COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

South Dublin County Council Crest

MEETING OF TALLAGHT AREA COMMITTEE

Monday, April 22, 2024

QUESTION NO.

QUESTION: Councillor B. Pereppadan

"To ask the chief executive for information on the plans in place (ongoing and TBC) for upgrading all our parks in Tallaght South and Central?"

REPLY:

Dodder Valley Park within Tallaght area:

This section of Dodder Valley Park has recently been upgraded with a number of new facilities, including a playspace. 2 basketball courts and 3 tennis courts have also been upgraded. A new car park has been provided for this park. A changing room pavilion for use by sports clubs, park run etc. has been built and a new water station has been provided, flower bulb planting and tree planting have been carried out. An Integrated Constructed Wetland (ICW) has been installed to clean water entering the Dodder and to enhance biodiversity. Existing footpaths have been upgraded. and a viewing platform for the Old Bawn Weir have been constructed. The first built phase of the Dodder Greenway runs through this part of the park and the 2 bridges constructed as part of that phase are a significant public investment.  SDCC have achieved sports capital grant funding for pitch improvements and we have applied for funding for an outdoor gym and are awaiting results of this application. There are plans for to deliver a new teenspace as part of the teenspace programme.

Tymon Park South:

Tymon Park on the southwestern side of the M50 is a significant woodland and meadow park with a series of lakes and wetlands associated with the Poddle; this park has a strong emphasis on biodiversity, ecological and passive recreation and is highly popular with local residents, schools and other park visitors. There are a variety of recreational facilities including walking and cycling routes, gym equipment, a playground and extensive parking, as well as several sports pitches and an area allocated to a local archery club. The natural playspace in this park has been enhanced with sensory play elements, mud play elements and communication boards. The boundary between the depot roadway and the park has been improved, the car park has been re-lined and perennial planting has been carried out.

Tymonville:

Tymonville is a small park measuring 1.73 hectares, it has a footpath that provides pedestrian connectivity to local residents and park visitors. The park has a large open space that facilitiates football kick arounds and passive recreation opportunities. In recent years SDCC have planted a number of trees on the open space.

Bancroft Park

This park has a number of facilities including footpaths, sports pitches, an athletics track leased to a local club. In line with the park management plan many improvements have occurred in the park in recent times and these include the creation of a teen space in 2023, the installation of a playspace, construction of a new walking loop around the river at the Tymon North end of the park, the construction of a new footpath from Castlepark estate linking with that walking loop, enhancement of the entrance at Castletymon Library and significant boundary and entrance enhancements to stop cars and scramblers entering the park. The eastern entrance to the park is being upgraded as part of the adjacent road upgrade  by LUPT (funded by the NTA).

 Kilnamanagh Open Space

Kilnamanagh open space is a large open space in a residential area. It contains a number of GAA and soccer pitches allocated to local clubs. A playspace and trail was built as part of the natural playspace programme and a shared route has been provided through the park to increase access to the local centre and school for the residents of the area. A new changing room pavilion is proposed to provide facilities to local clubs and groups using the recreational facilities as part of the pavillion programme.

Kingswood Open Space

Kingswood open space is a large open space in a residential area. It contains a pitch allocated to a local club. A playspace was provided as part of the natural playspace programme a number of years ago.  A teenspace area was provided in 2023 as part of the teenspace programme and as agreed with the local teenagers.

Ballymount Park

Ballymount Park is a neighbourhood park measuring 21.15ha with a number of walking routes and a large lake which facilitates fishing. It contains several GAA and soccer pitches allocated to local clubs. A changing room area is available to the clubs / groups using the recreational facilities in the park. A play space was provided as part of the natural playspace programme.

West Park

West Park is a small park in a residential area measuring 1.42 hectares. The park is regularly maintained this includes grass cutting, litter picking etc. In recent years SDCC have planted pollinator friendly bulbs at the boundary of the park.

Brady’s Field

Brady’s Field is a small park adjacent to the Old Bawn Road in a residential area. A new residential development has been recently completed adjacent to the park. A soccer pitch is available in the open space and occupies much of the park area.

Aylesbury Park

Aylesbury Park is a local park measuring 5.15 hectares in size, the park has 4 playing pitches that are used by local teams. In recent years SDCC Public Realm section have planted a variety of trees, created a walking and exercise loop, resurfaced footpaths, upgraded the playground and provided accessible path that leads to Dalepark Rd. SDCC plan to install some park benches within the open space to provide further passive opportunities for park visitors.

Sean Walsh Park

Sean Walsh Park is within Tallaght Town centre area and contains woodland and meadows with a series of lakes along the Whitestown Stream. There is a strong emphasis on biodiversity, ecological and passive recreation. There are a variety of recreational facilities including walking and cycling routes as well as sports pitches. In line with the park management plan several improvements have occurred in the park in recent times including the development of an all-weather pitch, a MUGA, playground refurbishment, sensory planting, additional seating, a 'fairy garden', wooden sculptures, bridge painting, railing upgrades, maintenance of long and short meadows for pollinators/biodiversity, bike parking, public lighting, tree planting, hedge planting, removal of vegetation at the rear of Cill Cais, drainage works required due to flooding, replanting of the roundabout at Old Bawn Community School and pollinator bulb planting. Future Park improvements will include the construction of a dog run which has been included in the public realm improvement works programme for the current year, a teen space, more perennial planting as well as bench and bin replacements as needed.

Killinarden Park

Killinarden Park is a large neighbourhood Park located around 1.5km south-west from Tallaght Town Centre.  Following extensive public consultation, Part 8 masterplan proposals for the park upgrade were approved by Council. The major interventions proposed comprise:

Given the comprehensive scope of the masterplan proposals, the Part 8 proposals are being phased to meet the available budget and in response to the aspirations and feedback gained from stakeholders.

The strategic importance of the proposed walk/cycleway through the northern part of the park was recognised by the National Transport Authority and SDCC received funding under the active travel fund to enable delivery of the sustainable travel element of the masterplan proposals. Competitive tenders were invited for the scheme and works are now underway and due to be completed towards the end of 2024, subject to suitable weather conditions etc.

Kiltalown Park

Kiltalown park is a is a neighbourhood park in West Tallaght that has a strong emphasis on biodiversity, ecological and passive recreation. The park consists of a playground, a large MUGA, tree planting, an exercise loop footpath and passive recreation opportunities. The park pedestrian connectivity was recently enhanced through the N81 cycle scheme which connects West Tallaght to the city centre via the Dodder Greenway. SDCC are currently in the process of upgrading the existing wet pour playground to a natural playground. The natural playground design is in keeping with the green surroundings of the park, the play items have been distributed throughout the area to promote an active play trail. The play trail includes a large zip line, natural climbing frames, a slide, a trampoline, tree climbing posts, universally accessible play items, and associated landscaping. Some of the existing playground equipment will be revamped to provide additional play value for the local community.

Whitestown Stream Park

Whitestown Stream Park is a 7 ha linear park located in West Tallaght which is currently being upgraded to meet the needs of the growing community in Tallaght. The park upgrade consists of improving main park entrances, a play-exercise trail, a footpath exercise loop, a cycle south Dublin link that will connect to the wider cycle infrastructure, two new bridges, planting, signage, seating, an informal kick-around area, and areas for biodiversity. The park is expected to be substantially completed by the end of April 2024.

One of the project aims is to connect the park to the wider green infrastructure/greenways and to other high-quality open space and parks within the wider West Tallaght Area and key cycle links in Dublin including the Dodder Greenway.

Carrigmore Park

Carrigmore Park is located in the Fortunestown Area.  Following extensive public consultation, Part 8 masterplan proposals for the park upgrade were approved by Council. The major interventions proposed comprise:

Given the comprehensive scope of the masterplan proposals, the Part 8 proposals are being phased to meet the budget and in response to the aspirations and feedback gained from stakeholders. SDCC intend applying for grants and funding from available funds, in the interim a tender is proceeding for some of the recreational elements with the funding available currently. It is intended to progress this work in 2024.

Butler McGee Park

Butler Mc Gee is a neighbourhood park in the west Tallaght area measuring 20 hectares approx.. There are a number of GAA and soccer pitches which are well used by local clubs as well as walking routes through the park. In recent years the developments listed below have been carried out at Butler McGee Park via the annual improvement works programme and the pitch maintenance programme.  In summary these works have resulted in the park becoming a fully enclosed park making it much safer to use by local residents, all existing footpaths were overlaid in 2019, a total of 1km of new footpath has been constructed creating a walking route around the perimeter of the park, a large number of trees and bulbs have been planted, drainage works have been completed to one GAA pitch with a similar scheme to be implemented at a second pitch in the near future.

Work description

Year works were completed 

450 linear metres of footpath installed in the South of the park.

2023

Planting of pollinator friendly bulbs, in total over 180,000 were planted.

2023

550 linear metres of footpath installed in the West of the park.

2022

Modified existing K barriers to stop scramblers from entering the park.

2022

Installation of 52 native trees in various locations throughout the park.

2020

Overlay of all existing footpaths within the park.

2019

Installation of 400 linear metres of parkland railing and kissing gates along Cookstown Road.

2019

Installation of 600 linear metres of parkland railing and kissing gates along Drumcairn Parade and Avenue.

2018

Installation of drainage system on GAA pitch and connection to drainage outfall.

2014

Pitch maintenance works such as aeration, sanding, goal mouth repairs, etc.

 

Carried out annually

In addition the Council has been successful in obtaining Sports Capital Grant funding for the upgrade (drainage and levelling) of a second GAA pitch at Butler McGee Park, this work is currently being procured and once a contract has been finalised the Public Realm Section will be in contact with the relevant stakeholders regarding the proposed works.

Brookview Park

Brookview Park is a small park which measures 1.8 hectares approx.. It serves as a local park for the adjacent residents. It contains a number of play and recreation facilities.

Jobstown Park

Jobstown Park is a large neighbourhood park in West Tallaght. It currently contains 4 pitches that are allocated to local clubs. In recent years one of these pitches were substantially upgraded to improve the playing surfaces. Public Realm are currently in the process of appointing a contractor to upgrade Jobstown Park. The vision for the project is to create an inviting, safe, and engaging space for the community while ensuring the park connects to the wider open space network of the county.  The project includes the following elements - upgrading of the main park entrances, a teen space area, an outdoor workout area, a pump track, a natural playground, dog park, a footpath exercise loop, a cycle south Dublin link that will connect to the wider cycle infrastructure as well as landscape and biodiversity improvements.

In addition to this Public Realm have applied for Sports Capital for upgrading 2 playing pitches and the existing MUGA. If successful, these projects will then be progressed.