Proposed Road Bridge, Castletown Gates, Celbridge

The Raven.

A planning application for a bridge at Castletown Gates has now been lodged with Kildare County Council. This bridge would facilitate the planned high-rise town extension of Celbridge at Donaghcumper.

A bridge at this location would necessitate

· Traffic lights resulting in severe traffic tailbacks for residents. Traffic should be directed away from the town.
· The rural setting of Castletown Gates and Christ Church would be lost.
· The proposed road would be clearly visible from Castletown Avenue and the Castletown River walk.

Closing date for objections: Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

To object, simply write to: The Planning Department, Kildare Co. Council, Áras Cill Dara, Naas, Co. Kildare, before Tuesday March 16th, including the Planning ref. no. 09/665.

If this is your first time to object to 09/665 include the statutory fee of €20.
If you have already objected there is no fee, simply include a copy of the receipt from your initial objection. The application can be viewed online on Kildare Co. Council website.

Celbridge Action Alliance - PM The Raven. for telephone number

The Raven.

Donaghcumper

Planning Application for Bridge at Castletown Gates

A planning application for a road bridge with a major junction at Castletown gates has been lodged with Kildare County Council by Devondale Ltd, as an item of Further Information to Application 09/665. A letter of agreement to include the grounds of the Parochial House in the application facilitates this but the lands required to build a bridge are, as of now, still in the ownership of the Church. A new bridge dissecting the streetscape leading to Castletown Gates and gate lodges and leading into the narrow Maynooth Road, necessitating traffic lights at Castletown Gates, would cause traffic delays, and make life very difficult for pedestrians. This historic streetscape and the entrance to Castletown would be destroyed forever.

The application also includes :

• A new road infrastructure to facilitate (by stages), a high-rise town extension (“new town centre”) for Celbridge on the Donaghcumper lands.
  
  
• A major road, which would be clearly visible from Castletown Avenue and the Castletown riverbank walk. The proposed road would run along the Donaghcumper riverbank and loop around to the old riding school entrance gates, destroying the existing views and tranquillity of the Castletown riverbank walk.
  
  
• Three entrances on the Dublin Road, between the Abbey Lodge and the entrance gates of the former Donaghcumper Riding School, which would cause traffic congestion, and require the demolition of the boundary wall of Donaghcumper demesne. This fine wall is an important feature of the Celbridge approach road. It forms part of the rural character of our historic town.
  
• A new pedestrian bridge over the Liffey between the late Kate Walsh’s house (Finey House) and Centra (Lynch’s). The long, narrow entrance from the Main Street to this proposed footbridge has the potential to attract anti-social behaviour.

There were over 120 strong objections to the previous application for a proposed high-rise development on this site. Devondale subsequently withdrew their application. If local people wish to prevent this massive development taking place by degrees, it is vital that they send a clear message to Kildare County Council that this plan to destroy the historic character of Celbridge is completely unnecessary and unacceptable.

To object, simply write to: The Planning Department, Kildare Co. Council, Áras Cill Dara, Naas, Co. Kildare, before Thursday 18th March including the Planning ref. no. 09/665. If this is your first time to object to 09/665 include the statutory fee of €20. If you have already objected to 09/665, and have received a recent communication from KCC, there is no fee. Simply include a copy of the receipt from your initial objection to 09/665 You may wish to refer to the issues we have raised or to highlight others of your choosing. The application can be viewed at www.kildarecoco.ie, on the Online Planning Enquiries section.

If this planning permission is granted, it may last for ten years and it will be impossible to halt the destruction of this fine landscape, which forms the backdrop for Castletown Demesne, a designated area of international importance and a vital section of the proposed Liffey Valley Park.

CELBRIDGE ACTION ALLIANCE
For email address and telephone number, PM The Raven.

WIZE

I live in Castletown . Whey do I have to pay €20 to object to planning permission

ronaneire

Most Haunted wrote: »

I live in Castletown . Whey do I have to pay €20 to object to planning permission

http://www.planningsupport.ie/howtoobject.htm

All objections need to be accompanied by a €20 fee.

Davidth88

Hi,
As a resident of Celbridge , and someone who enjoys walking in Castletown
I am quite strongly against this development , however if I could point out the following in your campaign

A bridge at this location would necessitate

· Traffic lights resulting in severe traffic tailbacks for residents.

This smacks on NIBYism, it's obviously trying to get the people in Castletown estate ' up in arms ', but to my mind it's the wrong approach

A more open policy to your ' Alliance ' would be more helpful to be honest.

Who are the ' Celbridge Action Alliance ' exactly ? , who do the represent ?

Can we please see a copy of your constitution , that way we may all be interested in joining in your campaign in a more active and inclusive way.

I have seen your posters around the village ( Castletown gates ).

Good luck with your campaign, I hope you are successful in stopping what I think is a destruction of an important piece of the Liffey Valley.

options

Hi, I too love walking in Castletown. The Celbridge Action Alliance were at Castletown gate last Saturday Morning between 11 and 2. They will be there again next Saturday. The purpose of the posters were simply to let people know about the proposed bridge and explain that there will be no opportunity to comment after March 18th. Will post again later.

The Raven.

Davidth88 wrote: »

This smacks on NIBYism, it's obviously trying to get the people in Castletown estate ' up in arms ', but to my mind it's the wrong approach

David, the poster didn't specifically state that it was only Castletown residents who would be affected. In fact, most of the residents of Celbridge use this junction at one time or another, travelling to and from the N4 access, Tesco, Aldi etc. All the other housing estates on the Maynooth Road would also be seriously affected.

The poster also states that (if you want more information), you can PM The Raven. for email and telephone number. One is not allowed to post contact numbers in posts on Boards.ie.

I have seen your posters around the village ( Castletown gates ).

Good luck with your campaign, I hope you are successful in stopping what I think is a destruction of an important piece of the Liffey Valley.

Thank you for your support. It is much appreciated. A written objection to Kildare Co. Council would be even more appreciated, as it is the only way to effectively try to halt this proposed development.

bigred

The Raven. wrote: »

All the other housing estates on the Maynooth Road would also be seriously affected.

How, exactly? I can understand reluctance in Castletown to it, but the traffic is passing up the Maynooth Road past Tesco, etc. regardless of a bridge or not. Are you really trying to say there's going to be a significant increase in traffic?

Personally, I'm in support of a bridge. Not necessarily the big development in Donachumper [sic], but the bridge is logical. We purposely didn't buy a house on that side of the river as the current bridge is total chaos all hours of the day, as is the main street. Am I being naive here thinking a bridge would be a good thing for the town - we could increase pedestrianization in the main street and make it more accessible? Don't go flame hate at me for this, it's just my opinion, which I'm entitled to have.

Davidth88

bigred wrote: »

How, exactly? I can understand reluctance in Castletown to it, but the traffic is passing up the Maynooth Road past Tesco, etc. regardless of a bridge or not. Are you really trying to say there's going to be a significant increase in traffic?

Personally, I'm in support of a bridge. Not necessarily the big development in Donachumper [sic], but the bridge is logical. We purposely didn't buy a house on that side of the river as the current bridge is total chaos all hours of the day, as is the main street. Am I being naive here thinking a bridge would be a good thing for the town - we could increase pedestrianization in the main street and make it more accessible? Don't go flame hate at me for this, it's just my opinion, which I'm entitled to have.

Interestingly my wife feels the same way ! ( you are more than entiltled to your opinion ).

To be honest I am torn , there is a need for a second bridge , however next to Castletown gates , I am not sure , of course if it's not there , where would you put it ?

Speaking to local council members , they too are seeing this in the local community. Some people want the development because they feel Celbridge has grown too big for it's centre ( I am not one of these ).

We live up at near the Aldi/Maxoil , a set of lights wouldn't really effect us , and Raven I would be really interested why you feel this particular set of lights would cause ' severe tailbacks '. I was just pointing out , that making this your primary concern ( as you put it on the top of your list of concerns in the posters and what you put here ) seems a little misled , I would be much more concerned about the destruction of wild habitat , the peace of the walk in Castletown etc.

To be honest there was also a proposal ( now cut I believe ) to build a road from the M4 spur to the Clane Road , that would take a lot of through traffic away from that side of town, that to me makes sense .

options

Davidth88, it is interesting feedback to read what you picked up from the posters. One problem with posters is that you can only put a very limited amount of info on them, as people won't read a long detailed document while out walking. I can see where you might get the impression that it smacks of Nimbyism. However, a more detailed leaflet has been prepared and is to be circulated to all the houses in Celbridge, addressing the many
issues and concerns regarding the proposed development.
I hope that you might be able to come to Castletown Gates next Saturday between 11 and 2 o’clock, as members of the Alliance will be there with detailed maps etc from the planning file, in order to share info with anybody interested, and with people who may not have the time to study the plans on line or at Kildare Co. Council.

The Alliance is made up of members of various groups in Celbridge, for example the Community Council, Tidy Towns, and Historic Society. We also have the support of the Georgian society, Castletown Foundation, Liffey Valley Park Alliance, and others. Everybody is welcome to come along on Saturday. This is not a protest but simply providing information.

The major development that is proposed in the masterplan for the area will definitely cause much increased traffic if permitted. The bridge won’t happen without the development. There are 3 junctions proposed along the Dublin road between the existing traffic lights close to Boylans and Mc Namees’ pub. The Liffey valley in Celbridge and the wonderful amenity that is Castletown will be spoilt if this proposed road infrastructure and bridge are allowed as it is routed in full view of Castletown ave extending almost to Donaghcumper House. Most people last Saturday were surprised when they viewed the maps, as most thought the town extension and roads would simply be at the back of our existing main street. It is also interesting to read some of the studies that were prepared by independent sources regarding the effect of a bridge in this location in the developers planning file, which state that traffic would worsen in this restricted area. If interested, do try and make it to the information session on Saturday, weather permitting,

The Raven.

Davidth88 and bigred, I will get back to you both re the traffic shortly.

Davidth88

Options.

Thanks , Ill try to be down there on Sat .

I have a few friends involved in the LVPA

The Raven.

It would be better to go down to the Castletown Gates on Saturday to get a clearer view of the overall picture regarding traffic problems etc. rather than my going into details here.

Suffice it to say that the Castletown traffic cannot be seen in isolation. Castletown housing estate has c. 700 houses, most of which have several occupiers and with 1 - 4 cars, generating a significant amount of traffic to the overall Celbridge traffic. One cannot underestimate the knock on effect on traffic in general in Celbridge, or the effects resulting from re-routed traffic heading for the Maynooth Road etc.

Beruthiel

bigred wrote: »

the current bridge is total chaos all hours of the day

I don't disagree with you.

But to build a bridge right beside the Castletown gates is utter madness imo.
It's a beautiful, historic spot, which would be totally ruined were this to go ahead.
With a bit of thinking, I'm pretty sure a much better alternative could be found, well away from one of the few spots that actually help Celbrige be the pretty street it is.

As for what they have in mind for Donaghcumper demesne, makes you want to weep.

Castletown and the surrounding fields is what attracted me to the town.
It's such a beautiful place to walk through.
One would have hoped that this recession would have called a halt to the whole idea.

The Raven.

bigred wrote: »

...the current bridge is total chaos all hours of the day, as is the main street.

I don't pass by there in the mornings, but I do drive down the Main Street and over the bridge at all other hours and I don't encounter any major traffic chaos. It is a vast improvement since the M4 access on the Maynooth Road.

Beruthiel wrote: »

But to build a bridge right beside the Castletown gates is utter madness imo.
It's a beautiful, historic spot, which would be totally ruined were this to go ahead.
With a bit of thinking, I'm pretty sure a much better alternative could be found, well away from one of the few spots that actually help Celbrige be the pretty street it is.

As for what they have in mind for Donaghcumper demesne, makes you want to weep.

Castletown and the surrounding fields is what attracted me to the town.
It's such a beautiful place to walk through.
One would have hoped that this recession would have called a halt to the whole idea.

I couldn't agree more. It makes me want to weep even reading your post. The sheer beauty of Castletown House and demesne is what attracted me also, and the quaint, historic town with most of the Protected Heritage Structures still in tact.


Castletown Gates in the snow.

Behind the trees is the Parochial House and grounds. If the development goes ahead, all the trees and the wall around it, shown here, will be lost forever. This is a valuable Protected Heritage Structure, but in spite of this, the developer is talking about getting a compulsory purchase order to facilitate the building of a vehicular concrete bridge and road right through it. The Parochial House, which caters for the vulnerable members of our community, will become uninhabitable, as the road will be built right up against it, with two or three lanes of heavy traffic.

Hundreds of new residents in the proposed new Town Centre, plus new residents in the 108 proposed houses at Donaghcumper, currently with An Bord Pleanala, would greatly increase the traffic in Celbridge. This would necessitate ongoing heavy goods vehicles and delivery trucks etc. servicing the development once it is built.

There would be up to 300 trucks a day delivering concrete and steel during the construction of the bridge alone, plus c. 10 years of construction vehicles for the entire site - TEN YEARS of mud, dust, noise and traffic congestion while they carve up our tranquil historic town.

The Raven.

Here is a link to an interesting article in today's Irish Times, exposing the true figures of vacant houses at present in Ireland: ‘345,000 empty houses or apartments in the State - or 17 per cent of all housing…’

The need for councils to refuse planning permission

‘The Fine Gael TD [Terence Flanagan] said the figure also highlighted the need for councils to refuse planning permission’

"Despite these huge numbers of vacant housing, many local authorities are still granting permission for housing in areas where there is oversupply. All council planning departments must now get real and refuse planning applications for housing in areas where there is oversupply."

This information may be of use in FI 09/665 submissions in relation to the huge percentage of residential units envisaged in the Durkans’ Planning Application, in their future piecemeal development, added to the 108 new houses in their proposed Zone B, now in the hands of An Bord Pleanala.

Baggly

As i resident of Celbridge, i am in favour of a second bridge. I understand that we risk damaging the cultural charm of the town, but as a resident, i am sick and tired of driving down the main street towards the current bridge, and when trying to continue towards Clane, having to wait for three streams of traffic to let me continue.

So imo, a bridge is necessary. I dont think many people here are disputing that.

I also think people are not disputing that Celbridge is a town which has seen exponential growth in recent decades. The town centre, however, has not grown along with the rest of the town.

As to objections to the gates being damaged; surely the same objections would have been raised in the past when an entire estate (with all the cars you mentioned previously) was built (with the gates themselves as one of two access points.

Realistically the gates could be carefully moved. It wouldnt be the same, but at this stage, the house itself has been refurbished so much that i would imagine there are differences there too; of course comparing it to when it was in use.

What is important imo is that the memory and history of the gates and the demense is maintained but not in such a way that it makes Celbridge an inconvenient place to carry out our lives.

It is mainly at peak times (schools, rush hour etc) that traffic does congest on the main street and that the need for a second bridge becomes apparent. I would be just as happy if traffic were taken away from the town centre, but the fact remains that the old Dublin road is very important to the town and to commuters. A bypass road to Clane would not, imo, take enough traffic off the main street.

I saw the plan for the 'new town centre' when it was on display in the Setanta, and i was not impressed. Having said that, more access to the village for cars and pedestrians is essential and the protection of heritage sites is achieveable...

So im for the bridge, and yes, maybe in the proposed site, but i think we need to protect these sites, perhaps by moving them if necessary.

Oh and i dispute the objection that we will have to look at the new road through donaghcomper...houses and toughers already spoil the view and people still seem to enjoy the walk.

Joe Public

Pter wrote: »

As i resident of Celbridge, i am in favour of a second bridge. I understand that we risk damaging the cultural charm of the town, but as a resident, i am sick and tired of driving down the main street towards the current bridge, and when trying to continue towards Clane, having to wait for three streams of traffic to let me continue.

So imo, a bridge is necessary. I dont think many people here are disputing that.

Why not go by the Shackleton Rd. rather than down through the town when heading in the Clane direction?

Baggly

Im not necessarily heading to clane. Could be heading to the mill or abbey farm or esso.

Regardless the point is the traffic situation in the village is not modern at all and IMO could do with a second bridge.

Beruthiel

Pter wrote: »

Im not necessarily heading to clane. Could be heading to the mill or abbey farm or esso.

Driving by Tesco and turning left at the second set of traffic lights will bring you directly to the Mill.

Baggly

Not at 8.30-9.15, 1.45-2.15 and 2.45-3.15 when the kids get out of scoil na mainistreac and the place gets super congested.

My point isnt that there is no other way to get to these places; its that people should be able to use the main street without running into congestion that can leave you trapped in traffic leading up to the current bridge.

options

Pter, just for interest I am posting images from the developer's original planning file for Donaghcumper available at KCC public counter. The first image shows the extent of the proposed development in relation to Castletown Ave and Celbridge Village. The second image shows the view of the development from Castletown Ave. The third shows the view from Castletown Gates at the slip. While this application has been withdrawn, the current live application 09/665 for the road/bridge infrustructure is to facilitate the future development of these lands, even a scaled down version of these images in my view is totally unacceptable and unnecessary, and as can be seen from the images is in full view of Castletown.











This bridge won’t be built without a large scale development to follow. This development at this location will cause traffic jams, worse than we have ever experienced. As I understand it KCC are discussing an alternative route for a bridge that might keep the traffic away from the town, as is required by all good planning. We should all encourage our councillors to pursue this alternative.

Beruthiel

From looking at those plans, the ONLY reason for this second bridge is to facilitate people in the new development coming in from the motorway.
If you ask me, this will cause further traffic problems with the increased traffic coming down the old Maynooth road.
I see no other reason whatsoever to put that bridge right there.

Baggly

Based on those plans alone, yes, it might look like the new bridge is just for a new development.

But looking from the point of view of living and driving around celbridge everyday (i keep saying this is my point of view) i can see the need for a new bridge.

I dispute the view from the second one being unacceptable because as things stand, you can already see the housing development on the dublin road as well as that eyesore of a petrol station.

It might just be me, but i can imagine a compomise where the towns heritage is preserved while the town is modernised. I cant understand why other dont want to achieve this balance or, rather, why people are dead set against the village changing whatsoever.

Celbridge as a town has changed immeasurably in terms of population, footfall and wheelfall(??). However, the village traffic system is not. You can name alternative routes all you want, the fact remains that the village is the main thoroughfare for cars and this is unlikely to change; necessitating a new bridge.

I honestly dont care where they put the bridge, but seeing as, imo, a new one is needed, and as far as i know, that slip road is the only viable location without displacing someone else further down the main street, i dont understand why you cannot even consider the merrits of the proposal.

I love Castletown, i really do. Its scenic and historic and i can recite the tour guides speech verbatim, but there IS a way to have both things, do you not agree?

EDIT:

From closer inspection it appears that the only structures to actually be affected by the proposed plans is the parochial house. Not such a bad thing since

a)noone can see the place
b)its not in great condition
c)its not particularly historic (certainly not when compared to castletown house)

TI63

Can The Raven clarify something for me? It was started at the beginning of this thread that “A planning application for a bridge at Castletown Gates has now been lodged with Kildare County Council…”

As far as I can tell that is not the case at all. This is a revised application for “the provision of roads and services infrastructure to facilitate the future development of an urban expansion to Celbridge town centre, set around a new urban street layout….”

The site boundary excludes the road bridge at the slip road between Christ Church / Castletown gates and the parochial house. Naturally, since the developer does not own this road onto which the bridge would be built, it can only surmise as to what will be the likely outcome. What the developer has done here is to literally go up to his boundary line and beyond that presume to know what is best for the town of Celbridge by saying “here is our wonderful idea…. Build a bridge here…” (Actually says “Provision is made for a future road link from the main avenue to the junction of Celbridge Main Street (adjoining the Parochial House – a Protected Structure) and the Maynooth Road, via a new vehicular bridge over the River Liffey”). Although the developer may end up paying for the bridge, they are actually passing the buck onto the council to see it thru. This planning application has no direct jurisdiction over what would eventually happen outside Castletown Gates. What it does is postpone the real debate to some date in the future when the council will be responsible for completing the process (which the developer ultimately sees is to his advantage as it will require the council to complete his development objectives). That is when we will have a real fight on our hands.

Kildare Co-Co has, for many years wanted to build a bridge at Castletown Gates. It also wants to build a bridge crossing at Templemills to the Clane road. Obviously these will only be built when a developer is in a position to build on adjoining lands. I remember attending meetings 9 or 10 years ago about this exact same issue at a time when the traffic at the bridge was far worse that it is now. The majority of people were against both proposals then, which is why the council have stayed quiet about pushing any bridge building project on the people of Celbridge against the will of the residents. You can see that despite the complete inappropriateness of building a bridge at this exact spot, it does suit both the council’s and the developer’s goals.

I fully appreciate the sentiment and the level of anger at what is being proposed in the planning application. I am on your side. It is a fact that, if the application gets approved, it may lead to a road bridge being constructed at this spot.

The developer withdrew his original complete application because they knew that it stood no chance of being approved. Now they are attacking this from a new angle. I would go so far as to suggest that this is development by stealth. This land cost a lot of money to buy – way more that it is worth now.

This isn’t as much a case of objecting to the construction of a bridge. It is more a case of objecting to the proposed development of the Donaghcumper lands because of the impact it will have to the existing infrastructure and heritage of Celbridge.

What this planning application represents is the first stage in the redevelopment of the Donaghcumper demesne. It gives a green light to the complete redevelopment of the site without giving any indications as to what the developers intend to construct in this site. This is not the cohesive approach that such a large development requires. Our quality of life is of no interest to the developer.

Celbridge is not adequately represented at county council level, where ALL of the decisions are made. Councilor Bryne is the only councilor out of 25 showing a Celbridge address. All the other councilors have their own local priorities to deal with and the proper development of Celbridge is not one of them. By their actions to date, the majority on the council don't have any real clue (or care) about the permanent damage the development of the Donaghcumper demesne will have.

As you approach Celbridge, down the Dublin road, do you want to be confronted by an open badly designed concrete jungle or would you prefer the stonewalled/tree lined approach that we have today?

As you walk up the Castletown House Avenue or along the river bank, would you prefer to see open spaces or the inevitable badly designed concrete jungle you can expect?

Even though the population has grown hugely, there is still a village feel to Celbridge. This will be lost forever. Many of us moved out of Dublin to get away from the sort of ill-conceived development that is being planned at Donaghcumper. This isn’t a bad place to live. City life is a bus ride away. Country life is a stroll away. Dublin and all it has to offer is only a stone’s throw away. Try and keep it that way for as long as we can.

p.s.
The suggestion that the Castletown gates could be moved is not an option. Where would you move the Round House to? The proposal is to use the corner site of the parochial house to align the widened road with the Maynooth road. The problem here is that even though the Slip road will be widened to meet specifications, the Maynooth road cannot be widened. How does anyone expect this to fit in with the existing infrastructure? How on earth are they going to get the volumes of traffic proposed up and down that road between the Jasamine House and the Round House when there isn’t even room for a proper footpath at present?

All of this traffic will be directed right into the centre of Celbridge, to the exact place where some of the oldest and best preserved buildings in Ireland are clustered. How will directing huge volumes of traffic down to a single narrow point help to alleviate traffic problems in Celbridge? This will not prevent traffic congestion on the main street. At best it moves access onto the main street from one end of the town to the other end.

There are always going to be congestion bottlenecks at peak times. There is no traffic Utopia.

If this town needs another bridge, then it has to take traffic away from / around the town and not into it.

Another valid point was made that the town centre has not grown along with the rest of the town. My view on this is that we have a very fine village this is being neglected. We don’t need a new oversized town centre. We especially don’t need one that destroys the built heritage of the town. What should be done is that the existing village infrastructure should be developed and upgraded as that we don’t end up with a derelict main street linked by badly policed alleyways to a new poorly constructed and underutilized “town centre” that will overshadow the whole village.

Baggly

TI63 wrote: »

All of this traffic will be directed right into the centre of Celbridge, to the exact place where some of the oldest and best preserved buildings in Ireland are clustered. How will directing huge volumes of traffic down to a single narrow point help to alleviate traffic problems in Celbridge? This will not prevent traffic congestion on the main street. At best it moves access onto the main street from one end of the town to the other end.

There are always going to be congestion bottlenecks at peak times. There is no traffic Utopia.

Have never been for the new town centre....but in my mind, another bridge would open up the village to a one way system or something. For gods sake, the two options cant be 'brand new development destroying our heritage' and 'no development at all'.

TI63

Pter wrote: »

Have never been for the new town centre....but in my mind, another bridge would open up the village to a one way system or something. For gods sake, the two options cant be 'brand new development destroying our heritage' and 'no development at all'.

If you are not in favour of the new town centre, what do you think this planning application is about? It is all about building a new town centre. It is not about building a bridge. If this planning application gets approved, then a plan to build a bridge will appear. But that won't happen until this town centre development gets approved and development is underway

Development isn't the issue.. The issue is where the development is happening and the type of development that is proposed. Sometimes it's just plain wrong - and no development at all is the only option.

options

r16 , just for clarity it is vital that people understand that 09/665 now includes the bridge , and the closing date for objections is March 18th.

A planning application was submitted to KCC as you correctly say for road infrastructure and the further provision of a bridge.
The applicant at this stage did not have a letter of consent from the owners of the land so the bridge, could not be included.
However KCC requested further information on this application. In their response to the request for further information the applicant included a letter of consent from the owners of the parish lands. This allowed him to apply for planning permission for the bridge. This information was deemed significant and so KCC required that new public notices be erected to allow the public to be aware of the significant change and allow them time to object. This new notice is on the wall of the parochial house and on the Donaghcumper wall. The planning notice that is posted on this thread is the original planning application for 09/665 and is not the current notice now erected which includes the bridge. It is not necessary for the applicant to own the land but he simply required a letter of consent to include the parish lands. This letter was given to him recently. It is vital that people know that this planning application now includes the bridge .

TI63

Thanks for the clarification.

options

Brief Planning History 09/665
The Application was lodged June 2009, Further information submited 4th Feb, deemed significant , new notices 11th of Feb. Now includes the bridge in the application. I don't want to get into the planning process in too much detail as people might get bored and I am no expert, but be assured that the bridge is now included. Your last oppertunity to comment is March 18th. It is annoying the way the bridge has slipped in ,without any public consultation.

The Raven.

TI63, Thank you for taking the time to write such an interesting post. I am sorry if my first post seemed to be misleading. I read your post earlier today but I was busy at the time and I intended to reply later with clarification. However, what 'options' wrote in the meantime is accurate.

I thought that my second post was clear enough as regards the Further Information:

The Raven. wrote: »

A planning application for a road bridge with a major junction at Castletown gates has been lodged with Kildare County Council by Devondale Ltd, as an item of Further Information to Application 09/665. A letter of agreement to include the grounds of the Parochial House in the application facilitates this but the lands required to build a bridge are, as of now, still in the ownership of the Church….

When the developer submits Further Information at the request of the council, if it is deemed significant (as in this case), the public are given another chance to submit objections (free if they have originally objected, and with €20 fee otherwise). In other words, it is treated as a new Planning Application, with the same reference number (09/665 in this Application).

I understand from your post that you were aware of the earlier proposal for a vehicular bridge at the Slip about ten years ago. I must point out that this current Planning Application includes a bridge which is not actually at the Slip, but running right through the adjacent curtilage of the Parochial House, (a Protected Structure). This allows for a much wider bridge with three lanes of traffic.

The situation now is a lot worse, as the developer is offering to pay for it to facilitate a high-rise, piecemeal development at Donaghcumper. As you pointed out above, that is what this Planning Application is all about. No developers build bridges and roads for nothing. Profit is their only goal. The people of Celbridge are only a minor nuisance in their eyes. Heritage and the environment to them are mere obstacles to be vandalized for financial gain.

I don't know if you have looked at the 09/665 Planning Application, but it can be viewed online at:

http://webgis.kildarecoco.ie/planningenquirysystem/MainFrames.aspx