I have made a submission on the latest application in the area covered by the South Portmarnock Local Area Plan, on two issues: walking and cycling across the existing farm bridge over the railway and connecting the Baldoyle-Portmarncok Greenway to Station Road.

The failure to make the junctions at both ends of Station Road Portmarnock safe for people walking and cycling is rightly getting some attention. I’ll try to set out the situation, which is one of non-compliance with a planning permission.

My comments are here. I strongly support the application, but I have asked An Bord Pleanála to make some important changes, including

• reducing the very large area of car parking planned (2x the size of the Racecourse shops car park plus an extra “overflow” car park);
• providing low level lighting like that on the existing greenway instead of 6m high lights;
• ensuring that the bridges don’t become dangerously icy like the existing greenway bridge;
• putting resources into planting rather than corten steel objects.

A report on current progress with the Greenway from Malahide to Donabate, given at this month’s Area Committee meeting.

My response to the Department of Housing’s consultation on draft Development Plan Guidelines asks the Department not to try to prevent local authorities using the planning system to drive the decarbonisation process.

It refers to this article on Fingal’s successful energy standards innovation at a local level, where Fingal led Ireland to higher building energy standards.

My report on the 2016 cycle study trip to Utrecht is here. Experience and study of Dutch road and street design practice is central to the changes we are making for active travel in Fingal.

The five Green Councillors on Fingal County Council coordinated the drafting of motions so as not to duplicate too much. A more or less complete set of our motions is here. Consideration of the pre-draft report and motions will start on 30th August.

We are at the start of the process for adopting the Fingal Development Plan 2023-2029. There was a public consultation this Spring in advance of the Draft. In a series of meetings starting on 30th August, the Council will consider the responses to that consultation. Motions from Councillors to give direction for the drafting of the Development Plan will be discussed. I have submitted the following motions based on the responses from the public and my own submission:

https://davidhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/observation-on-abp-310418-stapolin-baldoyle-shd-8i21.pdf

https://davidhealy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/observation-on-abp-310413-deer-park-kenelm-shd-8i21.pdf