RESIDENTS in a Northside housing estate are up in arms over a controversial planning application which they claim will turn their quiet cul-de-sac into a through road to Beaumont Hospital.
Residents in Beaumont Woods have united in their opposition to the application for the re-alignment of the hospital’s ring road, which will allow for a vehicular entrance to a nursing home in the grounds of the hospital.
It’s understood that as many as 60 objections to the plan have been lodged by furious locals.
Alan Kilkenny of the Beaumont Woods Residents’ Association said the plan has caused a lot of anger in the community.
“There is a lot of concern about how our estate could potentially become a rat-run to the hospital,
? Mr Kilkenny told Northside People.
“The plan itself is very vague which is all the more worrying.
“Our homes and this estate were sold to us on the basis that it was a single entrance estate and cul-de-sac.
“To change it into a through road to the hospital would completely change and ruin the dynamic of our neighbourhood.
“As it is the entrance to our estate is like an extended car-park for the hospital.
“What galls us even more is the lack of consultation and communication with us on behalf of the hospital so all we can do is expect the worst in terms of the plans.
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Mother-of-three Carmel Doyle, who lives in Beaumont Woods, fears for the health and safety of those living in her quiet estate.
“I was one of the first people to buy a house here and I did so on the basis that it was a single entrance estate,
? Ms Doyle told Northside People.
“The plan would inevitably increase traffic volumes in an estate populated by hundreds of children who are used to being able to play on the street in safety.
“It’ll be so dangerous and will add to pollution and on-street parking. Essentially our estate will become a big car-park.
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Ms Doyle added:
“I don’t understand the rationale behind it and I had expected the hospital to treat us with more respect than they have.
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Over 100 people attended a public meeting last week where there was unanimous objection to the plan, while residents from Ardmore Drive and Montrose Drive have also lodged a petition.
Dublin Bay North TD Aodhán Ã? RÃordáin (Lab) and local councillor Andrew Montague (Lab) were among those who attended the meeting and both have lodged strenuous objections to the plan.
Deputy Ã? RÃordáin urged Dublin City Council to consider refusing Beaumont Hospital’s application on a number of grounds.
“The application has no adequate traffic plan,
? he claimed.
“The application will inevitably lead to greater traffic congestion and parking problems in the estate.
“There is a clear health and safety risk to children in the estate, which was originally constructed as a cul-de-sac estate.
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Artane Whitehall ward councillor Larry O’Toole (SF) is also supporting the residents.
“The extension of the road into the adjoining residential area, Beaumont Woods, would seriously impact on the quality of life for the residents,
? he said.
It would greatly increase traffic and certainly cause
‘rat running’ through the estate.
“There is a huge pedestrian footfall in the area as there are two schools in Beaumont Woods, one of which is a special needs school.
“This development, if approved, would seriously affect the security and safety of local residents.
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Cllr O’Toole added:
“It would also, in my opinion, be an invasion of privacy.
“Beaumont Woods was designed as a single entrance estate. Another entrance would be completely out of character with this residential area.
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No spokesperson for Beaumont Hospital was available for comment at the time of going to press.
Submissions on the planning application close this week with a decision expected from Dublin City Council in the coming weeks.