New CoCo Depot in Griffeen Valley Park

Miss Lockhart

I just heard about this plan today when a leaflet was put through my letterbox. Here is a link to a website mentioned in the leaflet which has more information on the plan:

http://www.saveourlucanpark.com/home

Basically, SDCC are relocating their depot from Esker Lane to Griffeen Valley Park.

I'm not sure how I feel about this. I live overlooking the park but my house would not be overlooking the proposed depot site. I also realise the that it is necessary for the council to have a depot and I don't want to object to it on NIMBY grounds.

However, I have to say I am disappointed with the choice of location. Apart from any noise, traffic or smell issues that may or may not arise, I think this will seriously take away from the park - which is probably the best amenity on offer in Lucan.

I have grown up beside the park and I go there every day and I love it. The proposed location of the depot will really change the layout of the park. I can't understand why they would choose a spot in the middle of everything instead of somewhere off at the edge where they could just close it off completely.

What do other locals think?

unkel

Thanks for posting, Miss Lockhart. I'm very concerned about this and I've made this thread a sticky.

smelltheglove

I cant believe this is happening i grew up playing football on that pitch and we used to spend our evenings up there playing footie, why they didint just leave the other depot open is beyond me,i really cant believe it

lord lucan

I'd heard they wanted to move the Council Depot from Esker ages ago but had heard no more about where they proposed to move it too. Bit of a bizarre location imo. I know the park only from passing it but it would be a strange location.

Despite not living near it or being impacted by it i fully support the residents opposed to it. And fair play to those responsible for the website,very well laid out and easy to navigate.

Pherekydes

That's a dreadful location for a depot.

I go running in the park regularly and there are kids playing football there frequently.

Is it just a matter of money? Do they just want to sell their depot site and take over park of a public amenity for money?

And what's to stop them repeating this in a few years' time?

IsThisNameFree

To answer a question posted above, the reason the SDCC need to find a new location for the park depot is that they have sold the Esker site to the Dept. of Education so they can build a school.

I don't think many people have a problem with a new school (though there are concerns about how much they paid for it in the current climate), but the SDCC had a wide choice of sites for the new depot and chose to stick it in the middle of a park (removing a junior soccer pitch in the process) and close to homes.

I'm not even sure if the site is as cost effective as other sites as they have to build a road through the park to the depot - a major concern for park users as this will be used by visitors to the depot, park employees as well as their heavy vehicles and equipment.

The site has more info and regular updates.

http://www.saveourlucanpark.com/

cfarrell

Hi folks,

I've been partially involved with the creation of that website. Thank you for your kind comments on the website, and also for your support on this issue.

There are quite a number of other sites that could be chosen, though the council feels that there are problems with all the other ones (but choose not to recognise any of the problems associated with the site in Griffeen Valley Park).

My own personal favourite would be south of the railway line, beside the existing Grange Depot. This would be well away from anyone's home, and would be in the area that is due to be developed as an extension of our park. This would mean that Council's depot would be right in the location needing the most work over the coming years.

SDCC have rejected this site because they say:
1. It would cost too much to bring services into this site (it's only 250 meters from Grange Depot. How much can it cost? In any case the Department of Education and Skills are funding it. The amount of €2.25M which the Dept will pay to build it is only an estimated cost.)

2. It is their policy to put park depots into regional parks. (This area is inside the park per the county development plan. It's just that they haven't developed it into a park yet).

3. The remote location would cause them security concerns. (In other words the depot would give rise to security concerns, and they expect residents to act as unpaid security guards).

Colm Farrell

cfarrell

One major concern that I have is in relation to the creation of a secluded area in our park.

The area that I am talking about is the one marked with the red arrow in this image



I've attempted to use photoshop to get an impression of what this area will look like when it is finished. Council have told me that they will use mature trees. So I've simply taken the mature trees from one side of the image and put them onto the other side.

I've checked the measurements from the map to Google Earth, and it would appear to me that the new hedge will be just inside the existing goal posts.

This is what it will look like in the fairest representation that I can create. Unfortunately my photoshop skills aren't the greatest. (If anyone else would like to have a better go, I'll happily send you on the original photo! The closer end of the photo should actually be narrower, but I can't make it look like that without making the trees look lobsided!)




I can't help but think that this will become a no-go area before too long. Hopefully I'm wrong, but if I'm not then it will be too late to do much about it once it has happened.

Of course the other problem with this is that people visiting our park using the park car park, will have to return via this area to their cars. If they feel uncomfortable doing that (in case there are some unsavoury people blocking their path when they want to return to their cars) they may very well start parking around the other pedestrian entrances to the park, and create traffic issues in other areas where there are none at present.

I know many people use the link through our park to go to the schools in Esker and to Superquinn. They will all have to go via this secluded area if the plans go ahead.

stoneill

Why on Earth would they build this in the middle of a park?
I assume that the planners, designers, architects etc do not live in Lucan nor use the park for recreation.

big dan

This is an awful decision. There are plenty of other sites for the depot or the school to be situated.

cfarrell

Hi,

Here is the newsletter which we sent out today on this issue. It outlines the updates noted on our website. You might be interested in it.

Colm

www.SaveOurLucanPark.Com

Newsletter

-Cllr Trevor Gilligan(FF) commits to vote against SDCC’s Depot Proposal
-Cllr Gino Kenny (PBP) commits to vote against SDCC’s Depot Proposal
-Cllr William Lavelle (FG) says he could not support a proposal to locate a depot in GVP
-Senator Frances Fitzgerald Questions SDCC and Commits Support and Assistance
-Minister John Curran Asks SDCC to Review an Alternative Site and Pledges his Assistance
-Lead Article in Liffey Champion
-Residents Associations Unite in Opposition to Depot

Hi everyone.

First of all thank you all for your support in the cause to preserve the beauty and utility of Griffeen Valley Park. If we manage to save it, it will only be through your support.

We have a little bit of good news to report with two county councillors having openly committed to vote against the location of this depot in our park, and another county councillor has issued a very positive statement saying that he could not support a proposal to locate a depot in our park. We also have encouraging news from Senator Frances Fitzgerald who has promised to work from within government, if elected, to get SDCC to find an alternative site, the ongoing commitment of assistance from Minister John Curran.

It is disappointing however that the only county councillors who have publicly committed to voting against the placing of this depot in Lucan’s flagship park were elected by the people of Clondalkin (Gilligan and Kenny). Of the five county councillors elected by the people of Lucan (Keating, Lavelle, E Tuffy, Jones and O’Connell) not one has publically committed to voting against this proposal. However Cllr William Lavelle has made a very strong and positive statement on the matter where he commits to represent the views of the community, which is very welcome.

It is vitally important that you maintain contact with your county councillors to make sure that they haven’t forgotten your opinions, and to check to see if they have updated their own positions. If you haven’t been in contact with them in a few weeks, then please check in with them. They are all busy with canvassing for the General Election at present, and need to be reminded how important this issue is to us.

Cllr Trevor Gilligan(FF) Commits to Vote against SDCC’s Depot Proposal
On 8 February, following representations from Minister John Curran (FF), Cllr Trevor Gilligan (elected by the people of Clondalkin) became the first to publically commit to vote against the placing of a depot in Griffeen Valley Park. We added a section on our website called “Politician’s Corner” where you can read his commitments. He has also set up a section on his Facebook page about the proposed depot and has asked Facebook members to add a ‘like it’ to it. Cllr Gilligan also committed to immediately communicate this position to SDCC. We are very grateful to Cllr Gilligan for his support.

Cllr Gino Kenny(PBP) Commits to Vote Against SDCC’s Depot Proposal
On Sunday 20 February, Cllr Gino Kenny (also elected by the people of Clondalkin) met residents from John’s Bridge, Griffeen Glen, Arthur Griffith Park, Grange Manor and The Old Forge, in Griffeen Valley Park. He carefully listened to the resident’s concerns, and the counter arguments put by SDCC in their many letters. Cllr Kenny declared that he had been convinced by the arguments, and has committed to voting against this proposal. Furthermore, Cllr Kenny has also committed that if he is elected to the Dáil in the General Election, that he will ensure that whoever is co-opted onto SDCC to take his place will also be bound by his commitment and they will vote against the proposed depot in our park. Cllr Kenny also committed to immediately communicate this position directly to SDCC. You can read Cllr Kenny’s full statement in the Politician’s Corner section of our website. We are very grateful to Cllr Kenny for his support.

Cllr William Lavelle (FG) says he could not support a proposal to locate a depot in GVP
On Wednesday 23 February, Cllr William Lavelle (elected by the people of Lucan) issued a very strong and positive statement on the matter, saying “I am also a strong believer that the first and foremost role of any elected representative is to REPRESENT the views of their community. It is clear that the people of Lucan do not want this depot and therefore it is my duty to represent this view.” He has spoken to Mr Jim Walsh, Head of Parks and Development in SDCC, and told him “in line with my representational duties to the people of Lucan I could NOT support a proposal to locate a depot in Griffeen Valley Park”
You can read Cllr Lavelle’s full statement in the Politician’s Corner section of our website. We are very grateful to Cllr Lavelle for his support.

Senator Frances Fitzgerald (FG) Questions SDCC and Commits Support and Assistance
Following a meeting with Frances Fitzgerald in January, she has been diligently working with us to help force SDCC to find an alternative site. Frances has been making representations on our behalf and has formally questioned the County Manager in SDCC as to why and in what way he considers the location of the proposed depot in our park is linked to the sale of the site in Esker Lane. She has also asked him to seek an alternative site. Senator Fitzgerald has committed to work through the Department of Education and Skills to find a solution, if elected to government. The Department are funding the building of this depot. You can read the Senator’s statement on the Politician’s Corner section of our website. We are very grateful to Senator Fitzgerald for her support.

Minister John Curran (FF) Asks SDCC to Review an Alternative Site and Pledges his Assistance
Following a meeting with Minister John Curran in January, he has made enquiries with the Department of Education and Skills, the results of which he believes indicates that there is no contractual link between the sale of the existing depot in Esker Lane to the Department of Education and Skills as the site for a new school, and the location of the new depot in our park or elsewhere. This means that if the site selected for the depot in our park is rejected, there is no reason why it must affect the sale of the Esker Lane site to the Department; SDCC is free to find an alternative and less controversial site for the depot. He has also spoken to Jim Walsh in SDCC asking him to review an alternative location for the Depot. He is continuing to make representations to SDCC on this issue, and has committed to continuing to assist us as best he can to ensure this depot is situated on a more suitable site. You can read the Minister’s statement on the Politician’s Corner of our website. We are very grateful to Minister Curran for his support.

Lead Article in Liffey Champion
Laura Donnelly reported on the proposed depot in our park, as the lead story in the Liffey Champion issue of the 19 February (published 17 February). In doing so she helped bring the story to a wider audience than we had been able to do ourselves. The article was very well written and balanced, and we are extremely grateful to Laura Donnelly for writing it, and the Liffey Champion for publishing it.

However I would like to point out that Cllr Lavelle contacted me to say that comments that I made to the Liffey Champion which were published in that article did not properly reflect his position on the matter. I have apologised to the Cllr for this and am happy to be corrected. You can see Cllr Lavelle’s stated position on our website, and indeed his statement is a very welcome development, for which we are very grateful.

John’s Bridge, Griffeen Glen and Grange Manor & The Old Forge Residents Associations Unite in Opposition to the Depot
At a meeting of the John’s Bridge, Griffeen Glen and Grange Manor & The Old Forge Residents Associations of the 17 February, all three associations have agreed to work together to stop SDCC building this depot in our park. These estates represent approximately 1,000 homes. The residents of Arthur Griffith Park have also decided to take up their own petition to SDCC confirming their objection to this proposed depot. The residents of these estates represent approximately 2,700 voters, which was more than one quota in the local elections of June 2009.

Once again thank you all for your support. If you haven’t been in touch with your county councillors (and prospective TD’s) in the past few weeks, then please make the effort to call them over the next few days to remind them how important this issue is, share any further thoughts you have had on this issue, to find out their latest position, and where appropriate to thank them for their support. All their contact details are on our website. We have found that the councillors are very open to receiving calls, and appreciate the feedback from the public delivered in a polite manner. If you don’t have time to call, then perhaps you could send them an email. Just remember that a commitment from a county councillor to oppose the development is of no use unless they also commit to voting against the depot.


Thank you
Colm Farrell
On behalf of:
info@SaveOurLucanPark.com
www.SaveOurLucanPark.com

unkel

Thanks for that, Colm. I was cycling through the park on Monday and there were surveyors at work at the proposed site. I wasn't very happy to see that, but I'm relieved to find that momentum is building against the proposals.

ctrl-alt-delete

Newsletter wrote:

The residents of Arthur Griffith Park have also decided to take up their own petition to SDCC confirming their objection to this proposed depot.

One of the Councillors that I spoke to on the phone said they had been around Arthur Griffith Park, calling door to door to gather opinions - and said she received some positive reactions towards the development!

This same person told me that the depot had originally been planned to be closer to AGP - i.e. backing onto the houses in a place. I don't know how true that was, but maybe this was the reason she gathered some positive views.

Another one told me that they had not visited the proposed site of the Depot!! I found it amazing that someone would be casting a vote on the matter without visiting the site.

Anyways it is great to see some considerable momentum gathering from the residents that will be affected.

cfarrell

Thanks guys.

CAD-I find it very hard to believe that anyone would be in favour of the depot in that location! Did she happen to say why they would support it? I think she might have found that a little difficult to answer!

I certainly haven't come across anyone yet who told me they were in favour of it...not even a county councillor even though many councillors have said that they will vote for it!

Encouraginly Derek Keating confirmed on Thursday that he would be voting againt it if still on the council when the vote happens.

So now we have committments to vote against the location from FF, FG and PBP. Labour seem to be the big one missing.

As for the location backing onto Arthur Griffith Park, I don't believe that was ever the case. The original plan was to have it right up against Johns Bridge, and further away from AGP. This is evidence by copies of SDCC agenda item for their December meeting, and earlier documents that I have received from the Dept of Eductaion and Skills in a freedom of information request. (We must put them up on the website.)

This was then changed to the current location shortly before SDCC meeting in Dec. (By shortly before, I mean that morning.) I don't believe it was ever going to be up against AGP, though I think one councillor suggested moving it even closer to AGP, but that was rightly quickly dismissed by SDCC. We need a proper solution, not one that simply move the problem.

Colm

ctrl-alt-delete

cfarrell wrote: »

Thanks guys.

CAD-I find it very hard to believe that anyone would be in favour of the depot in that location! Did she happen to say why they would support it? I think she might have found that a little difficult to answer!

I certainly haven't come across anyone yet who told me they were in favour of it...not even a county councillor even though many councillors have said that they will vote for it!

Encouraginly Derek Keating confirmed on Thursday that he would be voting againt it if still on the council when the vote happens.

So now we have committments to vote against the location from FF, FG and PBP. Labour seem to be the big one missing.

As for the location backing onto Arthur Griffith Park, I don't believe that was ever the case. The original plan was to have it right up against Johns Bridge, and further away from AGP. This is evidence by copies of SDCC agenda item for their December meeting, and earlier documents that I have received from the Dept of Eductaion and Skills in a freedom of information request. (We must put them up on the website.)

This was then changed to the current location shortly before SDCC meeting in Dec. (By shortly before, I mean that morning.) I don't believe it was ever going to be up against AGP, though I think one councillor suggested moving it even closer to AGP, but that was rightly quickly dismissed by SDCC. We need a proper solution, not one that simply move the problem.

Colm

Well she didn't sound to me like she was well up on it, so it may well not have ever been touted for the location she suggested to me.
As I said she hadn't visited the site prior to my conversation - and I very much doubt she ever called around door to door in AGP, she certainly didn't call to our door. I am sure she would not have gotten any positivity towards it from anyone in AGP.

She continuously stated to me that it had to go somewhere, that she didn't agree with the site near the rail tracks at the other end of the park, and that plenty of other council depots are in parklands and are well kept -obviously she has not seen the pictures from the website.

ctrl-alt-delete

A friend has told me that there is a protest to be held tomorrow 31st March at 10am in the park, at the location where they intend to put the depot.

Just passing it on for anyone that can make it, or that would like to make it known to others.

unkel

Griffeen Valley Educate Together national school are going to be out in force at the protest tomorrow. GVET is one of the schools closest to the proposed depot...

cfarrell

Here is our latest newsletter

www.SaveOurLucanPark.Com


Newsletter

-Griffeen Valley Educate Together school organise protest
-Meeting with Cllr Guss O’Connell
-Follow up Visits to other Depots
-Lead Story in the Liffey Champion (Again!)
-Meeting with Lucan Gardaí


Hi all,

Welcome to our second newsletter to update you on the efforts to save Griffeen Valley Park.

Griffeen Valley Educate Together school organise a protest
The green schools committee of the Griffeen Valley Educate Together school have organised a protest to highlight their concerns about council’s plans to locate the depot inside Griffeen Valley Park. They have grave concerns over the damage that will be done to the park, its wildlife and the loss of utility to their school and other users of the park, if the plans to locate the depot in the park are given the go ahead. Their protest is taking place at the steel bridge in the centre of Griffeen Valley Park at 10:00am tomorrow Thursday 31 March, and all are invited. They have also invited representatives from the council and the press. We would encourage you to support their protest by turning up at 10:00am on Thursday. It is expected to last about 20 minutes.

Meeting with Cllr Guss O’Connell
Cllr Guss O’Connell made good on his promise to meet with local residents when he attended two recent meetings. First of all he met with representatives of the residents associations of John’s Bridge, Griffeen Glen and Grange Manor & The Old Forge. In the second meeting he met with some of the Save Our Lucan Park group.

These meetings were productive, and gave us an opportunity to raise our concerns directly with the councillor and to address the validity of the excuses put forward by SDCC for proposing the site in the middle of Griffeen Valley Park. Cllr O’Connell adopted an open and constructive attitude, and clearly had done a significant amount of work between the two meetings on this issue. He now believes that any public consultation should include a number of potential sites so that the consultation with the community can be a genuine one.

At the end of the second meeting, he summarised his position by saying that “My position now is that the focus must be on finding the best possible location for the depot. I think that the site proposed in Griffeen Valley Park is the least suitable site of all the sites available to SDCC”. We are grateful to the councillor for his support and assistance.

Follow up Visits to other Depots
A number of you have reported back that some councillors have insisted that SDCC are very good at maintaining high quality depots. It is unclear whether these councillors had seen the photos on the website from our visits to SDCC’s depots or not, when making those statements, but it would seem very unlikely that they would have missed them. However we felt it a good idea to make a second visit, in case the mess found during our first visit was once off; it was not.

The state of the depots in the follow up visit was just as bad as during the first visit, and we found a very strong foul odour, as well as much (previously unobserved) litter and public dumping at Sean Walsh Park Depot.



Rathcoole Park: Same skip, same rubbish outside the main wall of the depot, in full view to the public.



Rathcoole Park: Same materials left outside the main wall of the depot, providing a ready means to anyone wishing to gain (illegal) access to the depot.



Jobstown Depot: The skips have gotten bigger, but the depot is no cleaner than before.




Jobstown Depot: A familiar sight from the previous visit.



Sean Walsh Park Depot (the one held up by Brian Sheehan as an example of how modern depots can be designed): Same council’s rubbish in the same location outside the depot walls two months later.



Sean Walsh Park: What was new in Sean Walsh Park this time was the strong horrible stench in the air. It wasn’t hard to find where it was coming from. The large mound of decomposing material observed during our last visit was still there, and now it was emitting this terrible smell. You can actually see the fumes coming off it in this photo.



Sean Walsh Park: What we failed to notice on the previous visit was the filth and rubbish in the pond just outside the main entrance to this depot. That is an arm chair in the water among other things. (The rest of the three piece suite was in the water too.) This and the next two photos make interesting viewing considering many councillors have told us that SDCC run very neat and tidy depots, and that they would help reduce litter in our park. If this exists right outside the main gate of the depot in Sean Walsh Park, then those statements have little credibility.



Sean Walsh Park: Again in the pond right outside the depot entrance.



Sean Walsh Park: Again right outside the depot entrance.



Tymon North Park Depot: Is this a structure that you want in the middle of Griffeen Valley Park?



Corkagh Park Depot: Again it was not possible to see most of this depot as it is hidden from view, but what we could see looked very similar to our previous visit.



We did not re-visit Waterstone Park in Palmerstown, as it was clear from our last visit that it is only a fraction of the size of the depot that is proposed in Griffeen Valley Park.

What we found most amazing was the indifference of SDCC to the public highlighting the poor state of the depots. We would have thought that as a result of the photos on the website from our first visit, and the representations made to councillors, that SDCC management would have attempted to nullify complains in this area by insisting all depots were tidied up and kept clean until this part 8 process is over. If all the representations made to councillors didn’t result in the other depots being temporarily cleaned up, then what chance do we have of making sure that one located in our park will be kept clean?


Lead Story in the Liffey Champion (again!)
On the 5 March, the Liffey Champion again published a front page lead story, written by Laura Donnelly, on our efforts to save Griffeen Valley Park. The article was a follow up on developments since the original story (also a front page lead story) was published on 19 February. The story was informative and well written, and we are very grateful to both Laura Donnelly for writing the story and to the Liffey Champion for publishing it. We will put copies of these articles on our website shortly.

Meeting with Lucan Gardaí
We arranged to meet with Lucan Gardaí to see if they had any concerns about the location and design of the depot, and to see if they agreed with SDCC and our councillors’ opinions that it would reduce anti social activity in the area. In fact they did have concerns and didn’t agree that it would reduce anti social activity in the area.

They expressed concerns about the layout, in that it created secluded areas on the southern side and on the eastern side (by the Griffeen River) and a secluded corner on the north west corner. These were areas that they believed would suffer from recurring anti social problems such as drinking parties, gangs, and possibly even more serious crimes. They stated that the problems would be policed and removed from the location, but that it was obvious that it would return and would be a recurring problem. They also stated that the location in the centre of the park with the long access road would make it more difficult to apprehend a suspect.

Once again, thank you very much for your support for our park. If you haven’t been in touch with your councillors since the general election, then perhaps it’s time to contact them again. They should have more time to discuss the issue with you now that the election is over, and they have more time to follow up on your questions. All their contact details are on our website.

Also our newly elected TD’s (and indeed Minister) also should be hearing from you since the election. Both Derek Keating TD and Minister Frances Fitzgerald made strong commitments before the elections, and we urge you to contact them to ensure that they keep to those commitments.

Just remember that a commitment from a county councillor to oppose the development is of no use unless they also commit to voting against the location of the depot in our park.


Thank you
Colm Farrell
On behalf of:
www.SaveOurLucanPark.com

eirefishing

Before any new depo is built sombody should look into the matter of pollution to the river griffeen "prosecutions need to be brought where possible".

I would like to introduce myself to you My name is Andy I have lived in lucan past 40yrs and my parents, Grandparents and Great grandparents before me.The River Griffeen is a tributary of the River Liffey it rises in Saggart Hill, south of Rathcoole. It is fed by nearby streams and flows northwards joining the River Liffey downstream of Lucan Village.
I’m living near this river since childhood, and have seen its many changes over the last 35 years. As a child I remember it before it was a parkland I remember its sheer wildness, seeing the spent Salmon after spawning it was a mighty river then not the rerouted skeleton it is now.
As children we used to fish in the river with buckets and nets where we used to catch Eels, Minnow, Stickle back, Gudgeon, and Trout. As years passed and I progressed from catching Stickle back in bucket I used to harvest the Caddis fly larva and Minnow to use as bait on the River liffey and the Roy River. Sadly all this is all gone now the river is reduced to a vile smelling stream with little or no life in it apart from the rats. I know I alone could never bring it back, but it discuss me the Politics the downright neglect even if I could get the answer as to why somebody somewhere let domestic waist be plumbed into the rain water drainage system,

view my video:
Griffeen Valley Pollution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScytSgs5U80
Griffeen Valley RATS: http://youtu.be/kZQ3BTQ6_GI
Thank You for Reading My Story

Andy
:mad:

ctrl-alt-delete

eirefishing wrote: »

Before any new depo is built sombody should look into the matter of pollution to the river griffeen "prosecutions need to be brought where possible".

I would like to introduce myself to you My name is Andy I have lived in lucan past 40yrs and my parents, Grandparents and Great grandparents before me.The River Griffeen is a tributary of the River Liffey it rises in Saggart Hill, south of Rathcoole. It is fed by nearby streams and flows northwards joining the River Liffey downstream of Lucan Village.
I’m living near this river since childhood, and have seen its many changes over the last 35 years. As a child I remember it before it was a parkland I remember its sheer wildness, seeing the spent Salmon after spawning it was a mighty river then not the rerouted skeleton it is now.
As children we used to fish in the river with buckets and nets where we used to catch Eels, Minnow, Stickle back, Gudgeon, and Trout. As years passed and I progressed from catching Stickle back in bucket I used to harvest the Caddis fly larva and Minnow to use as bait on the River liffey and the Roy River. Sadly all this is all gone now the river is reduced to a vile smelling stream with little or no life in it apart from the rats. I know I alone could never bring it back, but it discuss me the Politics the downright neglect even if I could get the answer as to why somebody somewhere let domestic waist be plumbed into the rain water drainage system,

view my video:
Griffeen Valley Pollution: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ScytSgs5U80
Griffeen Valley RATS: http://youtu.be/kZQ3BTQ6_GI
Thank You for Reading My Story

Andy
:mad:

I had lived in Lucan all my life, until this year when I have moved to England. So I have witnessed the changes in the river, particularly in the Griffeen Park.

The main problem for me has been all the houses that have been built around it - and the poor planning and neglect of the park that has come along with it.

The floods that time that prompted the flood relief work in the park totally ruined the park for me.

We used to call the Islands the first and second island as kids, the second one was a great spot for spotting kingfishers and pine martins, as you mention in one of your videos - but as i said above they totally destroyed the habitat with that "relief" work.

There was always a pipe with the brown stuff in your video on the far side of island one (the only one left) when i was young, I think the one pictured in your video now comes from all the new houses - I actually walked through the pipes when I was younger, when they had just been installed when they were building the houses. There is a lot of unnecessary stuff being directed into that river.

The park has lost most of it's charm for me, It should be a wonderful resource for all around it, but unfortunately there are the minority who vandalise it, litter it, and of course the council who plan on ruining it even more.

God be with the days when the park ranger used to cycle around the park on his bike, It infuriates me now when they drive around in that blue pick up thing - especially after or during bad weather, it ruins the grass.

cfarrell

Hi All,

Just a quick note to let you know that South Dublin County Council management and the Lucan area councillors today agreed that the plans to build a depot in Griffeen Valley Park have been scrapped.

They have now agreed that the most suitable site is that south of the Dublin Cork railway line, in an area that is marked for a future extension of Griffeen Valley Park. This area is away from all housing, and will not interfere with existing park users. As this area is as yet undeveloped, it means that the park extension can be designed around the depot rather than bluntly placing it in the middle of an existing park. There is a possibility that SDCC might have to put a shed into either Hermitage or Ballyowen parks in order to allow them to keep machinery over night when working in these parks. (eg. if machinery is needed in this park two days in a row, then it can be stored over night in between.) However *if* this is necessary, it will be small in nature and built beside existing park buildings in the park. It is not certain that this will be necessary, but if it is, it will be subject to its own public consultation.

The changing rooms and visitor centre in Griffeen Valley Park remains an aspiration, however they are unlikely to be built in the near future due to funding.

This also results in the junior soccer pitch being saved.

I will do a more detailed news letter in the next few days, but just wanted to pass on the good news as soon as possible!

The agreed new location south of the railway line, will be brought before the council at their next meeting in May, in order to commence the Part 8 public consultation.

Of course the sale of the existing depot to the Department of Education & Skills for a new school continues, and it is hoped to have the new school opened for September 2012.

Thank you all for your help and support over the past five months.

Colm Farrell
www.SaveOurLucanPark.com

unkel

That's great news, Colm. Thanks for sharing it here!

cfarrell

www.SaveOurLucanPark.Com

Newsletter

-Success at Last! What has happened
-Why you should contact your councillors again
-Thanks to those who have helped

Hi all,

Welcome to our third newsletter. It’s hard to believe that this is only our third newsletter, even though the campaign started almost six months ago. Things have always been very busy here trying to stay on top of the issues and staying ahead of the issues has taken priority over sending more regular newsletters as I’m sure you’ll appreciate. We are delighted to be able to say our concerns were finally listened to this week, and council no longer plan to build a depot in our park.

Success at Last! What has happened
Success at last!

On Tuesday evening at a private meeting between South Dublin County Council management and the Lucan area county councillors, Jim Walsh briefed the councillors on three possible sites for the new depot that had been identified in their ‘extensive review’. The three sites identified were as follows: the one originally proposed in the middle of our park, one close to the Lucan Leisure Community Centre and one south of the Dublin – Cork railway line. We find it quite interesting that the only two sites commented on by SDCC in their various correspondence to date as being unfeasible, were now revealed to in fact be feasible all along.

The five Lucan councillors unanimously rejected the site original site proposed in the middle of Griffeen Valley Park.

The site close to the community centre was also quite rightly rejected, as it raised a number of similar issues to the originally proposed site.

The remaining site south of the Dublin – Cork railway line was accepted by the council management and the councillors as being the only practical proposal that was acceptable to the community, and the council management now intend to build the depot in this location, subject to a part 8 public consultation.

Of course we are all delighted that a common sense solution has been achieved. It has been clear to anyone with an open mind that there were alternative sites despite SDCC’s insistence that there wasn’t. It was also clear that the site originally proposed was unsuitable and ill conceived.

Of course the existing depot in Esker Lane will continue to be disposed of to the Department of Education and Skills as voted for by the councillors last December, and it is hoped that the new school will be open in September 2012. It is clear that there was never any link between the sale of the existing depot and the site proposed in the middle of our park, and the change in depot location, which has now happened, clearly shows that.

Why you should contact your councillors again
Our county councillors and other public representatives have a hard job to do. They have all felt the weight of their position over the past six months as we all made our views known to them. Indeed we have encouraged you to make your views known to them!

Well they have recognised that the location was totally unsuitable, and finally given us what we asked for. We should have the courtesy to say “thank you”, and let them know that we appreciate the fact that they have recognised that the location was unsuitable for the location of a depot.

So if you called, emailed or wrote a letter to any public representative about this issue in the past, and they have helped us now, then please take the time over the next few days to contact them again and say thank you for recognising that the location was unsuitable, or for getting the council to agree not to locate the depot in our park.

Thanks to those who have helped
It is clear that we wouldn’t have achieved this result if it wasn’t for the help, assistance and support of many people. Minister Frances Fitzgerald(FG) came and met with us early in January, and was the first national representative to lend their support to our campaign. Indeed she got to work on the issue very quickly, and continued her work on our behalf after taking up her ministry. I believe that her support and representations had a major part to play in achieving the outcome that we now have. We are of course very grateful to her for her support. Former Minister John Curran(FF) also lent our campaign significant support, making representations on our behalf at a time when he would have been very busy trying to fight an election campaign. We are very grateful for his support too.

It is clear that not all councillors are made equal. Some are more open to listening to the community and helping than others. Cllr William Lavelle(FG) has attempted to assist us right from the very beginning. He originally championed the site south of the railway line in advance of the council meeting last December, and indeed had secured councils agreement to go with that site at that time, before council changed their mind and claimed that that site was unfeasible. He has continued to push for that site, and has lent us his considerable support and advice over the past few months. He was the first of the Lucan councillors to issue a public statement confirming that he would be opposing a depot in our park, and forcefully represented that view to SDCC management. We were very lucky to have his support, and are very grateful to him.

Cllr Guss O’Connell(Ind) has also turned out to be of immense assistance to us. While initially convinced by council’s arguments that the site in Griffeen Valley Park was the only possible site, after his first meeting with us, he realised that all was not as it had been portrayed by SDCC management. He made some investigations of his own, and soon formed the opinion that the concerns of the community were indeed well founded. He identified some alternative sites of his own, and publically stated that the site proposed by SDCC was the least desirable site available to them. He has met with us on many occasions and has given us much advice and assistance, and has continued to work directly with SDCC management and the parks department in order to persuade them to find the best possible solution. We wouldn’t have achieved the successful outcome if it wasn’t for his help.

Cllr Emer Higgins(FG), who was co-opted to SDCC after the General Election in February also met with us, and also lent us her support. She made strong representations to SDCC management on our behalf and also pushed management to change plans and go with the site south of the railway line. Her support was essential, as it meant that now a majority, three out of the five Lucan county councillors, were supporting us. We are very grateful to her for her support, and for taking that time to meet with us and represent us in what must be a very busy time for a new county councillor.

We are also very grateful for the support of two councillors from Clondalkin. Cllr Trevor Gilligan (FF) was the first county councillor to confirm that he would vote against the site proposed in Griffeen Valley Park. It is never easy to be the first, and even more so when it is something outside your own area, so we are extremely grateful to him for his support. We are also very grateful to Cllr Gino Kenny (PBF), also from Clondalkin for being the second councillor to confirm that he would vote against a depot being put into our park. He took the time to come and meet with us and listen to our concerns when he was very busy trying to run a general election campaign, and we are very grateful for his assistance and support.

I must not forget Derek Keating TD(FG), who originally brought this issue to our attention. If it wasn’t for him bringing it to the attention of our residents association, then the issue would have gone out to the part 8 public consultation before we would have known what was planned, and then it would have been much more difficult to stop. We were very grateful for this key piece of information, and for his support during our campaign.

We are also grateful to Cllr Caitríona Jones(Lab) & Cllr Eamon Tuffy (Lab) who were the last two Lucan councillors to lend their support. In the end they gave us what we asked for; a motion to ensure that the existing depot would be sold to the Dept of Education and Skills for a school, and a motion to ensure that the depot got moved to the site south of the railway. We are grateful for their assistance.

We look forward to the continued support of our public representatives, both national and local, to ensure that no depot is ever built in our park.

A special word of thanks goes to Sgt Morgan O’Neill of Lucan Garda Station, who took the time out to meet with residents and lend his professional opinion on the design and layout of the proposed site from a policing point of view. His views carried a lot of weight and were instrumental in getting the council to take note of the anti social problems that would be created in our park from the proposed depot. We are very grateful to him for his time and his advice.

We are also incredibly grateful to the students of Griffeen Valley Education Together school, who organised their own protest against the damage that would be done to our park. The children, lead by students Petra and Nadia, organised a very professional campaign and protest to ensure that the council heard their views and concerns about the environmental damage that would be caused by this depot. They are a credit to their generation and SDCC management could learn a lot from them about how to engage with the community.

Thanks must also go to those who have assisted in the organisation of the campaign. There are far too many to mention, but there are a number of them that I couldn’t forgive myself for not mentioning. Derek Humphreys set up and maintained our excellent website. We received as many compliments about our website as we did support for our campaign! Paul Kennedy and Nicola Jones for their ceaseless work in visiting depots, contacting other organisations, getting professional advice, spreading the word, and helping to direct our campaign. The residents associations of Johns Bridge, Griffeen Glen and Grange Manor & The Old Forge and in particular Paul Thompson, Eileen Lippert, Pat Tully and especially Peter Corby. Their support, guidance and advice, as well as their organisation can be seen throughout our campaign, and is reflected in the positive result. Their work shows the real importance of having a strong residents association.

A very special word of thanks must go to Laura Donnelly and the Liffey Champion. The Liffey Champion was the first newspaper to cover our story, and bring it to a wider audience. Indeed the Liffey Champion covered our story on four occasions in the past, three of which appeared on the front page, all expertly written by Laura Donnelly. Without this coverage we would have found it far more difficult to spread the news of what SDCC planned, to the wider community. Again this week, the newspaper has covered our story which is the fifth time, giving front page details of the positive outcome. We are so incredibly grateful to Laura Donnelly and the Liffey Champion for their support.

Finally thanks must go to all you who have been spreading the word, and letting our public representatives know how you felt. Without the support of the community construction of the depot would likely to have already commenced in our park. Thank you for your support!

Now don’t forget to call your councillors and say thanks for recognising that our park was an unsuitable location for the depot, and for doing something about it!

Thank you
Colm Farrell
On behalf of:
www.SaveOurLucanPark.com