Home News Latest News Residents slam Kilternan plan

Residents slam Kilternan plan

Friday, 05 February 2010

RESIDENTS in South County Dublin have warned that council plans to borrow funds for the construction of two roads could turn into a financial disaster, potentially costing taxpayers tens of millions of euros. As part of its local area plan (LAP) for Kilternan, Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council intends to borrow in the region of e153 million to buy land and to build a road in the area that would eventually serve thousands of residential units. The council plans to spend some e128 million on compulsorily purchasing land that would enable them to construct the Glenamuck distributor road at a cost of a further e25 million. The local authority then hopes to recoup all the money by charging a levy of e43,000 on all apartments built by developers in Kilternan in the future. If charged, this levy would be the biggest development levy on residential units in the country. But Coleman Curran, Vice Chairman of the Kilternan Residents’ Association, said the taxpayer could eventually be saddled with a bill for tens of millions of euros because he believes developers will never build on the land due the huge levy being imposed by the council. “The big elephant in the room is that the council has imposed this e43,000 levy for each unit built,” he said. “This is pie in the sky, it is a fairytale and it will never happen. The developers will never build on this land because of this massive levy and so the council won't be able to pay back the loan. “They are still going to try and build the roads because they believe the roads are actually going to drive building. But the council is unlikely ever to recoup this e143 million and this could turn out to be a massive waste of taxpayers’ money.” South Dublin TD George Lee (FG) described the council's plan to recoup the multi million euro loan as “lunacy”. “The council needs to wake up,” he said. “Dublin is saturated with unsold apartments. Their prices are falling dramatically. If Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council proceeds with this plan, the money will be spent, the roads will be constructed but apartments will never be built. “Local rate payers will be left with a bill for e153 million but will have nothing to show for it. The council are behaving as if the property bubble never burst. Are they living on a different planet?” While only 800 people live in Kilternan at the moment, the LAP envisages up to 15,000 people living in the area eventually. The new road would bypass the village as the existing route would not be able to cope with the traffic generated by the planned development. Cllr Lettie McCarthy (Lab) said up to 1,000 housing units could be built in the area without the road infrastructure being put in place. However, she added: “In the event that the road scheme does not go ahead, the e43,000 would have to be given back to anyone who paid for a house or apartment and the rest of the area could not be developed. “I will be proposing changing this zoning back to agricultural in the next development plan if the overall viability of the development is still in question. “Kilternan area may still be saved from development due to the over supply of apartments and the changed economy.” In a response to the concerns, a spokeswoman for the council outlined its plans for the roads. “The funding of the Glenamuck district distributor road scheme, the alignment of which is included in the adopted local area plan, will be funded by means of a specific contribution scheme for said infrastructure. “All planning applications for permission for development in the Kilternan area will be assessed with regard to the adopted and approved plans and contribution scheme, as set out above.”