COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF DEVELOPMENT PLAN MEETING

Thursday, February 04, 2016

MOTION NO. 187

MOTION: Councillor F.N. Duffy

On page 152  Include additional Objectives:

1 Secure the preservation of the Liffey Valley and its landscapes as a major resource for tourism and develop paths and walkways, where appropriate. Seek to have the lands brought into public ownership during the lifetime of the Plan.

2  Promote and develop in line with the policies and objectives of the OPW document “Towards a Liffey Valley Park” (2008) during the lifetime of the Plan.

REPORT:

Previous Motions

Previous Motions in relation to the acquisition of privately owned lands for the creation of a Liffey Valley Park (Motion Nos.309, 310 and 311) were raised at the June 2015 County Development Plan meeting and, subsequent to the response of the Chief Executive, were withdrawn.

Liffey Valley Park

The acquisition of privately owned lands for the creation of a Liffey Valley Park is beyond the strategic land use function and budgetary constraints of the County Development Plan and cannot be achieved or actioned through same.

A strategy for the development of a Liffey Valley Park has been produced in partnership between the Office of Public Works, Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, South Dublin County Council and Kildare County Council. Further to the publication of Towards a Liffey Valley Park, 2007. Objectives contained in the Draft Development Plan supports the strategy by seeking the development of uninterrupted and coherent parklands including walking and cycling routes and supporting  the development of an interconnected greenway in collaboration with the OPW, adjoining local authorities, landowners and community groups.

Further to the Landscape Character Assessment of South Dublin County (2015), the Draft Plan also seeks to preserve and enhance the character of the County’s landscapes particularly areas that have been deemed to have a medium to high Landscape Value or medium to high Landscape Sensitivity such as Liffey Valley.

Liffey Valley is also designated as a pNHA and is within an SAAO, and further policies and objectives in the Development Plan seek to ensure that these designations are supported by the careful management of development. The policies and objectives contained in the Draft Development Plan are therefore considered sufficient to help secure the preservation of Liffey Valley and its landscapes.

It is accepted that HCL 10 Objective 4 should be amended to make reference to Towards a Liffey Valley Park, 2007.

Recommendation

It is recommended that this motion is adopted with amendment:

Amend HCL 10 Objective 4 of the Draft County Development Plan to read:

To facilitate and support the development of the Liffey Valley (Zoning Objective ‘HA – LV’) as an interconnected greenway and park in collaboration with Dublin City Council, Fingal County Council, Kildare County Council, the OPW, existing landowners and community groups (including the Liffey Valley Park Alliance) to include for the identification and designation of possible future new pedestrian routes and footbridge locations in accordance with ‘Towards a Liffey Valley Park’ (2007) or any superseding plan. (New text in italics)