COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SDZ, LAPS AND PLANNING PROJECTS

Friday, January 26, 2018

MOTION NO.

MOTION: Councillor P. Gogarty

In section 2.4 Urban Centres under Key Principles amend to read (changes in bold)

To develop the Planning Scheme based on the following urban centres hierarchy:

 
"–Clonburris as a vibrant and sustainable centre to serve a district catchment;
 
"–Kishoge as a vibrant and sustainable centre to serve a district catchment; and
 
"–A network of four Local Nodes to serve a local catchment.
 
"To promote Clonburris Urban Centre as the primary urban centre in the Planning Scheme by directing higher order retail, retail services, residential, cultural, leisure, financial, public administration, restaurants/bars, entertainment and civic uses into and adjoining the Core Retail Area of this centre;
 
To promote Kishoge Urban Centre as a primary urban centre in the Planning Scheme by directing higher order retail, retail services, residential, cultural, leisure, financial, public administration, restaurants/bars, entertainment and civic
uses within and adjoining the Core Retail Area of this centre;
 
To direct retail, commercial, leisure, entertainment, civic, community and cultural uses into Clonburris and Kishoge Urban Centres and to achieve a critical mass of development and a mix of uses that is appropriate to each level in the
urban hierarchy;
 
To promote a high standard of urban design in urban centres that contributes to the creation of safe and attractive streets and spaces and creates desirable places to work, live and visit;
 
To achieve an efficient use of land in centres, and to achieve high development densities that can support vibrant, compact,walkable places that prioritise pedestrian movement; and
 
To protect the quality, ambiance, vibrancy and vitality of urban centres by promoting an appropriate mix of day and night-time uses, including commercial, recreational, civic,cultural, leisure and residential uses and to limit or control
uses that might have a detrimental impact on the amenities of centres
 
Cllrs G. O'Connell, L. O'Toole and F. Timmons

REPORT:

The subject motion relates to Section 2.4 Urban Centres and will increase the scale and function of Kishoge Urban Centre to a district level. The Draft Planning Scheme outlines that the Kishoge centre will be a vibrant and sustainable secondary urban centre to serve a large local catchment. Clonburris Urban Centre is the primary centre in the Draft Planning Scheme.

The Chief Executive recommends that this motion and the associated motions in the Retail Section that increase the function of Kishoge to a district scale are not adopted as the Draft Planning Scheme has been carefully prepared with Clonburris Urban Centre as the District Centre. 

Clonburris SDZ is in close proximity to Clondalkin Town Centre and it is the policy of the Council, as stated in Section 5.1.0 of the County Development Plan to develop the County’s based on the Urban Centre Hierarchy. Clondalkin Town Centre is a Town Centre and is at the top of the hierarchy in the County with Tallaght. Clonburris, as a District Centre, is a third tier centre. In this context, it is considered that the provision of two urban centres at District scale at Clonburris is contrary to the stated policy of the County Development Plan and may have a detrimental impact on the development and improvement of Clondalkin Town Centre for urban uses such as higher order retail, public administration, employment, financial civic, entertainment and cultural uses.

It is advised that a robust and co-ordinated approach has been applied to the hierarchy of urban centres designated within the SDZ Planning Scheme and the principles of integrating land use and transport planning. The designation of a higher order district centre at Clonburris has been informed by the existing public transport interchange (Clondalkin-Fonthill Railway Station) constructed at the Clonburris Urban Centre, which will be served by a Core Orbital Bus Route planned under the NTA Transport Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area (2016 – 2035). The location of two urban centres with similar retail levels and retail offer within close proximity of each other would also be at variance with the Guidelines for Planning Authorities on Retail Planning (2012) in terms of competition, vitality and viability. Furthermore, it is advised that the SDZ lands have been designated for only one District Centre under the Retail Strategy for the Greater Dublin Area 2008 – 2016 and the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016 – 2022. The distribution of employment floorspace is more evenly balanced between the Kishoge and Clonburris urban centres in the context of (inter alia) the potential benefits from the proximity of Kishoge to Grange Castle Business Park.

Recommendation

It is recommended that the motion is not adopted.

 

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Chief Executive’s Recommendation

No interaction with Strategic Environmental Objectives.

Strategic Environmental Assessment of Proposed Motion

The motion is not consistent with provisions relating to retail in terms of the Retail Study prepared for the planning scheme or the South Dublin CDP 2016-2022. Altering this scheme to support this motion could give rise to effects in terms of existing viability of settlements such as Clondalkin and may negatively affect other retail elements included in the scheme. This could give rise to in combination and negative effects in terms of population and human health and material assets, particularly transport. It is not recommended that this motion is adopted.

Appropriate Assessment Screening of Chief Executive’s Recommendation

No likely significant effects on European sites within the SDZ’s zone of influence are predicted.