| Council urged to protect local crèche |
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| Tuesday, 29 April 2008 | |
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There have been calls for Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to protect local amenities from development following the submission of a planning application that, if granted, would see a local crèche turned into offices. It is understood that the lease on the Crescent Crèche at 17A, the Crescent, in Monkstown Village, will not be renewed if a planning application to change the use of the building for commercial use is successful. An application to change the use of the existing two-storey crèche to ground floor retail and first floor office use of the premises has been lodged with the local authority. Monkstown local Niamh McSharry, whose two young children are attending the crèche, has handed in a petition signed by 20 locals to the county council in a bid to persuade them to prevent the closure of the childcare facility. “This crèche is ideally located beside the DART and is small and well run,” she said. “Other parents feel it is a fantastic facility and there isn’t another one in the village. “It would be a big loss for working parents if it wasn’t there. It would be a shame to see it go and have offices put in its place, which are not going to add anything to the village of Monkstown.” Cllr Mary Mitchell O’Connor (FG) said she will table a motion calling on the county manager to address the change of use planning applications so that community based amenities would be protected from being transformed into commercial enterprises. “I am very concerned that schools, crèches and nursing homes are being sold off and replaced by commercial premises,” she said. “It is disgraceful that a school or crèche that has operated successfully for years can be closed down and that children and parents can be left high and dry. “In the past a school was an integral part of the community,” she added. “It now seems that in every small commercial area one will find off-licenses, bookmakers’ shops, mobile phone shops but schools and crèches and will not feature.” Cllr O’Connor said that while the affluent village of Monkstown is well served by boutiques, restaurants and wine shops, schools were becoming extinct. She noted that the Church of Ireland primary school in Monkstown closed its doors a number of years ago and that Monkstown Educate Together Primary School is moving out of the village and will be situated 2km away on Kill Lane. In response, Mary Henchy, senior planner for the Dun Laoghaire area, said the application would be considered on its merits having regard to the current County Development Plan and Government policy. “All observations and submissions submitted within the normal planning process will be taken into consideration prior to making a recommendation,” she said. |
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Developed by Kevin Flynn