COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL
MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE
Monday, May 21, 2018
MOTION NO. 17
MOTION: Councillor C. O'Connor
"That this Tallaght Area Committee calls on the CEO to present an action plan to improve the image of Cookstown Industrial Estate; will he note and appreciate the view of many that action must be taken to create an environment where the job creation needs of Tallaght are facilitated in an Estate which is now over 50 years old and in clear need of re-generation and will he make a statement for discussion by members."
REPORT:
"Cookstown Industrial Estate has been the focus of significant attention from the Economic, Enterprise & Tourism Development Department in recent years with a number of local initiatives aimed at improving the condition, investment and employment potential of the area which have been progressed under the Dublin Regional Enterprise Strategy and the Dublin Regional Action Plan for Jobs.
Under the Business Support Fund, two significant area improvement works schemes were undertaken with footpath, landscaping, kerbing, fencing and accessibility works carried out at Cookstown Enterprise Centre and at Old Belgard Road/Cookstown Road, with a further potential project being explored and progressed for Fourth Avenue.
Grants have also been approved under the Business Support Fund for the re-development of vacant units for occupancy by microenterprises in Cookstown along with several additional grants for external signage and improvement works to individual units. These supports remain available to owners/occupiers wishing to upgrade or redevelop units in the area.
The Council also funded a significant study of the ownership, occupancy and condition of the various vacant sites in the County with particular emphasis on Cookstown and this project has resulted in ongoing contact with a group of owners/occupiers in Cookstown through the Sustainable Business Programme that will allow ongoing engagement on the strategic development of the area.
The Council’s recently completed feasibility study examining the potential for enterprise/innovation space in the County has recommended the Tallaghtt Hospital-IT Tallaght corridor as one of two preferred options for the development of new enterprise/innovation space in the County which creates the potential for sites in Cookstown to be considered. The report was discussed at the recent Economic Enterprise & Tourism Development SPC meeting and it was agreed that the Economic Enterprise & Tourism Development Department would now develop criteria to assess the final two shortlisted options to determine the preferred location for potential development of new Innovation/Enterprise Space in the County and report back to the Committee forthwith so that a site selection, design and funding process can commence.
The Tallaght Local Area Plan will provide the framework for the future development of the area within which enterprise and employment opportunities will be facilitated by the Local Enterprise Office and the Council and will be complemented by the revised Rates Vacancy refund of 75% introduced in the Council's 2018 Annual Budget which will act as a disincentive for ongoing vacancy of units in Cookstown.
The importance of continued employment creation in Tallaght is a key objective of both the Council and the Local Enterprise Office. LEO South Dublin continues to support new and developing micro-enterprises in Cookstown and has approved a number of such projects in recent years including most recently granting approval to support a new business in Cookstown with the potential to create up to 20 jobs over the next three years.
A combination of all the above initiatives outlined will support the continued improvement and development of the Cookstown area in conjunction with the potential impact of recent site ownership changes, planning applications and possible development in the area."