Statement (by Brian Greene Socialist Party) on Brickfield Rezoning vote 15/03/2010
“Urgent action required or community will be forced to intervene.”
“Monday’s Development Plan vote saw 22 councillors (out of 22 present) reject the rezoning on Brickfield at the South end of Seagrange. Following such resounding rejection any future rezoning of this land must be a non starter. ” says Brian Greene Public Rep. Socialist Party Dublin North East.
The same land faced two votes during the creation of the 2005-2011 Development Plan and also a plan for a variation in 2008. Public pressure defeated these moves. The residents of Sutton Park & Baldoyle will not tolerate erosion of open spaces nor will they tolerate planned dereliction of the site or the disused council depot.
During the past few weeks the general perception has developed that noting will be happening anywhere in the county because of lack of funds in these new economic times. Councillors and Officials that harbour such ideas must stand aside and let creative communities apply community uses to community land if they lack the creativity and vision to move this impasse along.
“For over thirty years the area surrounding Brickfied has been let fall into further disrepair. Enough is enough. If this area is further neglected by its owners or the council the community will be left with no choice but to take action. The only power that has saved Seagrange Park zoning has been People Power. This vote sends the strongest message to council, cash strapped or not, urgent action to remedy the ugliness of the area is required. Failure to act is no longer an option in Seagrange Park.” according to Mr. Greene
–ends–
Notes:
Socialist Party online petition http://SaveSeagrangePark.com was presented to councillors ahead of Mondays vote.
Development Plan vote was on three combined motions from Socialist Party Labour & Fine Gael
Fingal Joint Policing Committee
Notice of Public Meeting
A public meeting will be hosted by
the Fingal Joint Policing Committee
for residents of Howth,
Sutton and Baldoyle
at The Racecourse Inn,
Racecourse S.C.,
Baldoyle, Dublin 13
at 7.30 p.m.
Wednesday 25th November, 2009
Residents of the above areas are invited to attend the meeting to make observations and address questions to the members of the Fingal Joint Policing Committee on matters relating to crime and anti-social behaviour with a view to improving public safety within local communities.
Any queries in this regard
should be addressed to:
Fingal Development Board,
P.O. Box 174, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin
or by emailing jpc@fingalcoco.ie
[update] the Park in Baldoyle has been named – Baldoyle Racecourse Park 15:50 05/11/09
The high amenity park due to open in Baldoyle in January 2010 needs a name. Can you suggest one. The land was once owned by Frank Dunlop (who claimed he bribed six county councillors to rezone it for him) what was once the world famous Baldoyle Racecourse. The land was rezoned in the 90’s as local councillors gave way to allow development on this green belt that now has stages of the Coast development built upon it.
It has had a working title of ‘Millennium Park’ for about 13 years but due to its extreme late delivery it is deemed inappropriate to call it Millennium Park TEN YEARS into the new millennium. Baldoyle badly needs amenity lands for its expanding young and old population (Baldoyle is the only area of the old Howth Ward with and expanding population). Comments & suggestions welcome. With a few suggestions I may run a poll.
Donaghmede Inn 9th November 8.30pm
Speakers Cllr. Clare Daly / Brian Greene
map: http://url.ie/2rsn
Meeting organised by Socialist Party Dublin North East.
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle has landed a sponsorship deal with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) for all their successful Basketball Teams.
The sponsorship was organised by PE Teacher, Robert Fennell with Maura Cassidy, Manager Community Affairs from the DAA.
Basketball is a very popular sport in St. Mary’s and one in which they have enjoyed great success over the years. Winning the SSA Under 16 Division 2 Championships in 2009 and were runners up in the SSA Under 16 Division One Championship, both finals being held in the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght. St. Mary’s has won the Under 16 Division titles on 6 previous occasions from 2002 to 2007. The Under 19 Senior 1 team have been SSA Basketball Finalists in 2004, 2007 and 2008. A great achievement for a small school like St. Mary’s.
Maura Cassidy recently made the presentation of the newly sponsored sports kit to Ms. Siobhan O’ Connell, Principal. Hopefully, this will be the start of a very fruitful partnership. Ms O’ Connell thanked the DAA for their generous sponsorship while Ms. Cassidy wished St. Mary’s the best of luck in their future matches.
[fingal indo reports] REVISED plans to build more than 200 homes on the outskirts of Swords has been shot down by the planning appeals authority on the grounds that it would ‘give rise to a low standard residential environment’. Albany Homes has lost out on its bid to construct the new estate, close to Drynam Hall, Melrose Park and Kinsealy Downs, after An Bord Pleanála upheld a decision by Fingal County Council to reject the plan.
A previous application for 205 units had been granted permission by Fingal County Council but the revised application sought to build 214 units.
In its decision to refuse permission, the county council considered that the additional units had been added at the expense of the previously well designed groupings of houses.
Lifeguards are not being deployed on the beaches of Fingal Monday to Friday during June & July unlike Dublin City and Dún Laoghaire Rathdown due to cut backs in Fingal County Council spending.
Despite the fact that the hiring of lifeguards has a derogation from the recruitment ban, Fingal County Council has yet to employ any lifeguards for June or July from 11am to 7pm Monday to Friday for any of its beaches.
“With children now off school at secondary & primary level it is a very dangerous situation to find the beaches of Fingal to have NO weekday lifeguards on duty. Fingal has not one beach with a blue flag, now the yellow & red flags wont fly for July as Lifeguards are only retained for weekend duties” according to Brian Greene public representative for the Socialist Party in Dublin North East
The Fingal County Council website says “The public are advised not to swim when the beach is not guarded. Due to staffing restrictions some beaches may not be guarded during the season.” and “week day cover may commence from the 3rd of August 2009 until the last week of August. This will depend on staff levels and weather.” So there is no guarantee that August will have lifeguard cover either.
The cuts in staff levels has already angered beach goers as the litter problems of May mounted up. “Now life saving duties on our beaches are being scaled back because of the savage cuts from central government. It is high time the Minister for the Environment and green party leader John Gormley reinstated the funds the council requires to provide essential services to the public” Mr. Greene said.
In previous years Fingal County Council has staffed the beaches with life guards Monday to Sunday in July. “Having lifeguards stationed on beaches in one on the criteria in getting a blue flag for a beach. Stationing lifeguards in July 2009 can only assist in the regaining of blue flags for Fingal where we now have none.” according to Mr. Greene
update: Vodafone mast at Bayside Square was removed at 9am this morning after it lost its battle following discovery it had *NO* planning permission 6:14 PM Aug 13th
Earlier this year Meteor’s attempts to site a mobile phone antenna at Bayside Square were stopped by prompt and vocal opposition from local residents. The application had attempted to claim exemption from planning permission, but this was refused by the Council following residents’ objections. The Council refused the exemption on the grounds that a childcare facility was operating from the same address.
During the campaign spearheaded by Socialist Party public representative in the area Brian Greene, it emerged that for a number of months a second Vodafone mast had been operating above the building at Bayside Square without the knowledge of most residents.
For almost four months we have had to push and encourage the Council to take action on this matter. Initially they indicated that this second mast did not have permission. Later they said that it had an exemption from years back and was not operating without permission! Now Fingal County Council’s Planning Department has finally informed us that Vodafone will be instructed to take the mast down.
The Socialist Party welcomes this decision as a vindication of the stance taken by the local community and as a tribute to all who played a part in keeping up the pressure. However there are many important lessons for the future which should not be forgotten.
This mast and many like it show that the community does not get sufficient input into the sensible siting of phone masts and that many breaches and irregularities are taking place without adequate control or action. That a mast can operate for almost 12 months with Site IDs and be advertised on the ComReg website while in breach of planning law shows the total lack of any proper enforcement and monitoring.
Phone users need signal, but it is very important that communities are protected by adherence to the precautionary approach of planning phone masts. The Bayside antenna had a Microlink Dish connected to a residential dwelling above the shops, disguised as a chimney flue to hide over 2000 micro watts per metre squared of elecromagnetic radiation. This is a disgrace and cannot be allowed to happen again.
Only community vigilance and public pressure insured that the mast at Bayside will now be removed. Our communities deserve regulations and enforcement that puts the health of residents above the convenience of the phone companies.
Information issued by Socialist Party local representative Brian Greene-
A thousand thanks to everyone who voted for me on Friday. Ok 1032 thanks. Thanks also to the crew on the leaflets in Malahide Portmarnock Howth Baldoyle & Sutton Park, not forgetting the 3 brothers in Bayside. Thanks to all the comrades who gave their all. While we didn’t win a seat the vote is holding strong and we will fight on, not just for seats but the bigger picture, our collective struggle. Thanks one and all.
Congrats to Joe Higgins MEP and thanks for voting for him on the European ballot paper.
Final election appeal of Joe Higgins – a fighter for workers, young people and the unemployed.
Joe Higgins is standing for the Dublin Constituency in the Euro Elections to be held on Friday, June 5th, to give people throughout Dublin an opportunity to strike a real blow against this governments attacks on working people.
Joe is well known as a fighter for working people for the last thirty years, and as being the real opposition when in the Dail from 1997 to 2007. Now more than ever we need to elect fighters like Joe.
Two key reasons to vote Joe Higgins No. 1
- Wipe out Fianna Fail, & strike a blow against the entire political establishment
- Elect a a real fighter for working people – a workers’ MEP on a workers’ wage who will lead the fightback
St. Mary’s Secondary School, Baldoyle has landed a sponsorship deal with the Dublin Airport Authority (DAA) for all their successful Basketball Teams.
