Category Archives: Baldoyle / Baile Dubh Ghaill

Land Development Agency commits to prioritising Stapolin Square

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The Land Development Agency (LDA) which recently bought the unbuilt development land at Stapolin, much of which has had a planning permission since 2016 and which has been only partly constructed, has committed publicly to prioritising the completion and opening of the new access to Clongriffin railway station via the planned Stapolin Square.  The commitment was given in a letter to Fingal County Council, noted at today’s meeting.

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NTA proposals for improved access to Clongriffin station

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The NTA is tendering for a new lift system in the temporary access tower (stairs and lift) to Clongriffin from Baldoyle, giving access to the railway station and the no. 15 bus. The tender includes a maintenance contract for between 3 and 5 years. They will also install CCTV in the access tower. They are continuing to look at options to improve the environment of the tower itself including better passive surveillance and sightlines. See NTA’s summary of progress.

I am deeply disappointed by Fingal County Council’s decision to accept a planning compliance submission from Richmond Homes, the developer responsible for replacing the temporary access with a permanent plaza on the Baldoyle side of the station which defers completion of the station to a later phase of the development, contrary to the phasing established inthe planning application on their site.

Submission in relation to Dart+ Coastal North

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My observations to An Bord Pleanála can be summarised as follows:

  1. I strongly welcome the electrification of the railway to Drogheda.
  2. I am concerned by proposals for infrastructure changes at Howth Junction to facilitate the operation of an enforced transfer at that station for passengers to/from Bayside, Sutton and Howth. The European Investment Bank’s analysis unit, JASPERS, predicts a 50% reduction in passenger numbers due to the enforced transfer. In consequence, they recommended:
    “Further analysis and public consultations should be made on the ideal operating
    model for DART+CN, in particular whether or not to enforce transfer at Howth
    Junction for Howth route trains (with the overall operational consequences this
    implies).”
    The Minister for Transport has asked his Department to follow up with NTA and Iarnród Éireann in relation to the implementation of this recommendation. The only potential operating model which has been presented for the Howth Junction
    transfer infrastructure shows only disbenefits. In the absence of an operating model which shows benefits, this element of the project cannot constitute proper planning and sustainable development.
  3. Iarnród Éireann needs to improve walking and wheeling access to stations, especially where it would enable more direct routes for public transport interchange or to/from local destinations. Safe permanent access is needed at Clongriffin. Sutton Station is being addressed by Fingal County Council as part of the Sutton to Malahide scheme; these two projects need to be integrated and made complementary.
  4. The opportunity which Dart+ Coastal North presents to provide high quality additional bicycle parking to meet future needs should be taken.

Dart + Coastal North: Howth Junction transfer

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Minister Eamon Ryan has directed his Department to liaise with the National Transport Office and Iarnród Éireann to ensure that the recommendations from JASPERS (the European Investment Bank’s evaluation unit) for a review of the Howth Junction transfer proposal are implemented.

See this letter for details.

AIE request confirms that Iarnród Éireann hasn’t analysed the impact of a shuttle service from Howth Junction on local services

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I have received a response from Iarnród Éireann to an Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) request. The request sought the following:

  • Any analyses of potential operational patterns involving a shuttle service between Howth Junction and Howth, requiring passengers to change at Howth Junction to access Bayside, Sutton and Howth.
  • Any analyses of the time delays or reduced capacity of the network at Howth Junction caused by the current arrangement where northbound trains to Howth cross the southbound track from Malahide.
  • Any analyses of the time savings or increased capacity of the network should one or more Howthbound trains be replaced by a shuttle service.
  • A copy of the terms of reference for “studies which will examine the doubling of track capacity between Dublin’s Connolly and Malahide train stations, where DART and intercity traffic currently share the same tracks”, for which funding was awarded on 22nd June.
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Information on sewage overflows

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I have been campaigning for some years for Irish Water and Fingal County Council, who are their agents, to make information on all sewage overflows publicly available as soon as they happen. I was particularly concerned when a number of years ago we were told by Irish Water that there had been no sewage discharge at a particular location only to find out some months later that there had.

I believe the ongoing failure to make this information easily and immediately available to the public is a breach of the obligation of active dissemination in the Aarhus Convention and the Access to Information on the Environment (AIE) Regulations.

I have made an AIE request for information about the sewer network and locations of discharges and overflows, as well as details of the overflows over recent years. Here’s the response:

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Submission to Dart+ North Consultation

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My submission to Iarnród Éireann’s consultation on Dart+ North

It follows my previous observations.

Road space reallocation in Howth / Malahide Area

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The Operations Dept of the Council is continuing to work on the reallocation of road space and other measures to facilitate safe walking and cycling. We had an online meeting of the Area Cttee. last week and following input from constituents, I presented this list of options which is being considered. I would be grateful for any further feedback or suggestions.

The meeting received this update on the previous list of actions.

The other reports received by the meeting are also interesting – Covid 19 response and 2020 programme of works.

Howth/Malahide Area Cttee. agrees to make submissions on Clongriffin Strategic Housing Development applications

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Two Strategic Housing Development applications have been made to An Bord Pleanála (Clongriffin SHD 1 and Clongriffin SHD 2). They say they will be accompanied by an application to Dublin City Council for a more mixed use development. The applications represent a completely unacceptable abandonment of the original plan for a high-density mixed use development, remaining high density but being almost entirely residential. The Howth/ Malahide Area Cttee. today agreed to my proposal to make the following submission to these applications:

1. The applications for almost exclusively residential development are contrary to the long-established goal of a mixed-use development at Clongriffin with significant employment uses. We strongly support the original plan of a mixed-use quarter.

2. The very low levels of community facilities proposed are not in keeping with the development of a sustainable community and the needs of current and future residents.

3. The reservation of a school site for Clongriffin should be respected.

4. The proposed towers should not be included due to their negative impact on views from and across the Baldoyle – Portmarnock Green Belt and public parkland protected in the Fingal County Development Plan.

The submission from Clongriffin Community Association goes into considerable detail on these applications, demonstrating how they go directly against the original vision for the area.

Update: the permissions were granted contravening the City Development Plan and Local Area Plan despite the submissions received.