COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Thursday, February 04, 2016

MOTION NO. 98

MOTION: Councillor E. Higgins

That lands behind Greenogue Industrial Park be zoned EE to provide for the strategic development of Greenogue Industrial Park and the provision of employment and that a Specific Local Objective be applied to these lands to require preparation of a site specific Flood Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategy, prepared by a qualified person(s), to be submitted with any proposal for development on these lands

Co Sponsored by Cllrs William Lavelle and Emer Higgins

Map here.

REPORT:

The subject issue is the proposal to zone lands (c.23.47 ha) to the north of Greenogue Industrial Estate from Rural (RU) to Enterprise and Employment (EE).

Quantum of enterprise and employment lands

It is considered that there are significant lands subject to enterprise and employment zoning within the vicinity of the subject lands, within the Greenogue Industrial Estate and on undeveloped lands to south of the Newcastle Road, to cater for such uses. The zoning of additional EE lands is not, therefore, warranted at this time.

Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnell

With regard to the location of the subject site, it is noted that the lands are located to the south of and immediately adjacent to Casement Aerodrome, Baldonnel.

Casement Aerodrome, the only secure military aerodrome in the State, does not fall under the control of the Irish Aviation Authority but the ICAO Standards and Recommended Practices are applied as policy by the Department of Defence at Casement Aerodrome. Additionally, the Department of Defence applies two further restricted areas of its own, a circular "Inner Zone" of 2km radius, and a ‘Security Zone’ more closely aligned with the flight strips, which are the areas around the runways.

IE Policy 8 of the Draft Plan 2016-2022 states that it is the policy of the Council to safeguard the current and future operational, safety and technical requirements of Casement Aerodrome and to facilitate its ongoing development for military and ancillary uses within a sustainable development framework. Objectives under IE Policy 8 include restricting development in the environs of Casement Aerodrome to ensure same. Section 11.6.6 of the Draft Plan 2016-2022, regarding Implementation: Aerodromes, outlines a number of restrictions pertaining to development within the Security Zone adjacent to the Aerodrome, including in relation to a sterile zone relative to the Aerodrome boundary fence and building restrictions.

The subject lands are located predominantly within the Department of Defence Zone of Casement Aerodrome; in this context it is not recommended to zone lands for development within the security zone. 

Flood risk

As part of the County Development Plan and SEA process 2016-2022, a Strategic Flood Risk Assessment (SFRA) was carried out for the County. Additionally, the Eastern CFRAM study draft mapping is available and also identifies areas in the County as having a potential risk. The foregoing data set provides an evidence base on flood risk in the County.

The studies identify a small portion of the subject lands as being in flood risk zone A and a more significant portion within food risk zone B. The Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Flood Risk Management were published by the OPW and DECLG in 2009. The Flood Risk Management Guidelines advise in relation to Flood Zones that the planning implications for each of the flood zones are:

Zone A - High probability of flooding. Most types of development would be considered inappropriate in this zone. Development in this zone should be avoided and/or only considered in exceptional circumstances, such as in city and town centres, or in the case of essential infrastructure that cannot be located elsewhere, and where the Justification Test has been applied. Only water-compatible development, such as docks and marinas, dockside activities that require a waterside location, amenity open space, outdoor sports and recreation, would be considered appropriate in this zone.

Zone B - Moderate probability of flooding. Highly vulnerable development, such as hospitals, residential care homes, Garda, fire and ambulance stations, dwelling houses and primary strategic transport and utilities infrastructure, would generally be considered inappropriate in this zone, unless the requirements of the Justification Test can be met. Less vulnerable development, such as retail, commercial and industrial uses, sites used for short-let for caravans and camping and secondary strategic transport and utilities infrastructure, and water-compatible development might be considered appropriate in this zone. In general however, less vulnerable development should only be considered in this zone if adequate lands or sites are not available in Zone C* and subject to a flood risk assessment to the appropriate level of detail to demonstrate that flood risk to and from the development can or will adequately be managed.

*Zone C lands are those with a low probability of flooding, with development in this zone generally acceptable from a flood risk perspective, subject to compliance with relevant policies and objectives of the land use and zoning objective, and subject to assessment of flood hazard from sources other than rivers/coastlines.

In this context, the proposal to rezone these lands as EE is not recommended as there are adequate lands and sites zoned EE available in the immediate vicinity of the site. In addition, it is recommended that the subject lands at Baldonnell are zoned for Rural ‘RU’, in line with the 'precautionary approach' regarding flood risk.

It is noted that the Chief Executive prepared the attached map having regard to the the outline drawing received with the motion and the Draft Plan maps.

Recommendation

It is recommended that this motion is not adopted.