Dublin People - BIN TAGS will soon become a thing of the past for residents in the South Dublin County Council area

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BIN TAGS will soon become a thing of the past for residents in the South Dublin County Council area

Thursday, 28 August 2008

Concerns have been expressed about a proposal by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council to install a temporary ice rink near an environmentally protected area.
Last year the county council erected a temporary ice rink beside Booterstown DART station car park from October to January. It has again applied to carry out the development through the part 8 planning process, whereby the council effectively applies to itself for planning permission.
An independent report by Biosphere Environmental Services, which assessed the impact of an ice rink on birds in the Booterstown area, was presented to the council in November 2007.
Councillors will now vote on whether to give the go ahead for the ice rink following the closing date for public submissions last week.

Habitat
In May of this year, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, designated the South Dublin Bay and River Tolka Estuary as a Special Protection Area (SPA). Included in this SPA is the Booterstown Bird Sanctuary at Williamstown Creek.
The EU Birds directive recognises that habitat loss and degradation are the most serious threats to the conservation of wild birds.
It places great emphasis on the protection of habitats for endangered as well as migratory species, especially through the establishment of a coherent network of SPAs comprising all the most suitable territories for these species.
In their submission, Green Ireland claimed the initial construction phase of the ice-skating rink would involve the use of heavy machinery with associated noise and pollution.
“This will cause disturbance to water birds using Blackrock Park Sanctuary at Williamstown Creek,” the submission states.
“When the ice rink is operational from October to January, there will be considerable movement of people and cars both inside and outside the rink facility.”
It adds: “The 150-space car park at the Circus Field will be the scene of continuous car parking movement, door slamming, bright lights, engine revving and greatly increased people noise and activity.”
Damien O’Regan of Green Ireland urged councillors to reject the proposal and called on them to relocate the ice rink to a “more appropriate venue”.
A member of the Combined Organisation of Booterstown Residents’ Associations (COBRA), Ronnie McDonald, said he would prefer to see the ice rink located in the nearby area known locally as the Circus Field.

Negate
“It is our view that the best solution is to have the ice rink in the Circus Field,” he said. “This will negate the huge start-up construction costs if the Williamstown Creek location is used, and it is without question an environmentally better choice.”
A senior council official said the local authority had done all that was required of it to ensure the protection of the environment regarding the ice rink development.
"It is of paramount importance to the council that areas of natural heritage are protected,” he said. “At all times in our dealings in this matter we have successfully addressed any environmental issues, no matter how small, in order to make Booterstown and its surrounding area a place where people and wildlife can co-exist.”

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