COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

Monday, February 11, 2019

HEADED ITEM NO. 11

HEADED ITEM: C. Performance and Change Management Directorate

SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 2016 - 2022 VARIATION NO. 3 BALLYMOUNT / NAAS ROAD

REPLY:

Proposed Variation No.3 of the County Development Plan 2016-2022 in respect of the lands at Ballymount / Naas Road.

Proposed Variation No. 3 of the South Dublin County Council Development Plan 2016-2022 seeks to amend the zoning of approximately 178 hectares of land from zoning objective EE (Enterprise and Employment) to objective REGEN (Regeneration).

These lands are located in the Ballymount / Naas Road area, which are south of the Grand Canal and east of the M50, adjoining the boundary with Dublin City Council, all located within the areas of Fox and Geese, Bluebell, Ballymount, Redcow, Gallanstown and Drimnagh.

Background

Proposed Variation No.3 is in response to the recent changes in National and Regional planning policy, namely the publication of the National Planning Framework (NPF) and the Eastern and Midland Assembly (EMA) Draft Regional Spatial and Economic Strategy (RSES) in 2018.

Through the ‘REGEN’ land use zoning objective in the Development Plan, South Dublin County Council (SDCC) seeks to facilitate the regeneration of existing brownfield lands, close to existing and proposed transport nodes, to provide for a more intensive mix of enterprise and/or residential led development in accordance with the NPF.

The subject lands at Ballymount / Naas Road have significant locational and infrastructural advantages over other lands in Dublin, including access to high quality public transport, services and proximity to Dublin City Centre. In the context of the objectives of the NPF and the Draft RSES, the area is considered to be a key regional transformation opportunity to support the compact development of Dublin.

The vision and ambition of SDCC for the Ballymount / Naas Road area is to transform this brownfield area of national significance into a sustainable, vibrant, mixed use urban quarter that capitalises on its strategic location and the existing Luas Red Line, creating a sense of identity and place that reaches out and connects with the surrounding urban context. The vision for the area is to integrate land use with public transport by maximising the potential of the Luas Red line and Bus Connects radial Spine ‘D’ and Southern Orbital route S4.

SDCC is committed to delivering a plan led approach for the redevelopment of the area which will be facilitated through financial assistance approved under the Urban Regeneration Development Fund (URDF) and in conjunction with Dublin City Council, which will support a series of studies to inform the future spatial planning of the area. The rezoning of the lands to REGEN is an integral part of the joint URDF funding and expedites future opportunities for significant capital funding for enabling infrastructure in the area.

The Proposed Variation No.3 is required to align the Development Plan with the NPF and the Draft RSES to create the conditions for redevelopment of the area. Given the complexity of the challenges to regenerating the area, a variation to the Development Plan at this time is required to provide an amended Development Plan policy framework for SDCC to proceed with the regeneration of the area.

Proposed Changes

In summary, there are three main elements to this proposed variation:

  1. Land Use Zoning Map change. Increase ‘REGEN’ zoning in Naas Road area by 178 ha as a replacement of existing ‘EE’ zoning;
  2. Amendment to the Core Strategy figures;
  3. Amend CS6 SLO 1 of the Development Plan.

The Proposed Variation amends Specific Local Objective CS6 SLO 1 to read:

CS6 SLO 1:

‘To initiate a plan led approach to the sustainable regeneration of the brownfield lands in the Naas Road / Ballymount REGEN zoned lands. The plan led approach will include the preparation of a masterplan in 2019 with a view to preparing a Local Area Plan or other appropriate mechanism for the Regeneration (REGEN) and Local Centre (LC) at Walkinstown zoned lands. The masterplan will provide a framework for the sequential and phased development of the lands, integrating sustainable transport, land use and blue and green infrastructure. The spatial planning of the area will be informed by the Naas Road Framework Plan (2010).’

Chief Executive's Report on Submissions

Public consultation on Proposed Variation No 3 took place from the 20th November 2018 to 18th December 2018 inclusive (a period of 4 weeks). A total of 14 submissions were received raising issues in relation to the following:

  1. Strategic Policy;
  2. Specific Local Objective/ Future Plan;
  3. Traffic & Transport;
  4. Economic Development;
  5. Strategic Environmental Assessment - Environmental Report;
  6. Environmental Considerations;
  7. Extent of Land / Boundary; and
  8. Residential Amenity.

The Chief Executive's response and recommendation to the above issues is outlined in the attached Report. All submissions were supportive of the policy position articulated in Proposed Variation No. 3.

RECOMMENDATION:

Accordingly, it is recommended to the Council that the statutory procedure for the making of a Variation to the County Development Plan be initiated on this basis.