Agenda and minutes

Attached herewith.

Attached herewith.

Report herewith.  Olivia Shattock

Order: Noted.  Chairperson Patricia Roe lauded the great work of Olivia Shattock at the Darndale 5k.  She also commended Fergal Scally for his work with Mercy College and John McDonald for his work with the couch to 5k and mini-marathon training.  Cllr. Butler echoed these sentiments and requested an update on the replacement for Dan Russell.  She also stated that there is a further huge loss created by the departure of the two sports inclusion integration officers.  Cllr. Lyons also commended the work of the Sports & well-being partnership, stating that it is one of the most important sections of the council regarding the work that it does.  Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland reiterated that the loss of the two sports inclusion integration officers is huge and that both officers had done remarkable work in the area.  Manager Bernie Roe stated that we are actively pursuing replacement officers and she also acknowledged the tremendous work that Olivia, Fergal and John Sweeney are doing in covering the entire area.  Lord Mayor Gilliland requested that the replacement of the two sports inclusion integration officers be taken in isolation, as they are specialised posts.  ACE Eileen Quinlavin, Head of HR stated that she will look into this issue and revert back to the members.  On the wider area office staffing, she stated that she has agreed the structures and priority recruitment programme with area management for the rest of the year.

Cllr. Heney thanked the Sports & Wellbeing partnership and Fergal Scally for the preparations for the women’s mini marathon.  She also thanked them for the “Start Box Initiative” and requested that it be brought to younger children under 10.  She also requested that the unit give consideration to expanding skateboarding in the community.

Report & map herewith. 

Order:  Agreed.

Report and map herewith.

Order:  Agreed.

Report and map herewith. 

Order:  Agreed – on condition that the current walkway will remain open and accessible to the public right up until the development work is about to commence.  Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland requested a timeframe on when the new pathway around the perimeter of the site will be created and concreted.  To return to the NCAC in July for recommendation to full city council in September.

Report & map herewith.  Nicky Finegan

Order:  Agreed.  Recommend to City Council.

Report and map attached herewith. Nicky Finegan

Order:  Agreed.  Recommend to City Council.

Report and map attached herewith. Nicky Finegan

Order:  Agreed.  Recommend to City Council.

Report herewith.  Bernard Brady

Order:  Noted.  Cllr. O’Farrell welcomed the report but requested that the new conditions be forwarded to the members prior to the June City Council meeting.  Cllr. Cooney queried if there is still a coffee dock planned for the rear for commuters and also if Marino library could be accommodated by a new build in the Park. Cllr. O’Muirí reiterated Cllr. O’Farrell’s query in relation to the conditions.  Bernard Brady stated that they are standard conditions and it is subject to approval by the full city council in June.  He also stated that the tearooms are included on the programme to start the detailed design in 2023. He will send the conditions the members prior to the city council meeting.

Eoghan Judge (Area Manager for Dublin North -ESB)

Order:  Noted.  Chairperson Councillor Patricia Roe thanked Eoghan Judge and Mark Stewart for their attendance at & engagement with the NCAC.  Cllr. O’Muirí requested could a one page document outlining the current position on what has been discussed at the meeting, be distributed to the members.

Report herewith.  Connell McGlynn & Patrick Smith

Order:  Noted. 

Cllr. Lyons requested the following:

·         In relation to the regeneration of Cromcastle & Woodville, a commitment has been given for community consultation –Can he have a timeframe for this consultation and also can the members be given advance notice of same.  ACE Coilin O’Reilly will revert back to the councillors with full details of the timeframe and format for this consultation.

·         Regarding Glin Court, can the final designs for this regeneration be recirculated to the members. ACE Coilin O’Reilly will organise recirculation of same. A date was given of Oct 2022 for commencement of construction at the housing presentation earlier in the year – is there any slippage on this date? 

·         The Collins Avenue/Swords Road PPP – He would like an explanation as to why there is a year delay between planning permission being granted (Sept 2022 according to the report) and the actual commencement of the build (Q3 of 2023).  ACE Coilin O’Reilly explained that this delay is due to the complexities of the tendering process.

Cllr. MacDonncha requested the following:

·         Voids – Progress on same – 30 completed in the NCA and 68 underway – is 98 the full projected figure for the year or will there be others coming on stream?  Do we have any comparison regarding improvements in the speed of turnaround?  Have we improved compared to a few years ago?  ACE Coilin O’Reilly confirmed that void turnaround time averages at 18.43 weeks and that DCC is committed to and will endeavour to bring as many voids as possible to completion.

·         The SHD for Belcamp college lands – queried the high cost of the units being offered to Dublin and Fingal Co. Co.  ACE Coilin O’Reilly stated that DCC will be engaging at the earliest opportunity in negotiations with the developer on the Part 5. 

Lord Mayor Gilliland queried the following:

·         The amount of 4 bed units available for Area B. 

·         She also queried the size of the units for the various Part 5 applications that we have and how we do we distribute them i.e., 1,2 3, 4 bed etc.  

ACE Coilin O’Reilly stated that there aren’t many 4 beds being built generally.  However, there will be another (5) 4 beds in addition to the (1) 4 bed under Part 5 coming in through acquisitions, so a total of 6 for the NCA.

Cllr. Batten queried whether or not given the sheer size of the SHD for the Belcamp college lands if there should be additional planning consultation? ACE Coilin O’Reilly stated that Belcamp College lands will be a standard SHD process.

Cllr. Cooney queried bedroom sizes regarding the current gender focus & could it be examined. Coilin stated that the scheme of letting priorities dictates how we allocate and it comes down to the number of properties we have.

Reports for noting attached herewith.

Order:  Noted.  Cllr. Roe welcomed the survey undertaken by the TAG team and looks forward to improvements being implemented and requested that TAG keep the members up to date and involved in developments.

Report herewith for noting.

Order:  Noted.  Cllr. Cooney raised the issue of new gullies required in her area in front of houses on the route down to the seafront and hasn’t had a response from the gully manager and is looking for an update on same. Pat Smith stated that the gully manager determines whether or not a new gully is required by a set standard distance measured between gullies. 

That this Area Committee requests that the equipment planned for Fairview Park playground is installed as the playground is unfinished.  The plans show swings and they were never installed.  Also can some toddler friendly equipment be installed as there is only a sandbox suitable for children under 4?  The pirate ship with baby slides, lookout windows and all baby swings have been removed.  This new inclusive playground is excluding a lot of toddlers.  Fairview Park covers children of North Strand, East Wall, Ballybough, Fairview, Marino and Clontarf.  The playground size should reflect this huge catchment area.

That this Area Committee requests that the equipment planned for Fairview Park playground is installed as the playground is unfinished.  The plans show swings and they were never installed.  Also can some toddler friendly equipment be installed as there is only a sandbox suitable for children under 4?  The pirate ship with baby slides, lookout windows and all baby swings have been removed.  This new inclusive playground is excluding a lot of toddlers.  Fairview Park covers children of North Strand, East Wall, Ballybough, Fairview, Marino and Clontarf.  The playground size should reflect this huge catchment area.

Reply:

When the upgrade of Fairview Playground was planned it was intended that the swing sets be reused and relocated within the new layout.  These swings appeared in good condition and had passed the most recent independent safety inspection.  However once the contractor was on site and lifted the swings extensive decay was noted on the below ground parts.  This necessitated the ordering of new swing sets late in the build.  The significant lead in time for such equipment at this time after 2 years of restrictions and supply chain difficulties has led to this significant delay in finishing out the build.  The installation of the swings is now overdue and the Parks Service are still awaiting a firm date from contractor when these will be installed.  The swings will include cradle and baskets swings suitable for younger children under close parental supervision.  The additional swings and unexpected but necessary repairs and replacement of the safety surfacing has resulted in a significant additional cost to this project.

Contact:                     Fergus O’Carroll, Senior Executive Parks Superintendent

Tel:                             222 6625

Email:                         parks@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.  Supported & moved by Lord Mayor Alison Gilliland in Cllr. Costello’s absence.  Seconded by Cllr. Cooney and also supported by Cllr. Lyons.

That this area committee calls on DCC to stop removing / cutting down historical street lampposts and replacing them with lampposts of comparatively little ascetic / design value.  Furthermore a full report to be issued to councillors including the reasons for these historical lampposts being removed and possible alternatives to their removal and / or alternatives to the replacement lampposts being used presently. 

Further information: a lamppost has recently been removed from Melrose Ave and I understand there is also be a possibility of lampposts being removed from Inverness Road.  Previously a historical lamppost was removed from near 221 Griffith Ave (I brought to attention of DCC at that time) and was replaced with a lamppost as described above. 

That should this area committee agree, that it calls on DCC to stop removing / cutting down historical street lampposts and replacing them with lampposts of comparatively little ascetic / design value.  Furthermore a full report to be issued to councillors including the reasons for these historical lampposts being removed and possible alternatives to their removal and / or alternatives to the replacement lampposts being used presently. 

Further information: a lamppost has recently been removed from Melrose Ave and I understand there is also be a possibility of lampposts being removed from Inverness Road.  Previously a historical lamppost was removed from near 221 Griffith Ave (I brought to attention of DCC at that time) and was replaced with a lamppost as described above. 

Reply:

It is not the policy of DCC to remove / cut down historical lampposts and replace them with standard lampposts. Most occurrences of lampposts being replaced come about as a result of the columns being knocked down or irreparably damaged by delivery / construction vehicles.

Where possible a heritage column that has been damaged beyond repair is replaced with a similarly styled heritage column if that column type is available.

Sometimes because of lack of availability of suitable replacements a standard column has replaced the heritage column in order to ensure that the road remains lighted for safety reasons (better to have it lighted than not at all).

With regard to the two locations at Melrose Avenue and Griffith Avenue respectively these columns were replaced with standard lighting columns.

There is a particular problem on Melrose Avenue in so far as the heritage columns on this road have been vulnerable to vehicular impacts. Three of the four heritage columns on Melrose Avenue have been damaged and have had to be replaced. As cast iron columns are brittle and, for safety reasons, these were replaced with standard galvanised steel columns that can take a significant impact without disintegrating. They were painted green to fall in with the colour scheme of the original heritage columns.

Regarding Griffith Avenue it is planned to replace the standard looking column with a heritage column over the course of the summer months. Note that three other heritage columns on Griffith Avenue have been replaced with similarly styled heritage columns.

Finally it should be noted, although they are not in the North Central Area, that approximately 120 high value heritage columns will be installed under the Lighting Upgrade Project in the city centre area that will bring a little more consistency and uniformity to the streetscape. This work is expected to be carried out over the next year and a half.

Contact:         Seamus MacSweeney

Tel:                 086 8343154

Email:             seamus.macsweeney@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.

That should this area Committee agree, that we will contact the Chief Executive, Owen Keegan and request that he and City Parks Superintendent, Les Moore agree a way forward on the provision of a decent skate park facility for Fairview Park; skateboarding is an Olympic Sport and in the context of the current major works that are ongoing on the Clontarf to City Centre Cycleway Project alongside Fairview Park, can we put the "wheels" in motion now to bring about the provision of a decent skate park for Fairview;

That should this area Committee agree, that we will contact the Chief Executive, Owen Keegan and request that he and City Parks Superintendent, Les Moore agree a way forward on the provision of a decent skate park facility for Fairview Park; skateboarding is an Olympic Sport and in the context of the current major works that are ongoing on the Clontarf to City Centre Cycleway Project alongside Fairview Park, can we put the "wheels" in motion now to bring about the provision of a decent skate park for Fairview.

Reply:

The Skate Park in Fairview is a small local facility which is very popular and receives good reviews from visitors on-line as being safe and particularly suitable for beginners.  It is appreciated that this skate park may not be as challenging as more experienced skaters would like however it would not be considered the best solution to replace this facility with a more advanced one that might no longer be suitable for these younger less experienced skaters.  While the site is very restricted surrounded by mature trees on 2 sides there may be an opportunity to extend to the south east and introduce a more challenging element.  It is not certain that this is feasible as this area is directly above the port tunnel and contains a considerable amount of underground services.  The site will be investigated to this end.  There is currently no budgetary provision for this extension.

Contact:                     Fergus O’Carroll, Senior Executive Parks Superintendent

Tel:                             222 6625

Email:                         parks@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.  Cllr. Heney requested that correspondence be formally sent to the Chief Executive in the name of the chair from the NCAC referencing the motion.

That should this Area Committee agree, that we will call on the Manager to source some form of low level lighting around the skate park facility in Fairview park on time for next winter, as people use the park long after dark with personal lighting; low level lighting would be more than sufficient for skateboarding considering the park is open till 5:30pm in November meaning skaters use the facility as intended during opening hours in almost total darkness. Lighting similar to that at the playground would be greatly appreciated by the local community.

That should this Area Committee agree, that we will call on the Manager to source some form of low level lighting around the skate park facility in Fairview park on time for next winter, as people use the park long after dark with personal lighting; low level lighting would be more than sufficient for skateboarding considering the park is open till 5:30pm in November meaning skaters use the facility as intended during opening hours in almost total darkness. Lighting similar to that at the playground would be greatly appreciated by the local community.

Reply:

Low level lighting is not considered adequate for such a high speed sport, floodlighting is required to allow this activity to continue after dark.  Floodlighting is expensive to install, maintain and operate and would require planning permission and it is questionable if such lighting could be permitted next to such a busy road into the city.  Fairview Skate Park is a small local facility with currently only 5 items and is not considered suitable for floodlighting.

Contact:           Fergus O’Carroll, Senior Executive Parks Superintendent

Tel:                  222 6625

Email:             parks@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.

Noting the support of all members of the North Central Area Committee for a new playground in the Kilmore West area at its monthly meeting in March 2022, should this committee agree once again, the members will request that work identifying possible sites and funding sources for the new playground will commence immediately.

Noting the support of all members of the North Central Area Committee for a new playground in the Kilmore West area at its monthly meeting in March 2022, should this committee agree once again, the members will request that work identifying possible sites and funding sources for the new playground will commence immediately.

Reply:

The North Central Area Office and the Parks Dept have investigated this question and provisionally believe that the green on Dundaniel Road would be the most suitable spot however we can put this question to the safety forum once elected/set-up. We hope to have our inaugural meeting in the coming weeks. We are working on invitations at present. The parks department have stated that they would be willing to consider this playground as a priority for 2023 providing they find match funding from the area such as discretionary funding.

Contact:         Derek Farrell, Area Housing Manager Artane/Whitehall LEA

Tel:                 222 8546

Email:             derek.farrell@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.

Should this Area Committee agree, we will request that Dublin City Council reopens the St. Anne’s Park pedestrian entrance from Vernon Avenue (near the Health Centre) so that local residents nearby can once again access the amenity of St Anne’s from this location. Permeability is a key commitment of the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 (Chapter 10, G15) access via this gate improves permeability and access to the Park.

Should this Area Committee agree, we will request that Dublin City Council reopens the St. Anne’s Park pedestrian entrance from Vernon Avenue (near the Health Centre) so that local residents nearby can once again access the amenity of St Anne’s from this location. Permeability is a key commitment of the Dublin City Development Plan 2016-2022 (Chapter 10, G15) access via this gate improves permeability and access to the Park.

Reply:

This is not nor was ever an official entrance to the park but rather a gap in the boundary where the wire fence internal to the hedge was cut to affect an unofficial access point.  There is no receiving footpath here as the gap opens into a copse of trees.  The roots of these trees and mud associated with pedestrian traffic represent a hazard to pedestrians and at least one injury has been reported. When this accident was investigated it was recommended that this gap be closed on safety.  There is a fully accessible entrance to the park with a receiving footpath some 150m to the north.   It is not intended to reopen this gap in the hedge as it is not considered safe.

Contact:           Fergus O’Carroll, Senior Executive Parks Superintendent

Tel:                  222 6625

Email:             parks@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.

That should this North Central Area Committee agree that the lack of progress in flood defences for the Clontarf promenade and that fact the consultation committee has not met for over a year is a cause for concern, that we will request that the Dublin City climate action plan and mitigation measures need to be costed/funded and implemented as soon as possible.  The sea is rising in Dublin Bay at twice the rate previously predicted and yet nothing is planned to protect people and homes in the flood risk areas of Clontarf

That should this North Central Area Committee agree that the lack of progress in flood defences for the Clontarf promenade and that fact the consultation committee has not met for over a year is a cause for concern, that we will request that the Dublin City climate action plan and mitigation measures need to be costed/funded and implemented as soon as possible.  The sea is rising in Dublin Bay at twice the rate previously predicted and yet nothing is planned to protect people and homes in the flood risk areas of Clontarf.

Reply:

The Flood Defence Projects Office are currently preparing contract documents to appoint a consultant to produce design options for the Clontarf Promenade redevelopment and Flood Defence Project. We are liaising with internal DCC departments, such as City Architects, Parks and Landscape services as well as Active Travel and Irish Water regarding the proposed water main to produce a services requirements document which will include everything relevant to satisfy all.

The possibility of the construction of a bund to replace the sand bags which are currently in place around the area of the car park near Alfie Byrne Road is also being examined by this office. 

Contact:         Gerard O'Connell, Project Manager

Tel:                 222 4302

Email:             gerry.oconnell@dublincity.ie

Order:  Agreed.

Cllr Lyons raised the issue of the “grass cutting” contract.  Cllr. Roe stated that members were unaware of this and that communications issues need to be addressed in this regard, for the benefit of all.  Cllr. Cooney requested more of the “Let it Bee” signs to be made available to explain to the public that the grass is long because of biodiversity. All councillors were in agreement that how we deliver this message is all important and requested that a one page document outlining all of the details, be circulated to members as a matter of urgency.

Fergus O’Carroll stated that In accordance with a more sustainable policy with regard to amenity grass maintenance to support the establishment of wildflower rich swards, DCC will only be maintaining open spaces/greens and will not be cutting grass margins outside residents’ homes  in residential estates. This policy is in keeping with the policy of every other local authority in the country. Effectively, everything that used to be cut, with the exception of residential grass margins, will still be cut.  Grass overgrowth on paths through green open spaces is a fall out from the council decision to not use weed killer on verges across open spaces but this will be manually addressed throughout green open spaces and in parks via the new contract.