Santry rezoning 'a step too far' as protesters offer alternative plan
Santry residents say planned rezoning is “a step too far” as they demand more infrastructure before the population grows.
A group representing the Santry Forum staged a demonstration in advance of the monthly council meeting outside City Hall on Monday. With placards stating ‘no rezoning for Santry - we first need a plan,’ they are concerned school facilities and essential infrastructure will be left behind as Dublin City Council prepares to change the classification of ‘Shanowen Lands’ in Santry from Z6, for employment and enterprise, to Z1, for sustainable residential neighbourhoods.
Chair of the Santry Forum Frank Keoghan spoke to Dublin Live about the dramatic population growth in his area over the past decade and said they are encouraging DCC not to move ahead with the rezoning plan they are due to decide on next month. Instead, their group seeks a variation of the plan that incorporates a residential element to relieve pressure on the housing crisis but is 80% focused on providing for the community.
“We employed architects to put our ideas on paper. It’s a viable plan,” Mr Keoghan said.
“We’re not so unrealistic to think our plan will be implemented in full by the council, but it’s certainly a basis on which to move forward and until now the council has been reluctant to engage constructively with us.”
Mr Keoghan said their group did have one meeting with DCC but “it wasn’t very constructive” and they were essentially told the rezoning would be moving forward. “I think there’s a need for civic groups like ourselves to stand up and attempt to be part of the planning of our city,” he said.
He stated that currently the density in Santry is 250 units per hectare, and that if this remains true for the 4.2 hectare site that’s due to be rezoned they will have over an extra 1000 apartments. “There would be absolutely no facilities for families whatsoever, and we really need to build communities and not just something for the profit of some company who manages to buy up the whole site,” he said.
The Santry Forum has undertaken their own study for the development of what they are calling the Santry Community Quarter. They say this will address the urgent need “to re‐balance the provision of social, cultural, educational, and enterprise opportunities for the existing and growing population.”
“Our ambition is to create a highly sustainable, mixed use urban district that protects culture, fosters enterprise, is based around high quality public transport, and has a strong sense of place,” their study states.
Through the adaptive reuse of existing buildings and the introduction of new elements, the Santry Forum feels this is a way of contributing to placemaking while supporting the natural growth of the area. They have divided the area into sectors to support the development of a digital hub in Santry, along with new homes for essential workers, a community and cultural area promoting childcare, medical, and artistic spaces, as well as an eco sector with residential elements.
The Santry Forum’s is requesting that DCC engage constructively with them and listen to the community about what they feel their area needs. Committee member John Nolan said their alternative plan is attempting to envisage “an intergenerational space” that would actually serve the community in Santry.
With Santry as a low-rise suburban environment, Mr Nolan said the commencement of Strategic Housing Developments (SHDs) in 2017 has seen the approval of multiple high-rise developments around the city. He fears the planned rezoning will see the same fate befall Shanowen Lands and this is their last chance to balance between residential developments and infrastructure.
Dublin City Council has been contacted for comment.
This content is funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme