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Seafront group pitches their idea for baths site

Thursday, 28 August 2008

A Southside campaign group has put forward their alternative proposal for the redevelopment of the baths site in Dún Laoghaire.
A Southside campaign group has put forward their alternative proposal for the redevelopment of the baths site in Dún Laoghaire.
Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has given the public until September 1 to put in submissions on the future development of the baths and seafront.
Between now and the deadline, Save Our Seafront (SOS) will be publicising what they are calling option ‘C’ for the redevelopment of the baths site, as opposed to the options ‘A’ and ‘B’ unveiled by the council in April this year.
The two new concepts proposed by the council for the Dún Laoghaire baths and the East Pier to Sandycove enhancement scheme were priced at $129 million and $92 million respectively when the proposals were unveiled in February.
Concept A is known as the Dún Laoghaire Lagoon and involves the construction of a lagoon beach adjacent to the East Pier, with an aquatic play area on the old Dún Laoghaire baths site, among other facilities.
Concept B would involve the creation of a new artificial beach at Newtownsmith and the construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m from the land. Both concepts incorporate parts of the Sutton to Sandycove promenade.
But the SOS group has now put forward their own proposal for the controversial facility, which they have called Option ‘C’ – ‘The People’s Option’, as they dubbed it.
The proposal suggests the redevelopment of the baths with both cold water and heated pools as a fully public amenity with low admission prices.
The scheme would also include other water related amenities such as toddlers’ pools, seaweed and steam baths and the retention of the façade of the existing baths building but with a major upgrade and renovation of the facilities.
In addition, Option C provides for a modest café/restaurant and public viewing area and the landscaping and renovation of the park area between the East Pier and the baths.
Richard Boyd Barrett, the chairperson of SOS, said that while the council’s plans appeared to provide some public amenity, he believed they were, in fact, proposals to demolish the baths and replace them with car parks and other commercially orientated buildings on the seafront.
“At best the council options are a stalling tactic to drag the issue out until the public gets so fed up it will accept anything,” he claimed. “At worst, if the council is serious, the baths will be demolished to make way for money making car parks, shops and breakwaters and then the public will be told the beach elements are not possible or will cost too much.”
He added: “Most importantly, our proposal is based on what the public told us they wanted rather than it being dreamed up by private consultants.”
Bob Waddell of the Sandycove and Glasthule Residents’ Association said:
“We are often falsely accused of just being against everything but we are one hundred per cent behind the Save Our Seafront proposal for the baths.
“We strongly objected to the disgraceful neglect of the baths for decades and we objected equally to plans to put eight storey apartment blocks on the seafront.
“The council’s new proposals are equally objectionable because they involve concreting over a beautiful piece of the seashore and are a Trojan horse for the commercialisation of the public seafront.”
SOS is distributing a newsletter to thousands of households in the greater Dún Laoghaire area outlining their proposals. The group will also hold a rally outside the first county council meeting after the summer break on Monday, September 8, between 5 and 7pm.
Charles McNamara, the director of services in the Culture, Community Development and Amenities Department of the council, said the local authority has already received a large number of submissions from the public on the proposals for the development of the coastal area from the East Pier to Sandycove.
“The council is delighted that Richard Boyd Barrett and the Save Our Seafront Group are participating in the council's public consultation process,” he said.
"Their submission, together with all other submissions received before the closing date of September 1, will be carefully considered, following which a full report will be presented to the council.”
The deadline for submissions on the baths site in Dun Laoghaire is September 1.

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