Dublin People - Council rejects dump row claims

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Council rejects dump row claims

Thursday, 13 March 2008

Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has rejected claims that it did not adequately consult with residents in Sandyford before they handed over a local green space to the National Roads Authority (NRA) for use as a dump for topsoil.
Early last year Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council leased a large green space beside the Moreen Blackthorn Estate in Sandyford to the NRA who subsequently dumped top soil from upgrade works on the M50 on it.
The Moreen/Blackthorn Environmental and Social Action Group have called on all public representatives in the area to intervene to thwart the “social and environmental disaster” looming over their estate.
The group claims that the county council did not consult them on the lease of the land to the NRA. They also say that the loss of the open space will scupper proposals for a community centre on the site, which the local authority had originally supported.
The council initially indicated their backing for the community centre proposed by developers Landmark. But they subsequently refused permission for an application for the development on the grounds that it would be in the way of the proposed Eastern bypass motorway. The planning application is still on appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
The chairman of the residents' group, Julian Hills, said last week that the people of Moreen/Blackthorn and other residents in Sandyford had been “robbed” of the possibility of a centre for an area which badly needs improved social infrastructure.

Discussions
“Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council engaged in detailed discussions with the developer, Landmark, and the residents on this community centre and now they have given the land away to the NRA without even bothering to tell us,” he said. “It is a disgrace.
“Of more immediate importance is the compound which is bound to become a health and safety hazard, a muck slide in winter and dusty and dirty in summer.”
Mr Hills noted that the Moreen Blackthorn Estate recently won a prize in the Dún Laoghaire Rathdown Community Awards for their efforts to address some of the environmental issues they faced in partnership with the council whose community motto is ‘Partnership in Progress’.
“Recent events have shown this notion of ‘partnership’ to be, at best, nothing more than a public relations exercise on the part of certain departments within the council and the NRA,” he claimed.
Mr Hills described the use of the land for the stockpile as “outrageous” and criticised what he described as the lack of intent to provide space for a planned community centre.
“The air of trust between residents and the council has been rocky but these events have brought it right back to the old days of ‘them and us’,” he said. “Tensions are beginning to run high.”
A spokeswoman for the council said the site had been clearly identified in an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) which was prepared for the M50 scheme and went to public consultation before being approved by An Bord Pleanála in 2005.

Nuisance
“We cannot object to the NRA's use of the site,” she said. “But what the council can and will do is to insist that the area is safe and secure and does not create a nuisance.”
She said a liaison officer had been assigned to the project and the official was fully aware of the concerns expressed by some members of the local community.
In relation to the future use of the land, she said a significant proportion of it was allocated to accommodate the proposed Eastern bypass. She added that it may be a number of years before the project proceeds.
She confirmed that the council had refused permission for the community centre because the applicants had not adequately demonstrated that the proposal would not “prejudice the provision” of the Eastern bypass.
A spokesman for the NRA said: “We have worked directly with the council in addressing local concerns on this. It has gone through a full environmental impact assessment. We went through all appropriate steps in terms of notification and authorisation to do this work.”

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