My comments on the draft design are here. The main points are:

• The proposal is very welcome and the design is greatly improved from the previous versions.
• However, there are a number of changes which I recommend, in particular full segregation between walking and cycling on the route, given how busy it will inevitably be with existing and new population and the many visitors which the route itself will help to attract.

My observation to ABP in relation to the latest application on this site is here. The development should be scaled back to respect the natural and architectural context of the site, in particular the Martello Tower on Tower Hill. The underground car parking should be removed from the application. My observations on previous applications are here and here.

My response to the public consultation on the Dart + North project focusses on

• the fact that the analysis doesn’t demonstrate how the proposal for a shuttle service between Howth and Howth Junction might be justified;
• the fact that an increase in frequency to Howth would not compensate for longer and more inconvenient journeys especially for those with mobility challenges;
• the design disaster of the illegally constructed Howth Junction station;
• the need to redevelop Howth Junction as part of a densification of the adjoining employment areas so well served by public transport; and
• the need to ensure coherence between the level crossing plan in this project and that in the Sutton to Malahide Cycle Route.

My observations on the draft River Basin Management Plan are based on the template from SWAN (Sustainable Water Action Network), with the addition of two issues:

• the need to notify the public about sewage overflows and unplanned discharges
• the need to address misconnections which are a significant cause of sewage pollution.

My response to Fingal County Council’s public consultation on aircraft noise is here. In it, I point out that

• there should be a general ban on night-time flights given the known health impacts of sleep disturbance by aircraft noise;
• the noise reduction objective needs to be based on analysis not just picked from an EU-wide strategy;
• Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) requires that alternatives such as a general night-time ban be considered;
• SEA also requires that the climate impact of the proposal and alternatives be considered, especially as night time aviation is generally much worse for the climate than daytime;
• Fingal County Council, including when it acts as an Aircraft Noise Competent Authority, is required by Irish law to pursue climate objectives.

The 5 Green Councillors have written to Minister Darragh O’Brien and Ministers of State Malcolm Noonan and Peter Burke asking them to bring forward changes to the Electoral Act to allow local authorities to restrict postering to designated sites.

The consultation draft of the Fingal Development Plan was agreed by Councillors this evening. The first draft was produced by the Chief Executive following initial input from the elected Council. Over the last few weeks, we considered a series of 917 motions to agree the draft for public display. The following are the motions submitted by the Green Councillors.

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.