Archive for the ‘Howth’ Category

Joint Policing Committee Meeting Baldoyle 25/11

Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 

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

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Law & Order

Friday, March 20th, 2009

Cash stolen in raid on Howth post office

[20/03/2009] Gardai are investigating a robbery at the post office in Howth, North Co Dublin, this morning. Two men entered the premises shortly before 10am and smashed the glass partition at the counter. They then escaped with an undisclosed sum of money.

The raiders were in their late teens and early 20s. Gardaí are appealing for anyone with any information to come forward.

garda_siochanaUnder Section 36 of the Garda Siochana Act 2005, Joint Policing Committees were established to provide a forum where a Local Authority & the senior Garda officers responsible for the policing of that area, with the participation of Oireachtas members & community interests can consult, discuss & make recommendations on matters affecting policing of that area. And sometimes they meet in public. It just happens that they are meeting down the road from the Howth Post Office in the Marine Hotel Sutton on next Wednesday March 25th at 19:30pm.

from the press advert: 

Fingal Joint Policing Committee Notice of Public Meeting

A public meeting will be hosted by the Fingal Joint Policing Committee for the Howth/Sutton/Baldoyle area: The Marine Hotel, Sutton Cross, Dublin 13 at 7.30 p.m. Wednesday 25th March, 2009 

Residents of the Howth/Sutton/Baldoyle area 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.

Written questions may also be submitted in advance by residents of the Howth/Sutton/Baldoyle area to: Fingal Development Board, P.O. Box 174, County Hall, Main Street, Swords, Co. Dublin or to jpc@fingalcoco.ie no later than Friday 20th March, 2009 at 5.00 p.m.

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Howth Tidy Town

Wednesday, January 7th, 2009

Congrats to Howth it has been ranked as the cleanest town in the country in the latest survey by the Irish Business Against Litter organisation.

The town has topped the organisation’s annual litter league ahead of Fermoy, Cavan, Sligo and Dungarvan.

The An Taisce report for Howth found the following:

Dublin Approach Road: Clean to European Norms. An excellent main approach road with wide grass verge on the right hand side. A disused site on the left, though unsightly, didn’t harbour any litter.

howth tidy town 2008

Howth Tidiest Town in Ireland

Howth Main Street: Clean to European Norms. This was an excellent main street with attractive shops and signage.

Thormanby Approach Road: Clean to European Norms. (from Casana View to village). A very clean and fresh approach road into Howth. The overall presentation was excellent.

Howth Primary School: Clean to European Norms. (School surveyed from outside the grounds). This is a Green Flag School, which was in excellent condition. Playing areas, car parking and basketball courts etc. were all clear of litter. This was a very good site overall.”

full IBAL press release [pdf]

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Developer halted at Edros site Howth

Saturday, October 11th, 2008

Back in January Socialist Party local representative in Malahide-Howth Brian Greene battled to save the zoning of the old Edros site in Howth as the County Manager and the local councillors tried to push through a material contravention and allow for the building of 60+ apartments on amenity lands. The developer & council succeeded and granted planning permission despite the objections of locals & the socialist party councillors on the council. The despicable material contravention was supported by all the main parties including the 3 local councillors David Healy (GP) Joan Maher (FG) Michael J Cosgrave
(FG).

Brian Greene Socialist Party

Brian Greene Socialist Party

Nine months later (29/09) An Bord Pleanala REFUSED the permission that was granted by Fingal County Council. The Board agreed with their inspectors report, and numerous local objections and the Socialist Party position re material contravention.

The report from the board and local objections mention the run down state of the disused site and queries why the council has FAILED to act using its power under the Derelict Sites Act 1990 to force the owner to clean the site. Neither the community of Howth nor the Board are fooled by planned dereliction. The report also disagrees with the material contravention, ruling that the Open Space zoning that the site enjoys must not be built on along the lines of the planning application it refused. The inspector says in the report “In my opinion a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) would receive strong support, given that use for recreation / open space / amenity purposes is in accordance with the zoning objectives in the adopted Development Plan”. This material contravention and wholesale destruction of a community amenity in Howth has been led by the current & out going county managers and local councillors. Questions will be asked to the Manager in the coming weeks about this.

Residents of Howth must seize this opportunity to reclaim this site which was gifted to them, only to be sold to a developer by the council after the sports centre ran into difficulties. 100’s of Howth
residents had paid into the scheme over the years and all the benefits were returning to a local property developer. I will be calling on Fingal to CPO this land back from the developer at current zoning values and putting in place some of the excellent community facilities at the site that were suggested in a previous survey the community undertook.

Older Edros articles by brian greene / local press
[article 1]
[article 2]
[article 3]

march 2003 protest at the Edros site

march 2003 protest at the Edros site

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Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Ports & Dáil Eireann

Wednesday, June 4th, 2008

I strongly support the actions taken by the FIF. Irish Fishermen must not be priced out of the sea by fuel taxes & costs nor cheap fish imports. Minister Brendan Smith TD and Minister of State Tony Killeen TD must act fast from Ireland’s perspective & secondly via the EU Maritime Affairs Commissioner & the wider European perspective, too many factors have grouped together on the livelihoods of fishermen & their families, and with out further delay action is demanded on this issue. Brian Greene 04/06/2008 (Howth Harbour).

Federation of Irish Fishermen to Hold Demonstration at Dail Eireann
On Thursday 5th of June 2008, members of the the Federation of Irish Fishermen (FIF) will hold a demonstration outside Leinster House in Kildare Street between 12 noon and 3 pm to highlight the effects that the current high fuel prices and cheap fish imports are having on the fishing industry.
The CEOs of the four main fish producing organisations will be available at this demonstration to give interviews.
Mr Michael Walsh, chairman FIF and CEO Irish South and East Fish Producers Organisation, 087 2582842
Mr Lorcán Ó Cinnéide, CEO Irish Fish Producers Organisation, 087 6299522
Mr Gerard O’Flynn, CEO Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation 086 2360001
Mr Sean O’Donoghue, CEO Killybegs Fishermens Organisation. 087 4196535

During this demonstration fishing vessels will be tied up in all major fishing ports around the coast.

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Howth developer’s land jumps by EUR20m after council vote

Friday, January 18th, 2008

from the Evening Herald. 

LAND owned by a developer in Dublin jumped by between EUR12m and EUR20m in value following a decision by Fingal county councillors.The councillors voted in favour of changing the county development plan to allow for a 64-home scheme on what has now become one of the most exclusive sites in the country.

The land, which was bought 11 years ago for an estimated £400,000 (EUR500,000), contains a disused sports hall, the stunning site overlooking Howth harbour had been zoned for recreational use.

But by a majority of 20 votes to three, councilors in Fingal changed the zoning to allow for residential development.

APPLICATION
Construction firm Pierse Contracting Ltd, which had lodged a planning application for the scheme, will now almost certainly get the go-ahead.

In return for the material contravention of the development plan, Pierse has pledged to pay the local authority EUR2m to build a new sports hall.

“It’s the most beautiful site. By us passing a material contravention on that site we are increasing its value by somewhere between EUR12m and EUR20m,” Anne Devitt (Fine Gael) said last night.

“I believe the 64 apartments will sell for more than EURlm each. I can’t understand how any council or community group would accept a community gain (EUR2m) of so little. Never have I seen such a poor gain for such a high-value return,” she added.

However, when it came to the vote she backed the material contravention.

A council report said the Edros site on Balscadden Road, south of the Martello Tower, “has been disused and abandoned as recreational space for the past number of years”.

County manager David O’Connor came down strongly in favour of the material contravention. He said he has never seen a “more straightforward, public way” of dealing with a planning proposal.

“There was a huge amount of work done by local people,” he added. But he slammed talk of EURlm apartments and the value of the land shooting up as a result of a contravention.

Most of the EURlm apartments around the city are empty, Mr O’Connor said, adding “to promulgate that type of myth in relation to this is a gross insult”.

Howth representatives Michael Joe Cosgrave (FG), Joan Maher and David Healy (Greens) all voted for the plan. “If we don’t go through with the material contravention here today (the developers) can site on that site and we don’t have a community centre,” Cllr Maher said.

The dissenting voices were Clare Daly (Socialist Party), Ruth Coppinger (Socialist Party) and Peter Coyle (Labour).

Penfacs, a local community group in Howth established by former county manager John Tierney, backed the proposal.

FACILITIES
Several councillors raised fears that if they did not back the plan then the developer would appeal Fingal’s decision to An Bord Pleanala.

The councillors said the board could give the go ahead to the scheme and the council would be left without the EUR2m for community facilities.

ZONING: The new development will have stunning views of the popular Howth Harbour if it gets the go-ahead

Cormac Murphy
Evening Herald 

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