Grangegorman Bring Centre not to close until replacement is found, DCC says

The Grangegorman Bring Centre will not be shut until a suitable replacement can be development on the Grangegorman TU campus, Dublin City Council has said.

Councillors and residents had raised concerns that the recycling centre would close without a new facility opened in its place.

However, at this month’s Central Area Committee, the local authority confirmed to councillors that it will be keeping the bring centre open until the Grangegorman Development Agency (GDA) constructs a suitable alternative.

Independent Nial Ring said the news is welcome.

“This has been an on-going issue in the area for the past year and has been brought up at DCC level by myself and my fellow councillors many times as we sought to ensure that the bring centre would not be allowed close without a suitable replacement being provided by the GDA,” he said.

“I pointed out that the GDA had been given 73 acres of prime public land in the area, and that close to €1 billion of public funds will have been spent on the campus providing a university (TUD), school, primary care facility, energy centre, and sports facilities etc.

“They have an obligation to fulfil their commitment to provide a suitable replacement on site in accordance with the licence agreement,” he said.

The local authority told councillors that a previous agreement between DIT and DCC for the Grangegorman campus, which includes the construction of a new bring centre, would be honoured.

“As a result of our on-going representations we have now been informed by DCC management that at a recent Active Land Management meeting, the Chief Executive raised a query in relation to the 2014 license agreement between DIT and DCC for the site of Grangegorman bring centre.

“Clause 18 of the license agreement states that the Grangegorman Development Authority have made a commitment to accommodate a Bring Centre facility within the Grangegorman campus should the council be required to vacate the licensed area.

“The Chief Executive confirmed at the aforementioned Active Land Management meeting that this is still the GDA’s position.

“Waste Management Services have reached out to the GDA’s project manager to discuss, but have received no reply at the time of writing.

“Waste Management Services have now adopted the position that we will not vacate the existing Bring Centre until a replacement site within the boundaries of the Grangegorman campus has been identified and developed.”

Ring says that this position by DCC is “exactly what we have been looking for.

“It is obvious that DCC’s Waste Management Department fully appreciates the vital resource that our community bring centres serve for the local community and they confirmed that it is Waste Management’s intention that this resource will remain in this vicinity.

“This news will go down very well in the area as the local community see the centre as being a vital element in their commitment to waste management, sustainability and the circular economy”.