SARA News

Editor Pat Naismith
Vol.1 No.1 Date. 23/06/00

The proposed Stepaside Area development is valued at over £1 billion and will:

• Add 4,200 houses
• Add 13, 250 people
• Add 3,900 school children
• Increase existing traffic by almost 40% per annum

The proposals in the Stepaside Area Action Plan are totally inadequate to deal with these proposed increases.

While we welcome the planned approach to development, which underpins the Area Action Plan, we are greatly concerned with some fundamental weaknesses in it. Through some ten meetings and six written submissions to the DLRCC we have attempted to have these weaknesses addressed. To-date we have had some support from our councillors but none at all from the officials. Following meetings with representatives from 12 other residence associations in the immediate area, we have agreed that our minimum requirement is an Environmental Impact Assessment covering 8 key areas of mutual concern. This Alliance of 13 associations represents over 8,000 residence in the area comprising over 80% of the population. The Alliance includes, Stepaside Area Residents Association, Stepaside Park Residents Association, The Gallops Residents Association, Lamb's Brook Residents Association, Kilternan Residents Association, Leopardstown Heights Residents Association, Kilgobbin Residents Association, Hillcrest Road Residents Association, Stepaside Tidy Village Association, Sandyford Hall Residents Association, Sandyford Downs Residents Association, Ballyogan Residents Association, Leopardstown Valley Residents Association.

At a meeting on the 18 May a letter signed by all the above associations was handed to Olivia Mitchell T.D., Cllrs Maria Corrigan and Jimmy Murphy requesting them to reject the plan until the issues raised by the Alliance were addressed in writing to the satisfaction of the residence. The key issue is that an independent, area wide Environmental Impact Assessment be carried out before any development takes place. This EIA should include:

• A full area wide traffic study.
• A strict cap on development until the South Eastern Motorway and the Luas line B are operational.
• The sites for 4 additional sixteen teacher primary schools and one large post primary school be purchased now.
• That detailed provision is made now for indoor and outdoor (including Parks) sports and leisure facilities.
• A functioning 'green belt' for wild life and an enforceable plan to preserve as many of the trees and as much of the flora and fauna as possible.
• A cap of 400-500 houses per annum be enforced until all the infrastructural requirements are in place.
• A project manager be appointed with the responsibility and authority to enforce the agreed plan.

At our latest meeting with the Council (12 June) the Alliance made a strong presentation (see our web page for details) which again has been largely ignored.

The issue of traffic calming was raised at the AGM. Concern was expressed for the safety of residence trying to cross the road. We have written to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council requesting adequate traffic calming measures. In reply the Council stated they do not have funds to carry out these measures.

New Committee Members

Alan Flett
Pat Naismith
and
Hal Roche

were elected at a recent meeting

www.stepaside.net/sara/

The SARA Committee

Don Briggs
Louise Doyle
Caroline Fitzgerald
Alan Flett
Bobby Gahan
Lettie McCarthy
Pat Naismith
Pat O'Kane
Hal Roche
Clare Smith