Council considering views on controversial plan

THE majority of submissions received in relation to controversial plans to build a retirement village in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains are opposed to the scheme.

The proposal to make a variation to the Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Development Plan would allow for a retirement home on lands currently zoned for agricultural use on a 16-acre site on the mountain side of the M50 at Ticknock.

Last July, councillors at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown voted by a majority of 14 to 11 to pass an amendment that would allow for the scheme. However, many locals are opposed to the plan and the County Manager has also expressed concerns over the development.

The scheme, known as the Grange Independent Living and Retirement Village, would include a nursing home, residential units, a stroke rehabilitation clinic and community and recreational facilities including retail outlets, restaurants and a village centre. Councillors are due to vote again on the issue in December.

The site is currently zoned B –

‘to protect and improve rural amenity and to provide for the development of agriculture’.

The council received 100 submissions on the proposal as part of the four week public consultation period. Of the submissions made, some 67 opposed the variation, 24 supported it and the remaining nine were neutral.

An Taisce was one of the groups that voiced concerns about the proposal.

“No substantial development southward into the scenic Ticknock Valley should be contemplated,

? their submission reads.

“Also, the danger of precedent is obvious. If a substantial development is permitted on this site, it could be used as an argument for permitting other adjacent development, thereby further eroding the agricultural and high amenity quality of the valley.

?

Dudley Dolan of the Sandyford Environmental Protection and Road Safety Group expressed fears that the plan could open the floodgates for more development in the scenic area.

“There is no good reason to develop this part of the mountainside and it appears to me that this variation is only the thin end of the wedge in order to allow for further development,

? she said in her submission.

In another submission, one Ticknock resident believes the proposal would

“break the green belt which we up here have fought hard to maintain over the years. It would also set a precedent for similar development and building in future.

?

However, the proposal does have some backing.

One Foxrock resident said:

“I totally support the rehabilitation village in Ticknock. The most appealing aspect of the proposed development is the views over the city and knowing that you are in a secure environment. It is very reassuring knowing that there are medical services.

?

A submission made by GVA Planning and Regeneration Ltd on behalf of the developer stated

“that the proposed variation does not propose any new zoning of land, indeed it is a preferable approach to adopting an opening zoning approach on the lands

?.

“There is already a nursing home on the southern side of the M50, and development has already crossed the M50 in other areas; this precedent has been set

?.

In a report on the public consultation, County Manager Owen Keegan told councillors that

“any substantial built form at this location will be visually intrusive and highly visible from the M50, from areas proximate to Ticknock and from parts of the wider Dublin conurbation

?.

In addition, the report added that the County Manager was concerned that there was a scarcity of information surrounding the overall scale and size of the development.

He said he was also concerned about

“the potential range of activities proposed for the site and the possibility of a

“creeping

? introduction of other uses beyond those notionally set in the variation

?.

When contacted by Southside People, the developer behind the scheme said:

“It would be entirely inappropriate of me to comment at this time as the variation is before the council [and it] has not completed due process.

?