced within four weeks.
The city council's Transport 21 office has confirmed the peak-time prohibition will be brought in on July 27 - the last Monday of the month.
The council is planning a publicity campaign ahead of the start date, including a media briefing at the Bank of Ireland in College Green on July 20, when representatives from Dublin Bus and the council are expected to make presentations.
When the so-called 'bus gate' comes into effect, only buses and taxis will be allowed pass through the College Green area from 7am to 10am and from 4pm to 7pm - Monday to Friday. The drivers of private cars will have to find alternative routes through the city.
Dublin city councillors voted 15 to 12 in favour of the plans at May's meeting of the chamber.
"We're still in the process of finalising the whole media campaign" - Avo deBarra of the council's Transport 21 office told the Herald. "We've engaged the services of a PR company who are getting back to us with prices (for ads). Both print and the electronic media will be utilised" - Mr deBarra added. "In parallel with that, we'll be distributing information leaflets to the 24 public car parks in the city area" - he said.
While the full content has not been finalised, the leaflets will contain a map of the city centre, including the bus gate zone. It will also contain maps showing alternative routes motorists can take to cross the city.
Traffic signals - known as VMS signs - will be placed along the routes approaching College Green to direct motorists. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has already warned the ban must not be allowed deter shoppers from travelling to Dublin city centre. One estimate puts job losses at 2,500 and lost revenue at €200m as a result of the restriction.
Chief executive of the Chamber, Gina Quinn, said her group's main concern is that the initiative "was due to happen as part of an overall plan for the build out of Metro North and the joining of the two Luas lines in the city centre".
She added - "The Samuel Beckett Bridge was supposed to be in place before College Green was closed to peak-time traffic. We were also supposed to have a public transport bridge across the river - as at Marlborough Street - and a real-time information system at all bus stops and by text for all users of Dublin Bus.
"What the chamber would have liked to have seen was that those measures would have been in place. Clearly, Dublin City Council has made the decision to bring the peak time ban for cars - Monday to Friday only - in advance of those measures."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The city council's Transport 21 office has confirmed the peak-time prohibition will be brought in on July 27 - the last Monday of the month.
The council is planning a publicity campaign ahead of the start date, including a media briefing at the Bank of Ireland in College Green on July 20, when representatives from Dublin Bus and the council are expected to make presentations.
When the so-called 'bus gate' comes into effect, only buses and taxis will be allowed pass through the College Green area from 7am to 10am and from 4pm to 7pm - Monday to Friday. The drivers of private cars will have to find alternative routes through the city.
Dublin city councillors voted 15 to 12 in favour of the plans at May's meeting of the chamber.
"We're still in the process of finalising the whole media campaign" - Avo deBarra of the council's Transport 21 office told the Herald. "We've engaged the services of a PR company who are getting back to us with prices (for ads). Both print and the electronic media will be utilised" - Mr deBarra added. "In parallel with that, we'll be distributing information leaflets to the 24 public car parks in the city area" - he said.
While the full content has not been finalised, the leaflets will contain a map of the city centre, including the bus gate zone. It will also contain maps showing alternative routes motorists can take to cross the city.
Traffic signals - known as VMS signs - will be placed along the routes approaching College Green to direct motorists. The Dublin Chamber of Commerce has already warned the ban must not be allowed deter shoppers from travelling to Dublin city centre. One estimate puts job losses at 2,500 and lost revenue at €200m as a result of the restriction.
Chief executive of the Chamber, Gina Quinn, said her group's main concern is that the initiative "was due to happen as part of an overall plan for the build out of Metro North and the joining of the two Luas lines in the city centre".
She added - "The Samuel Beckett Bridge was supposed to be in place before College Green was closed to peak-time traffic. We were also supposed to have a public transport bridge across the river - as at Marlborough Street - and a real-time information system at all bus stops and by text for all users of Dublin Bus.
"What the chamber would have liked to have seen was that those measures would have been in place. Clearly, Dublin City Council has made the decision to bring the peak time ban for cars - Monday to Friday only - in advance of those measures."
The Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Environment Minister Launches Electronic Planning System
Minster for the Environment, Heritage & Local Government, John Gormley, TD has launched a new policy for ePlanning, which is aimed at improving the planning system and making it easier and more efficient for both individuals and planning authorities.
The new policy will allow for people to make applications on-line and will also allow for third parties to make submissions or objections on-line. The new system is already up and running in Dublin on a pilot basis for small applications.
Mayo County Council’s online Planning application submission system is currently being piloted by a number of Planning Agents and all Agents will be invited to use the new system this autumn.
“On-line planning makes complete sense. It will lower costs and increase efficiencies for the planning authorities, applicants and third parties. It will make the planning system more accessible and easier to use for all” - Minister Gormley said.
“In our current paper system we have huge inefficiencies which make no sense. For example, most planning applications and designs are drawn up on computer. They then have to be printed out and six copies made, at considerable expense, to be submitted to the planning authority. The planners then have to scan on to computer the printed applications. It’s a similar situation for any third party submissions. A fully on-line system for smaller applications can eliminate the significant costs of this cumbersome procedure.”
The Minister acknowledged that an on-line system was suitable for smaller applications, but that, at present, there remained issues for larger applications due to map and drawing sizes and large accompanying documents.
“I would like to commend Dublin City Council for the enormous work staff have put into developing their on-line system. Mayo county Council has also taken the initiative in leading the way. I would hope that other councils will be able to follow their lead - and, by doing so, I believe they will be able to save money and make their planning system more efficient” - ended the Minister.
www.buckplanning.ie
The new policy will allow for people to make applications on-line and will also allow for third parties to make submissions or objections on-line. The new system is already up and running in Dublin on a pilot basis for small applications.
Mayo County Council’s online Planning application submission system is currently being piloted by a number of Planning Agents and all Agents will be invited to use the new system this autumn.
“On-line planning makes complete sense. It will lower costs and increase efficiencies for the planning authorities, applicants and third parties. It will make the planning system more accessible and easier to use for all” - Minister Gormley said.
“In our current paper system we have huge inefficiencies which make no sense. For example, most planning applications and designs are drawn up on computer. They then have to be printed out and six copies made, at considerable expense, to be submitted to the planning authority. The planners then have to scan on to computer the printed applications. It’s a similar situation for any third party submissions. A fully on-line system for smaller applications can eliminate the significant costs of this cumbersome procedure.”
The Minister acknowledged that an on-line system was suitable for smaller applications, but that, at present, there remained issues for larger applications due to map and drawing sizes and large accompanying documents.
“I would like to commend Dublin City Council for the enormous work staff have put into developing their on-line system. Mayo county Council has also taken the initiative in leading the way. I would hope that other councils will be able to follow their lead - and, by doing so, I believe they will be able to save money and make their planning system more efficient” - ended the Minister.
www.buckplanning.ie
Court upholds order to overturn rezoning decision in Adare
The High Court has upheld Limerick county manager Ned Gleeson’s order overturning a decision made by county councillors last September to rezone 130 acres of land on the outskirts of Adare for residential and mixed-use development.
The ruling is not only important for the picture-postcard town of Adare - featuring old world thatched roof cottages and Tudor-style buildings - but is regarded as significant for the overall planning process in Ireland.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern said the elected representatives had “clearly failed” to abide by requirements laid down by the 2000 Planning Act in making their decision.
Two landowners, PJ Farrell and Barbara Forde, had sought to have Mr Gleeson’s order adopting a local area plan for Adare quashed, on the basis that it failed to include the rezonings of their lands - respectively, 90 acres and 40 acres at Ardshanbally.
Having entered into agreements with developers, they had applied to have the lands rezoned for residential purposes - including the provision of a neighbourhood centre and community facilities in the case of Mr Farrell and for low-density residential in the case of Ms Forde.
Submissions seeking the proposed changes were made after the draft plan had been on public display. The county manager recommended that the zoning should remain agricultural, but the councillors subsequently adopted a resolution to rezone the lands.
The Department of the Environment had advised that the rezonings would have a “significant effect on the historic built heritage of Adare if the village is to be effectively spread across the river [Maigue], either in the form of a detached suburb or a competing local centre”.
Acting on legal advice from solicitors, Leahy Partners and Garret Simons SC, a noted expert on planning law, Mr Gleeson said he was satisfied that the “purported resolution” passed by the council was invalid and the plan should be adopted without the rezonings.
The two landowners involved had offered to indemnify the councillors if they were personally surcharged for making this decision - a stratagem which Mr Simons said would “undermine the regime put in place by the Oireachtas” to discipline errant councillors.
In his ruling, Mr Justice McGovern said there appeared to have been “no meaningful discussion” at the council meeting of a report by landscape architects Nicholas de Jong Associates that formed the basis of the development strategy underpinning the local area plan.
“There appears to have been no serious discussion on the environmental impact of the proposed rezoning and the importance of keeping development within the existing town boundaries, as bordered by the river on one side” - the judge said.
He noted that a county manager had “the power to treat a resolution as invalid where the elected members have ignored the local authority’s expert advice to the effect that the development would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area”.
In the case of Adare, the councillors had also failed to outline “any proper planning-based reason for rejecting that advice”.
Accordingly, Mr Justice McGovern said he was satisfied that the county manager was entitled to make an order rescinding the rezoning motion passed by the councillors, because it was “not a valid and effective resolution” in accordance with Section 20 (3) of the 2000 Act.
Environment Minister John Gormley is to introduce legislation shortly amending the Act to ensure that all land rezoning decisions are informed by an “evidence-based core strategy”. Thus, councillors would no longer be able to rezone land merely at the behest of its owners.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The ruling is not only important for the picture-postcard town of Adare - featuring old world thatched roof cottages and Tudor-style buildings - but is regarded as significant for the overall planning process in Ireland.
Mr Justice Brian McGovern said the elected representatives had “clearly failed” to abide by requirements laid down by the 2000 Planning Act in making their decision.
Two landowners, PJ Farrell and Barbara Forde, had sought to have Mr Gleeson’s order adopting a local area plan for Adare quashed, on the basis that it failed to include the rezonings of their lands - respectively, 90 acres and 40 acres at Ardshanbally.
Having entered into agreements with developers, they had applied to have the lands rezoned for residential purposes - including the provision of a neighbourhood centre and community facilities in the case of Mr Farrell and for low-density residential in the case of Ms Forde.
Submissions seeking the proposed changes were made after the draft plan had been on public display. The county manager recommended that the zoning should remain agricultural, but the councillors subsequently adopted a resolution to rezone the lands.
The Department of the Environment had advised that the rezonings would have a “significant effect on the historic built heritage of Adare if the village is to be effectively spread across the river [Maigue], either in the form of a detached suburb or a competing local centre”.
Acting on legal advice from solicitors, Leahy Partners and Garret Simons SC, a noted expert on planning law, Mr Gleeson said he was satisfied that the “purported resolution” passed by the council was invalid and the plan should be adopted without the rezonings.
The two landowners involved had offered to indemnify the councillors if they were personally surcharged for making this decision - a stratagem which Mr Simons said would “undermine the regime put in place by the Oireachtas” to discipline errant councillors.
In his ruling, Mr Justice McGovern said there appeared to have been “no meaningful discussion” at the council meeting of a report by landscape architects Nicholas de Jong Associates that formed the basis of the development strategy underpinning the local area plan.
“There appears to have been no serious discussion on the environmental impact of the proposed rezoning and the importance of keeping development within the existing town boundaries, as bordered by the river on one side” - the judge said.
He noted that a county manager had “the power to treat a resolution as invalid where the elected members have ignored the local authority’s expert advice to the effect that the development would be contrary to the proper planning and development of the area”.
In the case of Adare, the councillors had also failed to outline “any proper planning-based reason for rejecting that advice”.
Accordingly, Mr Justice McGovern said he was satisfied that the county manager was entitled to make an order rescinding the rezoning motion passed by the councillors, because it was “not a valid and effective resolution” in accordance with Section 20 (3) of the 2000 Act.
Environment Minister John Gormley is to introduce legislation shortly amending the Act to ensure that all land rezoning decisions are informed by an “evidence-based core strategy”. Thus, councillors would no longer be able to rezone land merely at the behest of its owners.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Metro rail delay as board seeks new details
AN BORD Pleanála is now unlikely to make a decision on the Dublin Metro North project until early next year following its request for a raft of further information on the project from its promoters, the Railway Procurement Agency (RPA).
An RPA spokesman has conceded that the board’s request will result in a delay in determining its Railway Order application, but he said the agency would work hard to meet the October 1st deadline for submitting the new information.
Apart from seeking further details about the impact on “sensitive” properties such as the Rotunda and Mater hospitals, the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green and Corpus Christi National School in Drumcondra, the board wants to know more about many aspects of the project.
It complains that the RPA’s application for a Railway Order as well as the format of the original environmental impact statement (EIS) “make it very difficult for the public and affected parties to determine specific impacts of the proposed development” on particular properties.
The board’s request, which runs to 32 pages, requires the RPA to submit environmental reports on the likely effects arising from the construction and operation of the proposed metro line for 10 “sensitive receptors”, including specific mitigation measures in each case.
It also notes that the EIS, prepared by consultants, “does not address” the likely adverse environmental impacts from the diversion of utilities – electricity, gas, telecom and sewer lines – along the 18km route between Lissenhall, north of Swords, and St Stephen’s Green.
The board also wants an environmental assessment of the impacts of utility works in Ballymun as well as Parnell Square, O’Connell Bridge and St Stephen’s Green.
“Plans and details of the existing and proposed arrangements of utilities are requested. In addition, clear timeframes for the utilities works must also be included,” the board said. All utilities to be protected or diverted away from excavation areas are to be identified.
Dealing with archaeology, the planning board wants a geophysical survey of the area of St Stephen’s Green (“an important national monument”) that would be affected by metro construction works, with an assessment of the archaeological issues to be resolved.
Noting that the metro depot would be located on the site of Belinstown Castle, near Swords, it seeks a geophysical survey as well as test-trenching – with the results to be submitted to the board along with plans to preserve, record or protect archaeological materials.
The board is also seeking more information about flood risk assessment, park-and-ride sites, the impact of constructing a “cut-and-cover” tunnel through Ballymun, noise and traffic, and electromagnetic interference with sensitive hospital equipment.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
An RPA spokesman has conceded that the board’s request will result in a delay in determining its Railway Order application, but he said the agency would work hard to meet the October 1st deadline for submitting the new information.
Apart from seeking further details about the impact on “sensitive” properties such as the Rotunda and Mater hospitals, the Fitzwilliam Hotel on St Stephen’s Green and Corpus Christi National School in Drumcondra, the board wants to know more about many aspects of the project.
It complains that the RPA’s application for a Railway Order as well as the format of the original environmental impact statement (EIS) “make it very difficult for the public and affected parties to determine specific impacts of the proposed development” on particular properties.
The board’s request, which runs to 32 pages, requires the RPA to submit environmental reports on the likely effects arising from the construction and operation of the proposed metro line for 10 “sensitive receptors”, including specific mitigation measures in each case.
It also notes that the EIS, prepared by consultants, “does not address” the likely adverse environmental impacts from the diversion of utilities – electricity, gas, telecom and sewer lines – along the 18km route between Lissenhall, north of Swords, and St Stephen’s Green.
The board also wants an environmental assessment of the impacts of utility works in Ballymun as well as Parnell Square, O’Connell Bridge and St Stephen’s Green.
“Plans and details of the existing and proposed arrangements of utilities are requested. In addition, clear timeframes for the utilities works must also be included,” the board said. All utilities to be protected or diverted away from excavation areas are to be identified.
Dealing with archaeology, the planning board wants a geophysical survey of the area of St Stephen’s Green (“an important national monument”) that would be affected by metro construction works, with an assessment of the archaeological issues to be resolved.
Noting that the metro depot would be located on the site of Belinstown Castle, near Swords, it seeks a geophysical survey as well as test-trenching – with the results to be submitted to the board along with plans to preserve, record or protect archaeological materials.
The board is also seeking more information about flood risk assessment, park-and-ride sites, the impact of constructing a “cut-and-cover” tunnel through Ballymun, noise and traffic, and electromagnetic interference with sensitive hospital equipment.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Sunday, 5 July 2009
High hopes have been hit in the past by planners
SEAN Dunne bought half the AIB Bankcentre in April 2006 for €207m in a sale-and-lease deal where AIB agreed to remain as tenants.
Hibernian Life and Pensions bought the remainder of the complex, with AIB taking a total of €378m for the south Dublin office block.
Mr Dunne has identified the bank as a potential tenant if he gets planning permission for his office development.
The Bankcentre was opened in 1979 after a four-year construction period, and was designed by architects Robinson, Keefe and Devane. AIB currently occupies 10,000 sq m of the complex.
The deal includes a break clause that will allow Mr Dunne to part company with AIB after four years and 11 months. Mr Dunne also owns a number of prime office developments and sites across Dublin, including the €380m high-profile Jurys/ Berkeley Court site, which was the subject of a lengthy planning battle which he lost.
The nine-storey Hume House in Ballsbridge also features in his property portfolio.
He also owns the Blood Stone Building in Dublin's Docklands, an 80-acre site in Greystones, which was refused permission for a shopping centre; and the Zed Candy factory site in Kilcock, Co Kildare, which was also refused permission. Permission was also refused last month for a retirement village of 100 units at Stocking Lane in Rathfarnham.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Hibernian Life and Pensions bought the remainder of the complex, with AIB taking a total of €378m for the south Dublin office block.
Mr Dunne has identified the bank as a potential tenant if he gets planning permission for his office development.
The Bankcentre was opened in 1979 after a four-year construction period, and was designed by architects Robinson, Keefe and Devane. AIB currently occupies 10,000 sq m of the complex.
The deal includes a break clause that will allow Mr Dunne to part company with AIB after four years and 11 months. Mr Dunne also owns a number of prime office developments and sites across Dublin, including the €380m high-profile Jurys/ Berkeley Court site, which was the subject of a lengthy planning battle which he lost.
The nine-storey Hume House in Ballsbridge also features in his property portfolio.
He also owns the Blood Stone Building in Dublin's Docklands, an 80-acre site in Greystones, which was refused permission for a shopping centre; and the Zed Candy factory site in Kilcock, Co Kildare, which was also refused permission. Permission was also refused last month for a retirement village of 100 units at Stocking Lane in Rathfarnham.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Follow this train of thought
A quarter of a century after the inauguration of the Dart, the Government is still trying to devise a public-transport solution for the capital, and the next stage could take the Dart underground
It was described in an Irish Times headline as “CIÉ’s new weapon to confound the begrudgers”. And in truth, the Dart did. On the Sunday after it started running between Howth and Bray in July 1984, more people travelled on the new electric trains than on any day since the railway line opened in 1834. There was something symmetrical about the Dart being inaugurated in the year of the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s first railway, the Dublin to Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) line. And despite criticisms that it only served the “gold coast” around Dublin Bay, it gave the city its first whiff of continental Europe.
For months, Dubliners had been stopped in their tracks by the sight of brand-new, German-built electric trains gliding up and down the line on test runs. They were so different to the old diesel engines, which hauled probably the most obsolete rolling stock on wheels in this part of the world. That the new trains were electric was entirely due to Des O’Malley, then minister for industry and energy, who recognised the importance of not relying so much on imported oil; had it been left to his cabinet colleague, Prof Martin O’Donoghue, all Dublin would have got was a cheap and cheerful set of new diesel trains.
The Dart brand-name was chosen after sifting through numerous alternatives (such as “Bayline”). As Cartan Finegan, then marketing director of CIÉ, said at the time: “Finally, we settled for Dart because it seemed to say everything.” Dart is an acronym for Dublin Area Rapid Transit, which implied that electrifying the Howth-Bray line was merely the first phase of a much more ambitious plan to turn it into a network, with lines serving Tallaght and Blanchardstown via an underground link in the city centre. But that never happened.
When work on the electrification project started in 1980, David Waters, the engineer in charge, took personal responsibility for everything – he never bulldozed the project through, and instead negotiated with residents’ associations and other interest groups on issues such as rebuilding bridges.
There was some controversy about the cost of this EU-funded project, which worked out at £113 million (€143.5 million). Economists such as Seán Barrett of Trinity College thought it was wildly extravagant; like Martin O’Donoghue, they would have preferred to see a simple upgrade of services on the existing line. The most shocking thing was that the Department of Finance purloined £27 million (€34 million) in EU funding for the Dart, leaving CIÉ to borrow money to make up the difference. This saddled the company with repaying both capital and interest on a debt that should never have arisen, and vastly inflated the cost.
Even before the new service was inaugurated on July 24th, 1984, the price of houses along the line was going up; had CIÉ been able to “recapture” some of these gains, it could have repaid the capital outlay over time. The Dart also facilitated major commercial development, contributing to an office-building boom in Blackrock, for example. Land located near the line shot up in value, even in the bleak 1980s. It took a long time before CIÉ cashed in on this upward trend by promoting a major office scheme at Connolly Station, for example.
The company’s plans for a new transportation centre in the middle of town ran into trouble. Since 1976, CIÉ had been acquiring property on both sides of the River Liffey for this mammoth project, which would have incorporated an underground train and bus station topped by an array of office blocks, hotels and shopping malls. An Taisce was first into the breach, calling in January 1986 for a “complete reassessment” of this scheme on the basis that it would destroy the Temple Bar area. Ironically, the emerging “left bank” culture of the area had been unwittingly encouraged by CIÉ’s policy of renting out its buildings on short-term leases.
Liam Skelly, a firebrand Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, was having none of it, however. In late 1986, he claimed to have lined up a Canadian company to develop the proposed transportation centre. But the “Skelly Plan” bit the dust and Temple Bar was later designated as Dublin’s “cultural quarter”.
The plan to extend the Dart to other parts of the city was scuppered in October 1987 by the then Fianna Fáil minority government, led by Charles J Haughey. Not only did it rule out investment in anything other than buses and “diesel-based options” for rail, it also abolished the Dublin Transport Authority, which had been set up just six months earlier.
Eventually, as a result of the Dublin Transportation Initiative in the early 1990s, we were offered the Luas – although the city became the first in the world to build two free-standing light-rail lines. This was the outcome of a cowardly decision in May 1998 by ministers who couldn’t get their heads around the Luas running up and down Dawson Street.
When the Dart service started in 1984, a fleet of 80 carriages carried about 35,000 passengers per day. Government parsimony meant that not a single extra carriage was added during the next 16 years, even though passenger numbers were climbing to 80,000 per day. As a result, overcrowding during peak periods became unbearable.
Since 2001, major improvements have been made. The Dart line was extended to serve both Malahide and Greystones, new rolling stock was bought, real-time passenger information screen have been installed in all stations, platforms have been lengthened to cater for eight-carriage trains, and new stations were opened at Portmarnock and Grand Canal Dock.
Maintenance is poor, however. Dún Laoghaire station is grungy and confusing, despite its new look. Station nameplates are flimsy, their colour scheme a residue of Iarnród Éireann’s orange period; it’s a long way from the original “total design concept”.
The most serious problem is capacity. Due to constraints in and around Connolly Station, only 12 trains per hour can be accommodated on the Loop Line – too few to cater for the 90,000 passengers a day using the Dart and thousands of others on diesel trains.
Now, two decades after being ruled out, a Dart underground line is back on the agenda. This would connect Heuston Station to the Docklands, via Christchurch, St Stephen’s Green and Pearse Station, linking up with both the Tallaght and Sandyford Luas lines as well as the existing Dart line, to give Dublin a rail network.
Last December, the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey described the proposed rail tunnel as the “most critical piece” of public-transport infrastructure in the State, and pledged that it would proceed, notwithstanding the Government’s yawning budget deficit. The estimate for the “Dart Underground” is €2 billion – considerably less than the still-secret cost of Metro North, which would provide a single, 18km Luas line from Swords to St Stephen’s Green. Given that the CIÉ plan would integrate existing suburban rail services, it seems better suited to serve Dublin’s sprawl than the metro.
What’s not included in the €2 billion estimate, however, is the cost of electrifying lines to Kildare, Maynooth and Drogheda so that trains could use the tunnel; clearly, diesel engines could not be allowed through because of the fumes they emit. The question remains of whether a cash-starved Government will have the stomach to go ahead with this.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
It was described in an Irish Times headline as “CIÉ’s new weapon to confound the begrudgers”. And in truth, the Dart did. On the Sunday after it started running between Howth and Bray in July 1984, more people travelled on the new electric trains than on any day since the railway line opened in 1834. There was something symmetrical about the Dart being inaugurated in the year of the 150th anniversary of Ireland’s first railway, the Dublin to Kingstown (Dún Laoghaire) line. And despite criticisms that it only served the “gold coast” around Dublin Bay, it gave the city its first whiff of continental Europe.
For months, Dubliners had been stopped in their tracks by the sight of brand-new, German-built electric trains gliding up and down the line on test runs. They were so different to the old diesel engines, which hauled probably the most obsolete rolling stock on wheels in this part of the world. That the new trains were electric was entirely due to Des O’Malley, then minister for industry and energy, who recognised the importance of not relying so much on imported oil; had it been left to his cabinet colleague, Prof Martin O’Donoghue, all Dublin would have got was a cheap and cheerful set of new diesel trains.
The Dart brand-name was chosen after sifting through numerous alternatives (such as “Bayline”). As Cartan Finegan, then marketing director of CIÉ, said at the time: “Finally, we settled for Dart because it seemed to say everything.” Dart is an acronym for Dublin Area Rapid Transit, which implied that electrifying the Howth-Bray line was merely the first phase of a much more ambitious plan to turn it into a network, with lines serving Tallaght and Blanchardstown via an underground link in the city centre. But that never happened.
When work on the electrification project started in 1980, David Waters, the engineer in charge, took personal responsibility for everything – he never bulldozed the project through, and instead negotiated with residents’ associations and other interest groups on issues such as rebuilding bridges.
There was some controversy about the cost of this EU-funded project, which worked out at £113 million (€143.5 million). Economists such as Seán Barrett of Trinity College thought it was wildly extravagant; like Martin O’Donoghue, they would have preferred to see a simple upgrade of services on the existing line. The most shocking thing was that the Department of Finance purloined £27 million (€34 million) in EU funding for the Dart, leaving CIÉ to borrow money to make up the difference. This saddled the company with repaying both capital and interest on a debt that should never have arisen, and vastly inflated the cost.
Even before the new service was inaugurated on July 24th, 1984, the price of houses along the line was going up; had CIÉ been able to “recapture” some of these gains, it could have repaid the capital outlay over time. The Dart also facilitated major commercial development, contributing to an office-building boom in Blackrock, for example. Land located near the line shot up in value, even in the bleak 1980s. It took a long time before CIÉ cashed in on this upward trend by promoting a major office scheme at Connolly Station, for example.
The company’s plans for a new transportation centre in the middle of town ran into trouble. Since 1976, CIÉ had been acquiring property on both sides of the River Liffey for this mammoth project, which would have incorporated an underground train and bus station topped by an array of office blocks, hotels and shopping malls. An Taisce was first into the breach, calling in January 1986 for a “complete reassessment” of this scheme on the basis that it would destroy the Temple Bar area. Ironically, the emerging “left bank” culture of the area had been unwittingly encouraged by CIÉ’s policy of renting out its buildings on short-term leases.
Liam Skelly, a firebrand Fine Gael TD for Dublin West, was having none of it, however. In late 1986, he claimed to have lined up a Canadian company to develop the proposed transportation centre. But the “Skelly Plan” bit the dust and Temple Bar was later designated as Dublin’s “cultural quarter”.
The plan to extend the Dart to other parts of the city was scuppered in October 1987 by the then Fianna Fáil minority government, led by Charles J Haughey. Not only did it rule out investment in anything other than buses and “diesel-based options” for rail, it also abolished the Dublin Transport Authority, which had been set up just six months earlier.
Eventually, as a result of the Dublin Transportation Initiative in the early 1990s, we were offered the Luas – although the city became the first in the world to build two free-standing light-rail lines. This was the outcome of a cowardly decision in May 1998 by ministers who couldn’t get their heads around the Luas running up and down Dawson Street.
When the Dart service started in 1984, a fleet of 80 carriages carried about 35,000 passengers per day. Government parsimony meant that not a single extra carriage was added during the next 16 years, even though passenger numbers were climbing to 80,000 per day. As a result, overcrowding during peak periods became unbearable.
Since 2001, major improvements have been made. The Dart line was extended to serve both Malahide and Greystones, new rolling stock was bought, real-time passenger information screen have been installed in all stations, platforms have been lengthened to cater for eight-carriage trains, and new stations were opened at Portmarnock and Grand Canal Dock.
Maintenance is poor, however. Dún Laoghaire station is grungy and confusing, despite its new look. Station nameplates are flimsy, their colour scheme a residue of Iarnród Éireann’s orange period; it’s a long way from the original “total design concept”.
The most serious problem is capacity. Due to constraints in and around Connolly Station, only 12 trains per hour can be accommodated on the Loop Line – too few to cater for the 90,000 passengers a day using the Dart and thousands of others on diesel trains.
Now, two decades after being ruled out, a Dart underground line is back on the agenda. This would connect Heuston Station to the Docklands, via Christchurch, St Stephen’s Green and Pearse Station, linking up with both the Tallaght and Sandyford Luas lines as well as the existing Dart line, to give Dublin a rail network.
Last December, the Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey described the proposed rail tunnel as the “most critical piece” of public-transport infrastructure in the State, and pledged that it would proceed, notwithstanding the Government’s yawning budget deficit. The estimate for the “Dart Underground” is €2 billion – considerably less than the still-secret cost of Metro North, which would provide a single, 18km Luas line from Swords to St Stephen’s Green. Given that the CIÉ plan would integrate existing suburban rail services, it seems better suited to serve Dublin’s sprawl than the metro.
What’s not included in the €2 billion estimate, however, is the cost of electrifying lines to Kildare, Maynooth and Drogheda so that trains could use the tunnel; clearly, diesel engines could not be allowed through because of the fumes they emit. The question remains of whether a cash-starved Government will have the stomach to go ahead with this.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Friday, 3 July 2009
Liam Carroll applies for third scheme in north Dublin docks
Developer Liam Carroll has applied to develop a €100m office scheme reaching up to seven storeys between Mayor Street Upper and Castleforbes Road in Dublin's north docks.
The development would have about 30,000sq m of office space and would be built near the office building Carroll plans to lease to Anglo Irish Bank. He recently lodged plans for a third scheme measuring 14,000sq m on an adjacent site.
If Carroll was to secure planning for all three schemes, he would be able to develop nearly 70,000sq m of offices there, nearly four times as much office space as was leased in all of Dublin in the first half of this year.
Carroll had been hoping to attract various parts of Bank of Ireland and AIB to buildings in the area but those deals never went through. There have been some industry rumours that AIB has revived tentative queries about space for its capital-markets division. The Anglo building had been due for decision last week but although it is at board level at An Bord Pleanala, no final decision has been taken.
Carroll's company behind the scheme is due in court next week in relation to court proceedings taken against it by rival developer Sean Dunne. The Commercial Court is also due to begin eight weeks of hearings against Carroll and other related parties next week in relation to a €150m claim for damages made by rival developer Noel Smyth in relation to a planned expansion of The Square shopping centre in Tallaght in west Dublin.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
The development would have about 30,000sq m of office space and would be built near the office building Carroll plans to lease to Anglo Irish Bank. He recently lodged plans for a third scheme measuring 14,000sq m on an adjacent site.
If Carroll was to secure planning for all three schemes, he would be able to develop nearly 70,000sq m of offices there, nearly four times as much office space as was leased in all of Dublin in the first half of this year.
Carroll had been hoping to attract various parts of Bank of Ireland and AIB to buildings in the area but those deals never went through. There have been some industry rumours that AIB has revived tentative queries about space for its capital-markets division. The Anglo building had been due for decision last week but although it is at board level at An Bord Pleanala, no final decision has been taken.
Carroll's company behind the scheme is due in court next week in relation to court proceedings taken against it by rival developer Sean Dunne. The Commercial Court is also due to begin eight weeks of hearings against Carroll and other related parties next week in relation to a €150m claim for damages made by rival developer Noel Smyth in relation to a planned expansion of The Square shopping centre in Tallaght in west Dublin.
Sunday Tribune
www.buckplanning.ie
Planning board accused of allowing destruction of priority Corrib habitat
THE STATE has accused An Bord Pleanála of permitting “the deliberate destruction” of priority habitat limestone pavement at the protected Lough Corrib site in Co Galway by granting approval for the €317 million Galway city outer bypass.
In a strong attack on the board at the Commercial Court yesterday, Garret Simons SC, for the State, argued that the board’s approval was invalid as it breached the European habitats directive requiring member states to protect natural habitats.
Counsel for the board rejected the attack as unwarranted and described as “farcical” claims by the State the board was trying to save face. The State was now making arguments in this case contrary to what it had told the oral hearing into the road, Nuala Butler SC said.
The Minister for Transport can intervene at any time to stop the road given the Minister for the Environment’s claim that the approval breached EU law but he had not and the board rejected the State’s reasons for not doing so, Mr Simons added.
If there was a breach of European law, the remedy was in the State’s hands but it had not acted and there was no explanation why this conundrum continued to exist.
The clashes happened in the continuing hearing of the challenge by environmentalist Peter Sweetman to the board’s approval in November 2008 for the road scheme, excluding one connection between Gortatlevna and An Baile Nua.
Mr Simons told Mr Justice George Birmingham yesterday that the Government believed the approval was invalid. When the judge asked why the Minister for Transport did not just stop the road project, as suggested by the board, he said that would be an interference with the separation of powers as the issue was now before the courts. The State did not wish to leave an important legal question unresolved or deprive Mr Sweetman of his right of access to the courts.
Mr Simons added that the State supported Mr Sweetman’s application for a referral to the European Court of Justice of issues concerning interpretation of the relevant provisions of the habitats directive so as to secure clarity on the meaning of those provisions.
The case centres on the interpretation of Article 6, particularly 6.3 of the habitats directive which stipulates any plan likely to have a significant effect on a protected site must be appropriately assessed as to its implications for the site’s conservation objectives and prohibits approval of any plan which adversely affects “the integrity” of the site.
The case continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
In a strong attack on the board at the Commercial Court yesterday, Garret Simons SC, for the State, argued that the board’s approval was invalid as it breached the European habitats directive requiring member states to protect natural habitats.
Counsel for the board rejected the attack as unwarranted and described as “farcical” claims by the State the board was trying to save face. The State was now making arguments in this case contrary to what it had told the oral hearing into the road, Nuala Butler SC said.
The Minister for Transport can intervene at any time to stop the road given the Minister for the Environment’s claim that the approval breached EU law but he had not and the board rejected the State’s reasons for not doing so, Mr Simons added.
If there was a breach of European law, the remedy was in the State’s hands but it had not acted and there was no explanation why this conundrum continued to exist.
The clashes happened in the continuing hearing of the challenge by environmentalist Peter Sweetman to the board’s approval in November 2008 for the road scheme, excluding one connection between Gortatlevna and An Baile Nua.
Mr Simons told Mr Justice George Birmingham yesterday that the Government believed the approval was invalid. When the judge asked why the Minister for Transport did not just stop the road project, as suggested by the board, he said that would be an interference with the separation of powers as the issue was now before the courts. The State did not wish to leave an important legal question unresolved or deprive Mr Sweetman of his right of access to the courts.
Mr Simons added that the State supported Mr Sweetman’s application for a referral to the European Court of Justice of issues concerning interpretation of the relevant provisions of the habitats directive so as to secure clarity on the meaning of those provisions.
The case centres on the interpretation of Article 6, particularly 6.3 of the habitats directive which stipulates any plan likely to have a significant effect on a protected site must be appropriately assessed as to its implications for the site’s conservation objectives and prohibits approval of any plan which adversely affects “the integrity” of the site.
The case continues today.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Thursday, 2 July 2009
Ryan rules out Corrib gas deal re-negotiation
ENERGY Minister Eamon Ryan has ruled out any chance of the Government renegotiating the Corrib gas deal with Shell and its partners after admitting any changes would damage Ireland’s reputation abroad.
Despite calls by groups for a share in the west of Ireland project, Mr Ryan defended the Government’s tax take on the controversial gas deal.
Most of the contracts around bringing the Corrib gas into the Irish market were signed, he said adding: "What we didn’t want to do and what the State is reluctant to, particularly when you’re dealing with corporation tax, is to start changing deals that you’ve already done.
"If we started shifting our tax rates all over the place, particularly on projects already signed and projects that have already been agreed, it would have a reputational damage for the State."
Under the present terms, Shell and its energy company partners will have to pay the State 25% of its profits from Corrib but only after exploration costs have been recovered in the project.
The Green Party managed to change the corporation tax on gas and oil exploration to 40% in 2007 after forming the coalition government.
However, the new tax will not be backdated.
Mr Ryan did admit yesterday, however, that the previous terms for energy companies exploring on Irish territories had been too lenient.
"Yes, I thought that we were too cheap, that the terms were too favourable," he told RTÉ radio.
Afri, an Irish group that campaigns on human rights and justice issues, wants Ireland to be given a share or royalties in the Corrib gas deal.
Afri chairman Andy Storey yesterday reiterated concern that Ireland had been given a raw deal on the Mayo project, noting that tax rates were higher in Norway and Britain on gas and oil exploration.
Mr Ryan said this was because both countries were positioned in the North Sea, which had lucrative reserves.
Other countries like France Portugal and Spain had even lower tax rates for exploration than Ireland.
Afri estimates the Corrib project could be worth in excess of €10 billion.
"Our proposal is to move away from the focus on taxation, which at the moment is the only thing we might get something out of, and to renegotiate the deal so that the Irish State actually takes a stake or simply a shareholding.
"It doesn’t seem unreasonable that at a figure of 10% or 20%, that the Irish State would actually get €1 billion," said Mr Storey.
Afri says the Corrib gas deal with Shell could be renegotiated on legal grounds, including claims the company has not followed the best health, safety and environmental practices.
Meanwhile, a Corrib gas protester whose boat has been seized by gardaí has revealed he has been forced to go on the dole.
Fisherman Pat O’Donnell and his son Jonathan also told Hot Press magazine that the family shellfish factory, employing an additional seven workers, was also expected to close because they cannot access fish for processing.
Protesters have claimed an exclusion zone has been set up off the Mayo coast since the arrival of the giant pipe-laying Solitaire vessel in the area.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Despite calls by groups for a share in the west of Ireland project, Mr Ryan defended the Government’s tax take on the controversial gas deal.
Most of the contracts around bringing the Corrib gas into the Irish market were signed, he said adding: "What we didn’t want to do and what the State is reluctant to, particularly when you’re dealing with corporation tax, is to start changing deals that you’ve already done.
"If we started shifting our tax rates all over the place, particularly on projects already signed and projects that have already been agreed, it would have a reputational damage for the State."
Under the present terms, Shell and its energy company partners will have to pay the State 25% of its profits from Corrib but only after exploration costs have been recovered in the project.
The Green Party managed to change the corporation tax on gas and oil exploration to 40% in 2007 after forming the coalition government.
However, the new tax will not be backdated.
Mr Ryan did admit yesterday, however, that the previous terms for energy companies exploring on Irish territories had been too lenient.
"Yes, I thought that we were too cheap, that the terms were too favourable," he told RTÉ radio.
Afri, an Irish group that campaigns on human rights and justice issues, wants Ireland to be given a share or royalties in the Corrib gas deal.
Afri chairman Andy Storey yesterday reiterated concern that Ireland had been given a raw deal on the Mayo project, noting that tax rates were higher in Norway and Britain on gas and oil exploration.
Mr Ryan said this was because both countries were positioned in the North Sea, which had lucrative reserves.
Other countries like France Portugal and Spain had even lower tax rates for exploration than Ireland.
Afri estimates the Corrib project could be worth in excess of €10 billion.
"Our proposal is to move away from the focus on taxation, which at the moment is the only thing we might get something out of, and to renegotiate the deal so that the Irish State actually takes a stake or simply a shareholding.
"It doesn’t seem unreasonable that at a figure of 10% or 20%, that the Irish State would actually get €1 billion," said Mr Storey.
Afri says the Corrib gas deal with Shell could be renegotiated on legal grounds, including claims the company has not followed the best health, safety and environmental practices.
Meanwhile, a Corrib gas protester whose boat has been seized by gardaí has revealed he has been forced to go on the dole.
Fisherman Pat O’Donnell and his son Jonathan also told Hot Press magazine that the family shellfish factory, employing an additional seven workers, was also expected to close because they cannot access fish for processing.
Protesters have claimed an exclusion zone has been set up off the Mayo coast since the arrival of the giant pipe-laying Solitaire vessel in the area.
Irish Examiner
www.buckplanning.ie
Ex-councillor sentenced under ethics law
A FORMER Fianna Fail councillor and mayor yesterday became the first politician in the country to be sentenced in a criminal court under new ethics laws.
Patrick O'Donoghue, a prominent Co Kerry hotelier, was fined €5,000 for trying to influence a planning decision which would have benefited his family-owned property.
The 41-year-old former mayor of Killarney and managing director of the Gleneagle Hotel group pleaded guilty to trying to influence the zoning decision in March 2006.
The offence carries a maximum €12,500 fine and, or, a two-year jail sentence.
Passing sentence at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Judge Carroll Moran imposed the fine to mark the gravity of the offence.
The conviction also carries a mandatory five-year disqualification from serving on a local authority.
The father of three pleaded guilty to seeking to influence a decision of Killarney Town Council regarding the rezoning of lands in which he had a beneficial interest under the Planning Act 2000.
A motion, passed by a majority of councillors, sought to rezone 20 acres around land and buildings including the Gleneagle and Brehon hotels and the INEC entertainment venue to tourism and associated town centre facilities.
O'Donoghue remained in the council chamber while the issue was being considered, but did not vote on the motion, the court was told.
The property has since been rezoned for tourism purposes in accordance with the planners' original advice.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Patrick O'Donoghue, a prominent Co Kerry hotelier, was fined €5,000 for trying to influence a planning decision which would have benefited his family-owned property.
The 41-year-old former mayor of Killarney and managing director of the Gleneagle Hotel group pleaded guilty to trying to influence the zoning decision in March 2006.
The offence carries a maximum €12,500 fine and, or, a two-year jail sentence.
Passing sentence at the Circuit Criminal Court in Tralee, Judge Carroll Moran imposed the fine to mark the gravity of the offence.
The conviction also carries a mandatory five-year disqualification from serving on a local authority.
The father of three pleaded guilty to seeking to influence a decision of Killarney Town Council regarding the rezoning of lands in which he had a beneficial interest under the Planning Act 2000.
A motion, passed by a majority of councillors, sought to rezone 20 acres around land and buildings including the Gleneagle and Brehon hotels and the INEC entertainment venue to tourism and associated town centre facilities.
O'Donoghue remained in the council chamber while the issue was being considered, but did not vote on the motion, the court was told.
The property has since been rezoned for tourism purposes in accordance with the planners' original advice.
Ciaran Byrne
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Half of sewage plants failing to make EU grade
ONE in four waste-water treatment plants are discharging raw sewage into the sea and rivers without carrying out treatment, posing serious public health risks.
And more than half of all plants surveyed by an environmental watchdog are failing to treat waste water to EU standards.
A new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also revealed that major towns, including Bray, Clifden and Kinsale, do not treat waste to the required safety standards. The 'Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland' report, to be published today, found that even when multi-million euro plants were built, some local authorities were failing to monitor the water quality, despite it costing just €600 per year.
Analysed
The report, which covers 2006 and 2007, analysed 370 treatment plants serving 482 villages, towns and cities with populations of over 500.
It found:
* Waste water from 192 treatment plants (51pc) did not meet the EU quality standards due to plants either not operating properly or being overloaded.
* Waste water was being discharged with either no treatment or basic treatment at 112 locations at the end of 2007.
* As of June 2009, 93 of these locations remain without treatment or with just basic treatment. In the majority of cases these discharges are to estuarine or coastal waters.
* 158 locations were required to have secondary treatment or higher by December 2005 to comply with EU law. As of June 2009, 20 did not.
* 90pc of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better. This means that the water was biologically treated to kill dangerous bugs.
The EPA has new powers to take local authorities to court for failing to ensure standards are met. Yesterday it warned that senior managers could be held personally responsible for failed treatment plants.
"Continued investment in waste-water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing waste water treatment infrastructure," EPA Programme Manager Gerard O'Leary said yesterday.
Environment Minister John Gormley last night said the fact that 25pc of the non-compliance levels were attributed to insufficient levels of sampling was "unacceptable".
"The report highlights the need for continued investment in waste-water treatment infrastructure if we are to achieve the standards required by EU and national legislation," he said.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
And more than half of all plants surveyed by an environmental watchdog are failing to treat waste water to EU standards.
A new report by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has also revealed that major towns, including Bray, Clifden and Kinsale, do not treat waste to the required safety standards. The 'Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland' report, to be published today, found that even when multi-million euro plants were built, some local authorities were failing to monitor the water quality, despite it costing just €600 per year.
Analysed
The report, which covers 2006 and 2007, analysed 370 treatment plants serving 482 villages, towns and cities with populations of over 500.
It found:
* Waste water from 192 treatment plants (51pc) did not meet the EU quality standards due to plants either not operating properly or being overloaded.
* Waste water was being discharged with either no treatment or basic treatment at 112 locations at the end of 2007.
* As of June 2009, 93 of these locations remain without treatment or with just basic treatment. In the majority of cases these discharges are to estuarine or coastal waters.
* 158 locations were required to have secondary treatment or higher by December 2005 to comply with EU law. As of June 2009, 20 did not.
* 90pc of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better. This means that the water was biologically treated to kill dangerous bugs.
The EPA has new powers to take local authorities to court for failing to ensure standards are met. Yesterday it warned that senior managers could be held personally responsible for failed treatment plants.
"Continued investment in waste-water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing waste water treatment infrastructure," EPA Programme Manager Gerard O'Leary said yesterday.
Environment Minister John Gormley last night said the fact that 25pc of the non-compliance levels were attributed to insufficient levels of sampling was "unacceptable".
"The report highlights the need for continued investment in waste-water treatment infrastructure if we are to achieve the standards required by EU and national legislation," he said.
Paul Melia
Irish Independent
www.buckplanning.ie
Sewage plants waste water not reaching EU standards
WASTE WATER from more than half of the country’s sewage treatment plants failed to reach EU quality standards in 2006 and 2007, according to a report released yesterday by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
And only one local authority fully complied with the requirements of the EU urban waste water treatment directive.
Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland reviewed the quality of discharges from 370 secondary waste-water treatment plants around the country.
While it found that 90 per cent of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better, in over half the plants, 192, the discharge did not meet EU standards. These included the Ringsend plant in Dublin and nine plants in Galway.
In a further 112 areas, waste water was discharged directly into estuaries or coastal waters with either basic treatment or no treatment at all in 2007. To date, this has continued in 93 locations.
Among the locations with the largest populations receiving little or no treatment were Killybegs in the Donegal County Council area, Shanganagh in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and Bray, Wicklow town and Arklow in Co Wicklow. These were among 20 areas required by the directive to have secondary treatment plants in place by the end of 2005 and still do not have them.
While many of the 20 are now under construction, it is expected that some will not be built until 2013, eight-years later than required.
The report found only one local authority, Longford County Council, fully complied with the requirements of the directive.
Insufficient or incorrect sampling accounted for a quarter of the non-compliances. Other problems included poor sludge management and inadequate collecting systems for waste water.
The report listed 13 rivers “seriously polluted” by municipal waste water, including three in Donegal.
Gerard O’Leary, programme manager with the EPA, said the compliance levels for waste water quality were very disappointing. The discharge from plants only needed to be analysed 12 times a year at a cost of €50 a month, so it was difficult to understand why this was not being done, he said.
“Continued investment in waste water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing water treatment infrastructure,” he said.
Mr O’Leary also said the Ringsend plant was currently operating beyond its design capacity and would struggle to meet discharge standards. While the plant served 2.87 million people, it was designed to serve 1.64 million.
Other plants too small for the population they serve included plants at Kenmare, Co Kerry, Enniscrone, Co Sligo and Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Mr O’Leary said the 18-year-old directive did not include sanctions, but new regulations introduced in late 2007 established a licensing system for sewage treatment plants. The authority will eventually be able to prosecute if plants do not comply with the conditions of these licences.
This could result in fines of between €5,000 and €500,000 imposed on local authorities.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley expressed concern at the levels of non-compliance with the standards and said it was unacceptable that 25 per cent could be attributed to insufficient sampling by local authorities.
“I will be instructing my department to engage with the EPA and with the local authorities in order to identify and agree procedures including training and up-skilling of operators which will assist individual waste-water treatment facilities to comply with the regulatory standards and with discharge licences and sampling requirements,” the Minister said.
Plants that discharge directly into estuaries or coastal waters with just basic treatment or no treatment
Preliminary treatment
To screen out, grind up or separate debris is the first step in waste water treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys etc are removed at this stage.
Primary treatment
Second step in treatment which separates suspended solids and greases from waste water
CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL
Clarecastle (no treatment); Corofin (primary treatment); Kilkee (no treatment); Kilrush (no treatment); Scarriff (primary treatment).
CORK (SOUTH) COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballingeary (primary treatment); Ballymakeera (primary treatment); Carrigaline (no treatment); Coachford (primary treatment); Cobh (no treatment); Crosshaven (preliminary treatment); Innishannon (primary treatment); Kinsale (preliminary treatment); Passage/Monkstown (no treatment); Youghal (no treatment).
CORK (WEST) COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballydehob (primary treatment); Baltimore (primary treatment); Bantry (no treatment); Castletownbere (no treatment); Courtmacsherry (no treatment); Glengarriff (primary treatment); Rosscarbery/Owenahincha (primary treatment); Schull (primary treatment); Skibbereen (no treatment).
DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL
Buncrana (primary treatment); Bundoran (preliminary treatment); Carrigart (primary treatment); Castlefinn (primary treatment); Convoy (primary treatment); Downings (primary treatment); Dunfanaghy/Portnablagh (primary treatment); Dungloe (primary treatment); Dunkineeley (primary treatment); Falcarragh (primary treatment); Glenties (primary treatment); Kilcar (preliminary treatment); Killybegs (no treatment); Lifford (primary treatment); Moville (no treatment); Ramelton (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment).
DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL
Shanganagh (preliminary treatment).
FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL
Howth/Baldoyle/Portmarnock (no treatment); Loughshinny (primary treatment); Rush (no treatment); Lusk (primary treatment).
GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL
Ahascragh (preliminary treatment); Clifden (primary treatment); Clonbur (preliminary treatment); Dunmore (primary treatment); Eyrecourt (primary treatment); Glenamaddy (primary treatment).
KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL
Ardfert (primary treatment); Ballyduff (primary treatment); Ballyferriter (primary treatment); Ballylongford (primary treatment); Fenit (primary treatment); Glenbeigh (primary treatment); Tarbert (primary treatment); Waterville (primary treatment).
KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballymore Eustace (primary treatment).
KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL
Bennettsbridge (primary treatment); Johnstown (primary treatment).
LIMERICK COUNTY COUNCIL
Foynes (no treatment); Glin (no treatment).
LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Drumlish (primary treatment); Newtownforbes (primary treatment).
LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL
Collon (no treatment); Knockbridge (no treatment).
MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
Belmullet (no treatment); Killala (no treatment); Kiltimagh (primary treatment); Newport (no treatment).
SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL
Mullaghmore (primary treatment); Rosses Point (primary treatment).
TIPPERARY SOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL
Cappawhite (primary treatment).
WATERFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Ardmore (preliminary treatment); Cappoquin (primary treatment); Dunmore East (preliminary treatment); Kilmacthomas (primary treatment); Stradbally (primary treatment); Tallow (primary treatment).
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Bunclody (primary treatment); Campile (primary treatment); Duncannon (no treatment) Fethard-on-Sea (primary treatment); Kilmore Quay (no treatment); New Ross (no treatment).
WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL
Arklow (no treatment); Avoca (primary treatment); Bray (preliminary treatment); Wicklow (preliminary treatment).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
And only one local authority fully complied with the requirements of the EU urban waste water treatment directive.
Urban Waste Water Discharges in Ireland reviewed the quality of discharges from 370 secondary waste-water treatment plants around the country.
While it found that 90 per cent of waste water in the country received secondary treatment or better, in over half the plants, 192, the discharge did not meet EU standards. These included the Ringsend plant in Dublin and nine plants in Galway.
In a further 112 areas, waste water was discharged directly into estuaries or coastal waters with either basic treatment or no treatment at all in 2007. To date, this has continued in 93 locations.
Among the locations with the largest populations receiving little or no treatment were Killybegs in the Donegal County Council area, Shanganagh in Dún Laoghaire Rathdown and Bray, Wicklow town and Arklow in Co Wicklow. These were among 20 areas required by the directive to have secondary treatment plants in place by the end of 2005 and still do not have them.
While many of the 20 are now under construction, it is expected that some will not be built until 2013, eight-years later than required.
The report found only one local authority, Longford County Council, fully complied with the requirements of the directive.
Insufficient or incorrect sampling accounted for a quarter of the non-compliances. Other problems included poor sludge management and inadequate collecting systems for waste water.
The report listed 13 rivers “seriously polluted” by municipal waste water, including three in Donegal.
Gerard O’Leary, programme manager with the EPA, said the compliance levels for waste water quality were very disappointing. The discharge from plants only needed to be analysed 12 times a year at a cost of €50 a month, so it was difficult to understand why this was not being done, he said.
“Continued investment in waste water treatment is required, as well as a dramatic improvement by local authorities in the operation and monitoring of existing water treatment infrastructure,” he said.
Mr O’Leary also said the Ringsend plant was currently operating beyond its design capacity and would struggle to meet discharge standards. While the plant served 2.87 million people, it was designed to serve 1.64 million.
Other plants too small for the population they serve included plants at Kenmare, Co Kerry, Enniscrone, Co Sligo and Thurles, Co Tipperary.
Mr O’Leary said the 18-year-old directive did not include sanctions, but new regulations introduced in late 2007 established a licensing system for sewage treatment plants. The authority will eventually be able to prosecute if plants do not comply with the conditions of these licences.
This could result in fines of between €5,000 and €500,000 imposed on local authorities.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley expressed concern at the levels of non-compliance with the standards and said it was unacceptable that 25 per cent could be attributed to insufficient sampling by local authorities.
“I will be instructing my department to engage with the EPA and with the local authorities in order to identify and agree procedures including training and up-skilling of operators which will assist individual waste-water treatment facilities to comply with the regulatory standards and with discharge licences and sampling requirements,” the Minister said.
Plants that discharge directly into estuaries or coastal waters with just basic treatment or no treatment
Preliminary treatment
To screen out, grind up or separate debris is the first step in waste water treatment. Sticks, rags, large food particles, sand, gravel, toys etc are removed at this stage.
Primary treatment
Second step in treatment which separates suspended solids and greases from waste water
CLARE COUNTY COUNCIL
Clarecastle (no treatment); Corofin (primary treatment); Kilkee (no treatment); Kilrush (no treatment); Scarriff (primary treatment).
CORK (SOUTH) COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballingeary (primary treatment); Ballymakeera (primary treatment); Carrigaline (no treatment); Coachford (primary treatment); Cobh (no treatment); Crosshaven (preliminary treatment); Innishannon (primary treatment); Kinsale (preliminary treatment); Passage/Monkstown (no treatment); Youghal (no treatment).
CORK (WEST) COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballydehob (primary treatment); Baltimore (primary treatment); Bantry (no treatment); Castletownbere (no treatment); Courtmacsherry (no treatment); Glengarriff (primary treatment); Rosscarbery/Owenahincha (primary treatment); Schull (primary treatment); Skibbereen (no treatment).
DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL
Buncrana (primary treatment); Bundoran (preliminary treatment); Carrigart (primary treatment); Castlefinn (primary treatment); Convoy (primary treatment); Downings (primary treatment); Dunfanaghy/Portnablagh (primary treatment); Dungloe (primary treatment); Dunkineeley (primary treatment); Falcarragh (primary treatment); Glenties (primary treatment); Kilcar (preliminary treatment); Killybegs (no treatment); Lifford (primary treatment); Moville (no treatment); Ramelton (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment); Rathmullan (primary treatment).
DÚN LAOGHAIRE-RATHDOWN COUNTY COUNCIL
Shanganagh (preliminary treatment).
FINGAL COUNTY COUNCIL
Howth/Baldoyle/Portmarnock (no treatment); Loughshinny (primary treatment); Rush (no treatment); Lusk (primary treatment).
GALWAY COUNTY COUNCIL
Ahascragh (preliminary treatment); Clifden (primary treatment); Clonbur (preliminary treatment); Dunmore (primary treatment); Eyrecourt (primary treatment); Glenamaddy (primary treatment).
KERRY COUNTY COUNCIL
Ardfert (primary treatment); Ballyduff (primary treatment); Ballyferriter (primary treatment); Ballylongford (primary treatment); Fenit (primary treatment); Glenbeigh (primary treatment); Tarbert (primary treatment); Waterville (primary treatment).
KILDARE COUNTY COUNCIL
Ballymore Eustace (primary treatment).
KILKENNY COUNTY COUNCIL
Bennettsbridge (primary treatment); Johnstown (primary treatment).
LIMERICK COUNTY COUNCIL
Foynes (no treatment); Glin (no treatment).
LONGFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Drumlish (primary treatment); Newtownforbes (primary treatment).
LOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL
Collon (no treatment); Knockbridge (no treatment).
MAYO COUNTY COUNCIL
Belmullet (no treatment); Killala (no treatment); Kiltimagh (primary treatment); Newport (no treatment).
SLIGO COUNTY COUNCIL
Mullaghmore (primary treatment); Rosses Point (primary treatment).
TIPPERARY SOUTH COUNTY COUNCIL
Cappawhite (primary treatment).
WATERFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Ardmore (preliminary treatment); Cappoquin (primary treatment); Dunmore East (preliminary treatment); Kilmacthomas (primary treatment); Stradbally (primary treatment); Tallow (primary treatment).
WEXFORD COUNTY COUNCIL
Bunclody (primary treatment); Campile (primary treatment); Duncannon (no treatment) Fethard-on-Sea (primary treatment); Kilmore Quay (no treatment); New Ross (no treatment).
WICKLOW COUNTY COUNCIL
Arklow (no treatment); Avoca (primary treatment); Bray (preliminary treatment); Wicklow (preliminary treatment).
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
RPA selects two bidders for Metro North project
TWO GROUPS backed by a series of multinationals are set to bid for the right to build and operate a new rail network valued at up to €5 billion.
The State agency charged with developing the Republic’s rail networks announced yesterday that it has chosen two bidders for the Metro North project, the underground rail line which will link Dublin’s city centre with its airport and northern suburb of Swords.
The Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) said that it has asked the Celtic Metro and Metro Express consortiums to put forward their best and final offers to build and manage the project.
The groups each combine multinational building and engineering businesses, rail and public transport operators and financiers (see panel).
Partners in each group have experience of operating rail and tram systems in Europe and elsewhere.
Metro Express partners include AIB, Irish construction group Sisk and locally-based electrical and instrumentation specialist Mercury. Bombardier, whose aerospace division has a manufacturing base near Belfast, is also part of the group.
Celtic’s partners includes Mitsui, which has a long-standing presence in Ireland, and a division of Barclay’s Bank, which has Irish businesses.
The winner of the final bidding round will build and operate the rail line. The RPA will pay the company over 25 years from the date that its starts carrying passengers. This system allows the consortium to recoup its costs and earn a profit.
The cost of building the line has been estimated at between €2 billion and €5 billion. According to recent reports, the recession forced the bidders to lower their costs. The agency said yesterday that it was pleased with the level of competition for the project and added that the final process should deliver value for money to the State while boosting the economy.
According to the RPA, the project will create 4,000 jobs, while Metro Express said in a statement that it could employ between 5,000 and 7,000 people.
The RPA has applied to An Bord Pleanála for an order that will allow the project to go ahead.
The board is not expected to make a decision before September 4th.
If it approves the plan, the RPA will name the successful bidder early next year. The Government then has to approve the decision, and work can then begin on the project.
Celtic Metro and Metro Express saw off competition from two other consortiums, also made up largely of multinationals, to reach the final stage of the competition.
Metro bidders
METRO EXPRESS
John Sisk & Son : Leading Irish construction firm
AIB : Irish bank
Mercury : Irish engineering group which built the Luas electrical systems
Bombardier : Builds trams and locomotives
Macquarie Group : Part of the Australian bank of the same name; owns and runs rail projects around the world
Global Via Infraestructuras (GIV) : Spanish group, already working on M50 upgrade and operator of seven rail networks
Transdev RATP : Combination of London-listed rail and public transport builder and operator Transdev, and Paris Metro operator RATP
FCC : Spanish construction group
Alpine : Austrian-based tunnel-building specialist
CELTIC METRO
Barclay’s Private Equity : Division of British bank Barclay’s
Obrascon Huartes Lain : Spanish construction and engineering group
Mitsui : Japanese engineering and industrial group
Soares da Costa : Portuguese construction and engineering group
Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras : Spanish group specialising in road and public transport construction and management
CAF : Spanish builder of trams and trains
MTR : Hong Kong-based rail network operator.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The State agency charged with developing the Republic’s rail networks announced yesterday that it has chosen two bidders for the Metro North project, the underground rail line which will link Dublin’s city centre with its airport and northern suburb of Swords.
The Rail Procurement Agency (RPA) said that it has asked the Celtic Metro and Metro Express consortiums to put forward their best and final offers to build and manage the project.
The groups each combine multinational building and engineering businesses, rail and public transport operators and financiers (see panel).
Partners in each group have experience of operating rail and tram systems in Europe and elsewhere.
Metro Express partners include AIB, Irish construction group Sisk and locally-based electrical and instrumentation specialist Mercury. Bombardier, whose aerospace division has a manufacturing base near Belfast, is also part of the group.
Celtic’s partners includes Mitsui, which has a long-standing presence in Ireland, and a division of Barclay’s Bank, which has Irish businesses.
The winner of the final bidding round will build and operate the rail line. The RPA will pay the company over 25 years from the date that its starts carrying passengers. This system allows the consortium to recoup its costs and earn a profit.
The cost of building the line has been estimated at between €2 billion and €5 billion. According to recent reports, the recession forced the bidders to lower their costs. The agency said yesterday that it was pleased with the level of competition for the project and added that the final process should deliver value for money to the State while boosting the economy.
According to the RPA, the project will create 4,000 jobs, while Metro Express said in a statement that it could employ between 5,000 and 7,000 people.
The RPA has applied to An Bord Pleanála for an order that will allow the project to go ahead.
The board is not expected to make a decision before September 4th.
If it approves the plan, the RPA will name the successful bidder early next year. The Government then has to approve the decision, and work can then begin on the project.
Celtic Metro and Metro Express saw off competition from two other consortiums, also made up largely of multinationals, to reach the final stage of the competition.
Metro bidders
METRO EXPRESS
John Sisk & Son : Leading Irish construction firm
AIB : Irish bank
Mercury : Irish engineering group which built the Luas electrical systems
Bombardier : Builds trams and locomotives
Macquarie Group : Part of the Australian bank of the same name; owns and runs rail projects around the world
Global Via Infraestructuras (GIV) : Spanish group, already working on M50 upgrade and operator of seven rail networks
Transdev RATP : Combination of London-listed rail and public transport builder and operator Transdev, and Paris Metro operator RATP
FCC : Spanish construction group
Alpine : Austrian-based tunnel-building specialist
CELTIC METRO
Barclay’s Private Equity : Division of British bank Barclay’s
Obrascon Huartes Lain : Spanish construction and engineering group
Mitsui : Japanese engineering and industrial group
Soares da Costa : Portuguese construction and engineering group
Iridium Concesiones de Infraestructuras : Spanish group specialising in road and public transport construction and management
CAF : Spanish builder of trams and trains
MTR : Hong Kong-based rail network operator.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Approval for Galway bypass 'contravenes' EU law, court told
AN BORD Pleanála approved the €17 million Galway city bypass after finding the impact of the project on the Lough Corrib conservation area, while “locally severe”, would not adversely affect the “integrity” of the site, the Commercial Court heard yesterday.
The decision was akin to saying, if we have a lot of early church stained glass in Ireland, it does not matter if you allow 10 per cent of it to be destroyed, Paul O’Higgins SC, for environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman, said.
That was “entirely contrary” to the purpose of European law on conservation of habitats.
In proceedings by Mr Sweetman, which opened yesterday, the State has agreed with claims by Mr Sweetman that the board’s approval of November 2008 is invalid because it breaches provisions of the EU habitats directive requiring that such projects must not adversely affect the integrity of a conservation site, in this case the Lough Corrib candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) site.
The State has also claimed the approval exposes it to potential legal action and fines by the European Commission.
Under the habitats directive, Mr Sweetman claims EU member states cannot approve projects which will have a significant impact on a cSAC and/or priority natural habitat when there has been no assessment of solutions.
The board’s own inspector had recommended approval should be refused after an oral hearing in which the inspector accepted the alternatives to the proposed road project had not been subject to an appropriate assessment, Mr Sweetman said.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment also expressed opposition to the project during the oral hearing.
In opposing Mr Sweetman’s challenge, the board denies any breach of the habitats directive or the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations and claims it took account of all the evidence before granting approval.
The board said it considered the approved road development would be an appropriate solution to the identified traffic needs of Galway city and surrounding area and, while having a “localised severe impact” on the Lough Corrib cSAC, would not adversely affect the integrity of the cSAC.
The challenge to the approval for the N6 Galway City Outer Bypass scheme is one of two being heard in tandem by Mr Justice George Birmingham. The board granted approval for the road scheme, with the exception of a connection between Gortatleva and An Baile Nua.
The case by Mr Sweetman, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin, is against the board and the State, with Galway City Council and Galway County Council as notice parties, essentially centres on the argument that the road approval breaches the habitats directive and Article 30 of the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations.
Other issues relate to whether the “substantial grounds” standard of review applied by the Irish High Court to environmental cases, and the alleged “prohibitive” cost of such challenges, breaches Irish and European law provisions relating to rights of access to the courts and other right.
The second action is by Hands Across the Corrib Ltd, “Carraig Ban”, Ballinfoyle, Co Galway, an environmental non-government organisation.
It claims the board’s approval for the road project was based on a flawed environmental impact assessment, and argues that an “efficient, intelligent, public transport system” is a “very real alternative” to the proposed bypass.
Galway city and county councils want the project to go ahead and are supporting the board in its arguments.
The hearing is expected to run for six days.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
The decision was akin to saying, if we have a lot of early church stained glass in Ireland, it does not matter if you allow 10 per cent of it to be destroyed, Paul O’Higgins SC, for environmental campaigner Peter Sweetman, said.
That was “entirely contrary” to the purpose of European law on conservation of habitats.
In proceedings by Mr Sweetman, which opened yesterday, the State has agreed with claims by Mr Sweetman that the board’s approval of November 2008 is invalid because it breaches provisions of the EU habitats directive requiring that such projects must not adversely affect the integrity of a conservation site, in this case the Lough Corrib candidate Special Area of Conservation (cSAC) site.
The State has also claimed the approval exposes it to potential legal action and fines by the European Commission.
Under the habitats directive, Mr Sweetman claims EU member states cannot approve projects which will have a significant impact on a cSAC and/or priority natural habitat when there has been no assessment of solutions.
The board’s own inspector had recommended approval should be refused after an oral hearing in which the inspector accepted the alternatives to the proposed road project had not been subject to an appropriate assessment, Mr Sweetman said.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service of the Department of the Environment also expressed opposition to the project during the oral hearing.
In opposing Mr Sweetman’s challenge, the board denies any breach of the habitats directive or the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations and claims it took account of all the evidence before granting approval.
The board said it considered the approved road development would be an appropriate solution to the identified traffic needs of Galway city and surrounding area and, while having a “localised severe impact” on the Lough Corrib cSAC, would not adversely affect the integrity of the cSAC.
The challenge to the approval for the N6 Galway City Outer Bypass scheme is one of two being heard in tandem by Mr Justice George Birmingham. The board granted approval for the road scheme, with the exception of a connection between Gortatleva and An Baile Nua.
The case by Mr Sweetman, Lower Rathmines Road, Dublin, is against the board and the State, with Galway City Council and Galway County Council as notice parties, essentially centres on the argument that the road approval breaches the habitats directive and Article 30 of the EC (Natural Habitats) Regulations.
Other issues relate to whether the “substantial grounds” standard of review applied by the Irish High Court to environmental cases, and the alleged “prohibitive” cost of such challenges, breaches Irish and European law provisions relating to rights of access to the courts and other right.
The second action is by Hands Across the Corrib Ltd, “Carraig Ban”, Ballinfoyle, Co Galway, an environmental non-government organisation.
It claims the board’s approval for the road project was based on a flawed environmental impact assessment, and argues that an “efficient, intelligent, public transport system” is a “very real alternative” to the proposed bypass.
Galway city and county councils want the project to go ahead and are supporting the board in its arguments.
The hearing is expected to run for six days.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Court orders demolition of extensions to seaside hut
A WOMAN’S development plans to turn a hut she calls home into a dream seaside residence lay in ruin yesterday after a judge told her to demolish extensions to the property.
Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard that Margaret Duffy had not sought planning permission to treble the size of the timber sheeted chalet among high amenity sand dunes in Donabate, Co Dublin.
Barrister Damian Keaney told the Circuit Civil Court that Fingal County Council had to obtain a court injunction before Ms Duffy told builders to cease construction on the chalet known as “Sandstorm”.
Richard Dunne, a Fingal County Council planning officer, said builders had reached roof level on major solid block extensions to the northern and southern aspects of the two-bedroom wooden chalet before work stopped.
Now Ms Duffy has to demolish both extensions as well as topple part of a 30 sq metre garage she had already built without planning permission and which she has to reduce in size by six sq metres.
Mr Keaney told the court the local authority was willing to meet Ms Duffy on site within the next fortnight to mark out what unauthorised developments had to be demolished.
He said the county council was agreeable to her being given a further four months to carry out the demolition works.
Ms Duffy, in an application for retention permission had claimed ownership of property at Walnut Park, Courtlands, Griffith Avenue, Dublin; an apartment in Turvey Villas, Donabate; an apartment at Loftus Court, Dublin and a property at Ballough, Lusk, Co Dublin. She gave her home address as “Sandstorm,” Balcarrick, Donabate, where she said she lived for more than seven years.
Mr Keaney told the court the local authority had refused retention permission, a decision which had been backed on appeal by An Bord Pleanála.
The unauthorised development had breached Fingal’s development plan.
Ms Duffy, described as a cashier with a cash and carry company, was supported in court by her husband, Stuart.
They both said Fingal County Council officials had proved unco-operative with attempts to sort matters out following initial court proceedings.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
Judge Jacqueline Linnane heard that Margaret Duffy had not sought planning permission to treble the size of the timber sheeted chalet among high amenity sand dunes in Donabate, Co Dublin.
Barrister Damian Keaney told the Circuit Civil Court that Fingal County Council had to obtain a court injunction before Ms Duffy told builders to cease construction on the chalet known as “Sandstorm”.
Richard Dunne, a Fingal County Council planning officer, said builders had reached roof level on major solid block extensions to the northern and southern aspects of the two-bedroom wooden chalet before work stopped.
Now Ms Duffy has to demolish both extensions as well as topple part of a 30 sq metre garage she had already built without planning permission and which she has to reduce in size by six sq metres.
Mr Keaney told the court the local authority was willing to meet Ms Duffy on site within the next fortnight to mark out what unauthorised developments had to be demolished.
He said the county council was agreeable to her being given a further four months to carry out the demolition works.
Ms Duffy, in an application for retention permission had claimed ownership of property at Walnut Park, Courtlands, Griffith Avenue, Dublin; an apartment in Turvey Villas, Donabate; an apartment at Loftus Court, Dublin and a property at Ballough, Lusk, Co Dublin. She gave her home address as “Sandstorm,” Balcarrick, Donabate, where she said she lived for more than seven years.
Mr Keaney told the court the local authority had refused retention permission, a decision which had been backed on appeal by An Bord Pleanála.
The unauthorised development had breached Fingal’s development plan.
Ms Duffy, described as a cashier with a cash and carry company, was supported in court by her husband, Stuart.
They both said Fingal County Council officials had proved unco-operative with attempts to sort matters out following initial court proceedings.
Irish Times
www.buckplanning.ie
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