COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF LUCAN AREA COMMITTEE

Tuesday, October 24, 2017

MOTION NO. 4

MOTION: Councillor W. Lavelle

"That this Area Committee requests the Chief Executive to engage with Fingal County Council to INITIATE the process to extend of the 1990 Special Area Amenity Order (which stops at Lucan Bridge) to areas west of the bridge, including all lands south of the river zoned as Objective HA-LV and all lands north of the river below the top of the escarpment of the river valley, as far west as the footbridge from Lucan Demesne to St. Catherine’s Park which marks the western extent of Fingal County Council who are an existing party to the SAAO (general map of proposed area attached); with the aim of enhancing the preservation of the River Liffey Valley in this area including de-exempting certain classes of development which at present represent a serious threat to the environmental and visual amenity of the river valley."

REPORT:

"As previously advised to the ACM, it is an objective of the National Landscape Strategy 2015-2025 to prepare a national landscape character assessment. Work on this project has commenced, however, draft documents are not yet available. It is an objective of the National Landscape Strategy to produce guidelines on local landscape character assessments which also remain outstanding at this time in addition to regional landscape character assessments. The Liffey Valley traverses a number of council jurisdictions and it is considered important that an agreed approach is taken as to the appropriate boundary for the area and best manner of conserving the unique characteristics of the Valley. The aforementioned assessments and guidelines would provide a framework which could be used to consider the extent of the area of the Liffey Valley which can be deemed to represent a defined landscape character and the nature and characteristics of the area and would inform decisions regarding the extent and nature of any landscape designation for the Valley. It is considered to be premature at this stage to initiate the process of extending the SAAO in the absence of these studies and guidelines."