COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM AREA COMMITTEE
Tuesday, March 08, 2011
HEADED ITEM NO. 9
PUBLIC REALM SCHEDULE OF WORKS.
Public Realm Initiative
The Public Realm initiative was established as part of the Budget 2010 process. It was agreed that this would track income and as such the final amount in 2010 was €300,000 with an additional €300,000 being supplied in the 2011 budget. This fund was not to form part of the routine maintenance of an area but rather it would transform an area by eliminating the need to maintain it into the future e.g. that it would not be necessary to continually send in crews to remove dumping, graffiti, cut grass, etc.
In the first instance funding was available and work underway on the construction of a new boxing club in the Neilstown area and an immediate investment of €120,000 enabled the elimination of a site of significant anti-social behaviour at the rear of the building. This action was agreed in 2010 and work has been completed.
In August 2010 a process was initiated with the Members to identify sites where this one-off spend would completely eradicate a problem. . Each site was reviewed and in some cases the problem had been resolved, funding was available elsewhere to tackle it or in others it was a matter of routine maintenance and did not fill the criteria of the Public Realm Fund. In particular this covered areas where littering was an on-going issue.
Each site was further reviewed and criteria developed which would rank the qualifying projects in order of importance. The criteria used to prioritise the works were as follows.
1. Enhanced Security/Safety
2. Reduce/Remove Anti-social Behaviour
3. Reduce/Remove Littering
4. Enhanced Quality of Life
5. Reduce/Remove Additional Maintenance
6. Enhance Business address/Tourism
Schedule of Works for Rathfarnham attached.
There was a listing of sites for the Rathfarnham area where routine maintenance has been confirmed as addressing the issues raised by the Members:-
| Site | Address | Issue | Comment |
| 36 | Open Space at Fairways Estate | Grass Cut more often | Works Programme Grass cut on 3-4 week rota |
| 37 | Butterfield Avenue | Butterfields Ave. down to Shop Centre grass cutting | Works Programme Grass cut on 3-4 week rota |
| 108 | Ballyroan Cottages, Ballyboden Road | Boarded up, looks unsightly | On site visit it was a little overgrown, Planning notice displayed, Passed to Development to check as part of Derelict Sites. |
.
An additional project was raised by the Members where funding has been sourced elsewhere and the work has been completed. This was the landscaping of Dodder Park Road where some land was left over from development. A further site at Whitechurch Green was identified and this is the subject of legal discussions at the moment.
It was suggested by the Members that the businesses in the Village area be brought together in order to form a BIDS application and move towards a higher standard of maintenance in the village. This process will get underway shortly.
In addition the substantial issue of littering which was a common concern of all of the members is being addressed by a particular campaign of the Council in order to bring about a stronger ownership of the issue across the county. Details of this campaign will be brought to the next Environment SPC under the auspices of the new Litter Management Plan.
It is proposed to execute works on Priority 1 sites from 2010/2011 budget.