Glasnevin 8,500-home project approved despite fears of repeating 'past mistakes'
As a major 8,500-home project in Glasnevin edges forward, councillors warn that local amenities are not yet equipped to handle the massive influx of residents.
At yesterday’s monthly meeting of Dublin City Council, local representatives signed off on a variation of the Dublin City Development Plan relating to the Broombridge-Hamilton Masterplan . With 45.5 hectares of land being rezoned for a redevelopment set to create 25,000 units for the city by 2032, this plan aims to support “a new sustainable community.”
While the project was widely praised by councillors, many warned about ensuring things like schools, sports facilities, and essential community services are appropriately planned so the incoming residents are not left wanting. They warned that previous developments, such as Pelletstown near the Royal Canal and Ashtown, highlight how multi-million-euro projects have suffered due to a lack of infrastructure.
Fine Gael Cllr Gayle Ralph supported the variation but stressed “we’ve seen large scale residential developments proceed before without facilities.” She said that it’s essential that already stretched sports clubs aren’t forced to absorb such a large increase of children in the Cabra-Glasnevin area.
“It’s important to identify some surrounding land and safeguard it for future sports and recreation facilities,” she said. Education provision is another vital aspect of this development, with Cllr Ralph stating existing schools must also be safeguarded against an unmanageable demand.
Deputy Lord Mayor Cllr John Stephens from Fianna Fail echoed the need for sports facilities and said this project is about far more than the delivery of houses. He stressed the importance of supporting communities because the number of people taking drugs “is just immense” and that providing facilities is essential to addressing this.
Cllr Stephens said supporting recreation activities for young people are vital to “keep them off the streets” and that it’s important they don’t repeat the “huge mistake” that was made in the North Inner City of building houses without providing for children who live there. “It’s important we don’t get this wrong,” he said.
The provision of new schools is a key policy of the city development plan and the Chief Executive has recommended full provision is made for the future delivery of a post-primary school “within close proximity to the Masterplan lands.” This recommendation saw the original wording of the proposal’s design objective changed from simply “school site” to “educational multi-campus” to facilitate the ongoing educational requirements of the area.
Appropriately providing for community groups, sports clubs, health and education were key topics of the consultation period and the variation stated that Dublin City Council will liaise with sports facilities “in the immediate vicinity” and “actively support the delivery of a co-located community use” area.
Sinn Fein Cllr Janice Boylan said she’s delighted to see the provision of “much needed social and affordable homes” and said this project represents an “opportunity to get it right from the start.” “Let’s learn from the projects where we didn’t,” she said.
Cllr Boylan said it’s important to incorporate spaces for family and child play areas but also there is a need to focus on getting a proper transport system in place. “I want to make sure we deliver on this site and that it will be a thriving community and not something we look back on years from now and think we should have, could have, would have.”
The Core Strategy of the Development Plan supports investment in public transportation and active travel, while the Masterplan commits to enhancing connections beyond the rezoned industrial lands. Relevant transport projects include DART+ West, Luas Finglas, BusConnects and the Royal Canal Greenway.
However, Green Party Cllr Feljin Jose expressed concern that relying on the completion of projects like Luas Finglas to support this incoming community could lead to problems in the future. “There’s a lot of mention of Luas Finglas in the Masterplan and the delivery of this site is very much dependent on that moving ahead,” he said.
As a rail project has already been delayed, Cllr Jose asked “how do we ensure we don’t have a scenario where we deliver over 8,000 houses and there’s no public transport.” He said the government has a history of “shelving public transport projects” and he does not wish to see this effect Glasnevin.
“It’s happened time and again where housing is provided and the government doesn't build the structure that goes alongside it,” he said. Cllr Jose expressed hope everything proceeds smoothly but warned “I don’t trust this government.”
Transportation connectivity was a key recommendation from the Office of the Planning Regulator, particularly supporting a future pedestrian and cycle link along the Royal Canal corridor and railway. This is planned to be delivered in consultation with the National Transport Authority, Transport Infrastructure Ireland and Irish Rail.
Councillors unanimously supported the 17 amendments within Proposed Variation No. 9 of the Broombridge-Hamilton Masterplan. Full details of the plan can be found at: https://www.dublincity.ie/planning-and-land-use/learn-about-councils-plans-city/local-area-plans-and-masterplans/broombridge-hamilton-masterplan
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