COACHES
at a Northside soccer club are concerned that a proposed new train station to
be built next to their playing pitch will negatively impact on their
activities.
Submissions
are currently being invited on an application made by Irish Rail for the
construction of a new station at Pelletstown.
If
approved, the station will be accessed by steps and ramps from Ashington Park
where teams from the Navan Road United Club train and play.
According
to club manager Stephen Lougheed, the station will be located less than 30
yards behind the club’s goals.
“We
are worried about what impact the station, if built, will have on the club and
on the kids who play here,
? he told Northside People.
“We
worry that it will impinge on the health and safety of our young members and
are concerned that when there’s a gig in the Phoenix Park that we’ll have
drunken yobs getting off the train and running riot in the area and on the
pitches.
“We’re
only a small club indigenous to the area and we feel our needs will be
overlooked in favour of Irish Rail’s multi-million euro plan for the station.
?
Navan
Road United Club was established 10 years ago and has 110 members ranging in
age from under nine to under 16.
Mr
Lougheed said a lot of money had been invested in the pitches in recent years
but that his club has been unable to secure funding for a small storage
container to house their nets.
“All
the people who work with the club do so voluntarily and that is priceless in
terms of keeping kids on the straight and narrow and out of trouble,
? he
stated.
Cllr
Mary Fitzpatrick (FF) hopes that the planned station could present positive
opportunities for clubs such as Navan Road United rather than be a potential
threat.
“I
firmly believe that these clubs should be supported but I also feel that the
proposed station at Pelletstown is a good thing,
? she told Northside People.
“The
area would be enhanced environmentally as eventually the Dublin-Maynooth line
will be electric and relatively noise free.
“It
will also add another stop on the route, which could only be a good thing.
?
Irish
Rail’s planning proposal for the Pelletstown train station is open to
submissions until March 6.
The
application, which is being considered by Dublin City Council, includes a
footbridge spanning the railway connecting the proposed platforms, with two
staircases and two ramps.
The
plan also includes the proposed construction of a footbridge over the Royal
Canal to provide access from Royal Canal Avenue as well as stepped and ramped
access from Ashington Park, a dedicated pedestrian and cycle path across the
park and disabled parking bays at Ashington Park.
The
total works involved cover an area of approximately 2,200 square metres.