COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF RATHFARNHAM/TEMPLEOGUE-TERENURE AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

HEADED ITEM NO. 7

Proposed Part 8 Public Consultation for the development of Mt Carmel Park, Dodder Valley

This is a proposal to develop and enhance a section of the existing parkland at Mt. Carmel Park, Dodder Valley, Firhouse, by the provision of the following recreation and amenity facilities:

400m 8 lane grass athletics track

The proposed new track is designed to cater for the expansion in athletics clubs memberships that has been experienced in the last 10 years in particular and to provide a facility that will help to improve the capacity of local clubs to compete at a higher level in organised events.

The proposed new location will be situated to the rear of a local national school, Scoil Carmel, and the school should be able to use this facility during school hours in particular. The location in the Dodder Valley is excellent, with an existing car park and a long linear park suitable for cross country training also.

90m x 60m Grass Soccer Pitch

This facility would provide extra capacity in relation to pitch provision for local soccer clubs and relieve pressure on the existing pitches in this area of the county.

BMX track

BMX has become a popular sport in Ireland and is particularly popular with teenagers and adults alike, both male and female. It is Bicycle racing on specially prepared dirt tracks over jumps and around banked turns. Typical tracks are 350m in length. The sport originated in Holland in the 1950s, popularised in the USA in the 1970s and in 2008 became an Olympic Medal event.

The track would be let by agreement with South Dublin County Council to a local BMX Club; within BMX Ireland (a subsidiary of Cycling Ireland).

The design of the track will be subject to further detail design to ensure it is an appropriately challenging course and fit for purpose.

Shared changing room / club house facilities

In order to provide changing facilities for users of the park facilities. The detail design of this facility will be subject to detail design but will generally follow the design of recently completed and planned changing facilities in South Dublin Parks.

Extension of the existing pedestrian path system

In order to maximise use of this park, for walking in particular, but also to allow for proper access to the site from the adjoining school and car park and to connect into the existing path system it is proposed to extend the pedestrian path system and as outlined in the accompanying drawing.

A signed nature trail: The Ogham Tree Nature Trail

A proposal for an Ogham Tree Nature Trail was made by the Public Participatory Network (PPN) and this site identified. It is proposed to site groups of native trees (clear-stemmed to allow for views under the tree canopies), at the recently constructed pedestrian and cycle entrance to Dodder Valley Park and at locations throughout the park; where they will have little impact on the existing high quality grassland. The exact locations and the species groups will be to further detail; in liaison with the PPN, the Heritage Officer and National Parks and Wildlife Services. The trail will be signed; with information on native tree species and also historical data; on how the ancient Ogham alphabet corresponded to native Irish trees.

Proposed Natural Heritage Area/ Wildlife Area

All of the Dodder Valley Park is traversed by the River Dodder and has good vegetation cover and is nationally recognised for biodiversity. The proposed development in this area of the Dodder Valley will be undertaken in the knowledge of this section of the Dodder Valley being a proposed Natural Heritage Area (pNHA) as designated by the NPWS of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. There will be consultation with the NPWS on this proposal.

The proposal has been subject to an Appropriate Assessment screening process. (Appropriate Assessment is a process for assessment of the likely significant effects of every plan or project on the Natura 2000 network). It has been deemed unlikely to cause significant affects to any Natura 2000 sites.

The proposal has been subject to Ecological Impact Assessment. This examined and identified the sensitive ecological environment of the Dodder Valley and allowed the design to be modified from that originally proposed in October 2015 to the current proposals within the Part 8 drawings. These design changes were made in order to mitigate the potential impact of the design and resulted in the re-location and concentration of the proposed facilities to lower value habitats. Further mitigation measures include; the prevention of pollution of nearby water bodies during the course of construction, the retention and protection of all trees and hedgerows being retained on site, discouraging ground nesting birds during the course of construction by keeping grassland cut short during this period and the implementation of measures to maintain and enhance high value grassland habitats post construction. Compensatory measures are also being proposed for loss of grassland habitat; including a proposed 80m long species rich hedgerow reinstatement and the reinstatement of grassland turves taken from the rich grassland during construction and stored for re-instatement post construction.

In order to protect as much as possible of the existing vegetation; the hedgerows will be protected and a portion of hedgerow that has deteriorated over the years will be reinstated. The areas identified as having significant high value grassland area will be protected and enhanced by the implementation of a specific grassland management regime. In addition the surrounding areas of the athletic track and the football pitch will not be reseeded and will be allowed to seed freely and will be maintained in accordance with best biodiversity practice and in consultation with the Heritage Officer of South Dublin County Council and the NPWS.

Programme for Part 8:

It is proposed to commence the Part 8 public consultation for the above project in June 2017 and carry it over the summer months. It is intended to bring a report on the outcomes of the public consultation to the Rathfarnham Committee Members prior to the Chief Executive Report being presented to the Council in Autumn 2017.