COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

QUESTION NO. 1

QUESTION: Councillor T. Gilligan

Firstly to thank the Manager for the works at the railings in Palmerstown Woods.   However, since there are adjoining railings that can be easily opened by vandals, to ask the Manager if these areas can also receive palisade fencing as otherwise the vandals will simply cut open these railings?

REPLY:

The boundary that separates the open space in Palmerstown Woods from Cloverhill Road consists of a mature hawthorn hedge which is planted adjacent to a chainlink fence.  The total length of the boundary is approximately 100 meters.  Gaps have been created over the years by people using the area as a short cut to access local facilities such as bus routes, businesses and Clondalkin Village.  

The demand for these short cuts is evident from the 5 repairs that been undertaken to various sections of the boundary over the years.  As indicated in the question it is highly probable that new gaps will be created as individuals seek short and direct routes to travel.  It may be possible to curtail this movement by the erection of fencing.  However, this would need to be erected along the entire boundary at a considerable cost (circa €9,000) and there is no guarantee that it would be successful. 

It would be Managements preference to adopt a more proactive approach by facilitating the movement of pedestrians and providing two dedicated pedestrian paths to link Cloverhill Road with the two cul de sacs in Palmerstown Woods.  This option would be cheaper and given the history of this boundary it would be more sustainable in the long term.