COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF CLONDALKIN AREA COMMITTEE

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

QUESTION NO. 13

QUESTION: Councillor Eoin Ó Broin

A condition of the planning permission granted in 2003 for the Orchard Lodge apartment block in Clondalkin (SD03A/0271) was that there would be a community meeting space (Senior Citizens Centre) provided. Sixteen years later the Community Space has never been fitted out or made accessible to community groups. As part of the Clondalkin 300K Have Your Say initiative many local groups sought to have the fit out of the meeting space listed for consideration as part of the 300K initiative. These same groups were however convinced not to apply to include the community meeting space in the  300k initiative as the money necessary would be found elsewhere in the Council budget.  Can the Council confirm that the fit out of the social space is planned or should local groups have insisted on including the space in the 300k Have Your Say initiative?

REPLY:

Orchard Lodge is not yet in the ownership of the Council. The Council are engaging with the owners of the site and their legal representatives to secure the possession of the unit for the establishment of the community facility.

On that basis, provision is being made within the upcoming Capital Programme Budget (2020-2022) to allocate funding towards the costs of assisting with the fit costs of the Community Facility on Orchard Road which will be used primarily to cater for the needs of active groups in the Clondalkin area.