An Irish Planning Students Blog

Paul Cullen writes:

A PLANNING application for the new national children’s hospital on the Mater site in central Dublin is to be lodged later this month.

The development team behind the new hospital confirmed yesterday that it was pushing forward with the project, despite renewed criticism in recent weeks from retired heart surgeon Maurice Neligan and other leading doctors.

A spokesman for the National Paediatric Hospital Board said a detailed planning application for the project would be lodged in the week beginning August 16th, at which time detailed information on the plans would be provided.

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I can’t say I’m a major fan of the look of the new green with the lovely mature trees removed. But I suppose it is a necessary evil in order to get these much need projects off the ground. Maybe some new trees can be planted and it will look as fantastic as it does now in like 20 years. My major concern is what is going to happen to the lake, its the best feature and it will be a huge loss to the amenity of the park! Assuming it gets through planning successfully! My two cents at least.

Frank McDonald of the The Irish Times writes:

ST STEPHEN’S Green will be the principal casualty of the Government’s plans to go ahead with Metro North and Dart Underground, it is now clear from the environmental impact statement (EIS) on each of these costly projects.

The current construction cost estimate for Dart Underground, which is planned as the central spine of Dublin’s commuter rail services, is €2.5 billion. No figures are officially available for Metro North, but in 2005 it was estimated to cost €4.58 billion.

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AN APPLICATION is to be made to the High Court seeking a judicial review of the decision to grant a licence to Fingal County Council for a landfill site at Nevitt near Lusk in north Co Dublin.

Gemma Larkin of Walshtown, Lusk, Co Dublin, a member of the Nevitt Lusk Action Group (NLAG), is seeking a review of the decision by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in May this year to grant a licence for the landfill site.

The 300,000-tonne capacity landfill site, in which an estimated one-sixth of the State’s waste is to be dumped, is subject to more than 250 conditions relating to environment management operation, control and monitoring.

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Of course lets not forget that DIT Grangegorman is approved under the plan! Well the first phase of Grangegorman at least. Woo as an alumni some day i will be able to visit DIT as a proper college with a campus. Pretty cool.

Big pity to see the Navan Rail line and the western rail corridor axed though. Not a great day for the west or the extended commuter belt in term of near term infrastructure.

Now this is not strictly planning related but i do have a problem with this plan. Its all about the building of the hard stuff, they are rejoicing on the news with the prospect of job creation and they are bandying around words like ‘sustainable jobs’, this presents jobs for a number of years and a very small portion after the projects have been built and where are we left then? Back to square one with all the construction workers with no big projects to build!

Still though I am so happy to see metro north given the go ahead, as i stand to benefit from it the most if i’m still living here when its finished that is.

The Government has announced a new €39 billion capital investment plan until 2016 that prioritises major projects such as Metro North, the Dart interconnector and the new DIT campus in Grangegorman but will result in delays for other promised infrastructure projects.

The new seven-year plan was unveiled at a press conference this afternoon by the Taoiseach Brian Cowen, the Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and Green Party leader, the Minister for the Environment John Gormley.

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WATER SUPPLY in the greater Dublin area is on a knife-edge, with demand likely to outstrip available reserves within a few years, according to a report prepared by consultants for seven local authorities.

The capital has no strategic reserves of water when it should have 10-20 per cent reserves at a minimum, while existing sources are operating near sustainable limits, the report by consultants RPS-Veolia JV states.

Dublin city councillors this week approved the consultants’ main proposal to bring excess water from the basin of the Shannon river to meet needs in the east and midlands.

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It looks as if the Poolbeg Incinerator row is going to turn into a major political quagmire in the not so distant future!

THE DEVELOPERS of the €350 million incinerator proposed for Poolbeg in Dublin, which is opposed by Minister for the Environment John Gormley, have requested a meeting with Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Scott Whitney, president of Covanta Europe, told a press conference in Dublin yesterday the company had been in touch with Mr Cowen’s office. “We’ve suggested that at some point a meeting with the Taoiseach might be useful,” Mr Whitney said.

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FACILITIES FOR houseboats; horse-drawn barges; markets; concerts; water sports, shops and restaurants are proposed for the Royal and Grand canals in Dublin in a new report from Waterways Ireland.

The Dublin City Canals Study recommends a range of recreation, tourism and commercial schemes to protect and improve the canals and open up both waterways to a greater range of uses.

The study focuses on the Dublin city sections of the canals within the curtilage of the M50, from Spencer Dock to Granard Bridge in Blanchardstown on the Royal Canal on the northside of the city, and from Grand Canal Dock to Blackhorse Bridge at Inchicore on the southside.

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BUSINESS LEADERS in the southeast have described as “reckless foolishness” the planned closure of the Rosslare to Waterford railway line, linking two of the country’s principal ports.

The service, which had been due to close permanently from tomorrow, has received a temporary reprieve as various State bodies argue over its future.

Iarnród Éireann has confirmed that its plan to “suspend” trains from July 21st and launch a replacement Bus Éireann service will not be implemented as scheduled. The closure of the line cannot proceed without the approval of the National Transport Authority, which is not now expected to announce its decision until “at least” September.

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Tim O’Brien from the IrishTimes:

A 500-ACRE bog in Co Offaly has been chosen as the proposed site for an “eco water park and reservoir” as part of Dublin City Council’s plan to pump water from the river Shannon.

The council is proposing a €540 million, Government-funded project which would supply 350 million litres of water a day to the Dublin region.

In a move likely to meet strong opposition from west of Ireland interests, the council is seeking to source water from the Shannon to serve the capital’s drinking water needs for the next 70 years.

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TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has been challenged to “show his hand” over the Poolbeg incinerator and declare whether it is Government policy to allow it proceed or to be scrapped.

Fine Gael environment spokesman Phil Hogan said that it was now incumbent on Mr Cowen to state his position on the planned Dublin regional waste incinerator.

Last week Mr Gormley published a draft waste policy plan which strongly favours mechanical and biological treatment of waste over incineration.

If implemented, it would have the effect of making a large incinerator like Poolbeg unviable.

Mr Hogan said yesterday that Mr Cowen had merely welcomed the consultation process that will now take place in relation to the draft policy.

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