SARA News

Editor Pat Naismith
Vol.3 No.1 Date. 27/06/03

Last chance to save Stepaside

The Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council ("DL/R ") Draft County Development Plan 2003 has been published and is on display in the DLR offices in Marine Road, Dun Laoghaire.

Submissions / observations / objections must be made in writing by Tuesday 1st July 2003

The Stepaside / Sandyford / Kilternan Area - more than any other area within DL/R's remit, will be the most severely devastated region, if the Draft Plan is approved

SARA will be making submissions objecting to the impact of the Draft Plan on our area under the following headings

• PLANNING APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL 19000 RESIDENTUAL UNITS PRIOR 2010
• ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ("EIA")
• LACK OF PUBLIC PARK AMENITY
• SCHOOLS LOCAL
• ROADS - TRANSPORTATION

"Digest of Objections", a brief summary of SARA's rational is attached

SARA Committee Request

As stated SARA will be lodging objections to the Development Plan, highlighting the points outline above. However SARA will appreciate your personal assistance.

This support must take the form of an individual written submission and must be posted prior to June 30 2003. (Multiple signatures, irrespective of the number of people who sign, are treated as one submission).

Your submission can be extracts/ rewording for any one (or all) of the points in the newsletter.

New Committee Member

Sean Murray

was elected at a recent meeting

www.stepaside.net/sara/

The SARA Committee

Lettie McCarthy
Don Briggs
Caroline Fitzgerald
Alan Flett
Bobby Gahan
Pat Naismith
Sean Murray

Digest of Planning Objections

PLANNING APPROVAL OF ADDITIONAL 19000 RESIDENTUAL UNITS PRIOR 2010

Dl/R have a "legal" requirement to zone land for 19000 residential units between 2003 - 2010. The Stepaside / Sandyford area has been designated to provide the majority of these residential units because "There are Green Fields". As such, any "Green Field" on which planning permission has - or can be granted will attract applications for the maximum residential units per acre.

(A "residential unit" is studio/ 1-2 bedroom apartment in a Block, which can be up to 1-6 storeys high, or a detached / semi-detached house.)

As more residential units can be accommodated in an Apartment Block, it can be assumed, that multi Block applications up to 6 stories high, are most likely to be submitted for approved over the next decade.

ENVIROMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT ("EIA")

EU Directive 85/337/EEC (as amended by Directive 97/11/EEC) provides that urban development projects of a scale exceeding criteria set by the member state and urban development projects likely to have a significant effect on the environment must be subject to the EIA process.

An EIA should cover the direct effects and any indirect, secondary, cumulative, short, medium and long-term, permanent and temporary, positive and environmental impact of the entire, development, by means of the preparation of an Environmental Impact Statement, public consultation and assessment as envisaged under EU law.

S.A.R.A. representatives travelled to Brussels in 2001 to promote an appeal through Green Party M.E.P., Patricia McKenna, for an EIA but this process takes a very long time and there is still no resolution of the matter.

• Under Article 1(2) of the EIA Directive "project" is stated to mean:
• "The execution of construction works or of other installations or schemes;"
• "Other interventions in the natural surroundings and landscape.."
• 500 Residential Units is the criteria deemed to be a project and there can be no “project splitting” to overcome the "500 benchmark"

DL/R maintain that a development plan or the granting of an application for planning permission to erect residential units is not a “project”. Consequently DL/R state that they do not have to adhere to the provisions of the Directive.

This intransigent attitude may have to be challenged through a judicial review.

LACK OF PUBLIC PARK-AMENITY

The Council is under enormous pressure to achieve aggressive housing target for Co.Dublin’s total of 19000 ” resident units” by 2010. SARA believes that, as this target is now DL/R primary objective, it will ignore the legitimate objections of any resident population which simply seeks to preserve the vital (including visual) character of the area.

The Draft Development Plan lacks the substantial environment preservation & recreational spaces provided in other areas (e.g. Bushy Park in Terenure, Marley Park in Rathfarnham, etc.). and which clearly has no place in its current thinking – notwithstanding that Stepaside/Sandyford is an area of natural beauty in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains. In short, there is no provision to zone space for a ”County Park “ in the undeveloped area encompassed by Stepaside /The Scalp/ Dargal Valley/ Bray areas “

SARA finds this omission astonishing.

Furthermore, while the Planning Maps on display, seem to indicate an abundance of open green space such as Leopardstown Race Course, The Lambs Cross, Burrow and Jamestown Golf Courses, these green areas are privately owned, commercial amenities and as such, are not available to the Public.

IN addition, DL/R has no “land bank”. The only land owned by DL/R is 8 acres adjoining the Stepaside Public Golf Course and the land filled area (“The Dump”) on the Ballyogan Road, which itself will not be useable for 15(?) years.

There is no provision to zone any recreational area in the Draft plan

SCHOOLS- LOCAL AMENITIES

The Development Plan makes no provision for any local amenities, schools, shops, etc.

Although DL/R have earmarked 3 Sites for schools in the Area, DL/R argue that any other action regarding ‘schools’ is the remit of Department of Education. In the interim, it is DL/R intention to continue to process Planning Applications notwithstanding the unavailability of local school places. As a result, any new resident unit holder, each day will have to transport their children to school outside the Stepaside / Sandyford area, thereby adding further road congestion to an already chaotic situation

ROADS – TRANSPORTATION

Need any more be said about this debacle Yet again DL/R continue to grant planning permission to current applications notwithstanding their self-admission that the Luas and ancillary roads to the M50 “are some two years down the road."