COMHAIRLE CONTAE ÁTHA CLIATH THEAS
SOUTH DUBLIN COUNTY COUNCIL

MEETING OF SPECIAL MEETING OF COUNTY COUNCIL

Friday, June 19, 2026

MOTION NO.

MOTION: Councillor L. O'Toole with Councillor F. Timmons, Councillor V. Casserly

Amendment No. 17, Pg 556 - Adamstown South and West (Outer) That this Council amends the Chief Executive's proposed CS3 Objective 4 as follows: Chief Executive Proposed Wording: "To include an Area-Based Transport Assessment (ABTA) in cooperation with the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of the plan-led approach to Future SDAs."

Proposed Amended Wording: "To include an Area-Based Transport Assessment (ABTA) in cooperation with the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of the plan-led approach to Future SDAs. The Area-Based Transport Assessment shall specifically assess the operational delivery and capacity of DART+ Southwest, Luas to Lucan, the Western Orbital Route and dedicated bus services serving Adamstown and Clonburris and shall demonstrate that sufficient strategic transport infrastructure exists to accommodate the cumulative impact of existing and proposed development within the wider Lucan, Adamstown and Clonburris corridor."

REASONS: The Future Strategic Long-Term Development Area should be planned in conjunction with the strategic transport infrastructure required to support future growth. The attached timeline visual demonstrates the historic mismatch between housing delivery and infrastructure delivery within the wider Lucan, Adamstown and Clonburris area. This amendment seeks to ensure that future strategic growth is informed by the delivery and capacity of strategic transport infrastructure and is consistent with proper planning and sustainable development.

CE Response:

This motion is in relation to the inclusion of additional wording to an objective relating to transport assessment included in the CE Report for 'Future Strategic Long Term Development Areas' (SDA) under Variation No. 2 of the South Dublin County Development Plan 2022 2028.  

Future Strategic Long Term Development Areas (SDAs) and Area Based Transport Assessment (ABTA) 

The proposed Future SDAs, of which Adamstown South and West (Outer) is one, includes a number of objectives under Policy CS3 in the proposed Amendment, including:  

CS3 Objective 1: To commence preparatory studies and analysis of the Future SDAs, as identified on  the  development  plan  maps,  to  understand  the  existing  land  uses  and  ecological  sensitivities  and  to  inform  the  preparation  of  future  proposals  for  rezoning to meet the needs of the County through an holistic approach to plan making.  The  exact  lands  to  be  brought  forward as  future  rezoning  may  change  according to the outcome of these studies.  

And     

CS3 Objective 3: To ensure development of Future SDAs (subject to rezoning) for residential and other uses will be in accordance with an approved plan-led approach, such as a Priority Area Plan or otherwise equivalent appropriate mechanism, which will align housing    delivery    with,    inter    alia,    climate    action    objectives,    supporting    infrastructure,   sustainable   transport   options,   educational   and   community   facilities, public open space, green infrastructure networks, cultural heritage and no net loss of important ecological features as surveyed, identified and mapped by a qualified ecologist.    

In response to a submission from the NTA which specifically sought an Area-Based Transport Assessment (ABTA) to be undertaken in cooperation with the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of the preparation of statutory land use plans, the following objective was recommended for inclusion in the CE Report:  

CS3 Objective 4  

To include an Area-Based Transport Assessments (ABTA) in cooperation with the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of the plan-led approach to Future SDAs. 

The motion is seeking to amend the recommended objective CS3 Objective 4 in the CE Report to include (motion additional wording in bold): 

"To include an Area-Based Transport Assessment (ABTA) in cooperation with the NTA and Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) as part of the plan-led approach to Future SDAs. The Area-Based Transport Assessment shall specifically assess the operational delivery and capacity of DART+ Southwest, Luas to Lucan, the Western Orbital Route and dedicated bus services serving Adamstown and Clonburris and shall demonstrate that sufficient strategic transport infrastructure exists to accommodate the cumulative impact of existing and proposed development within the wider Lucan, Adamstown and Clonburris corridor."   

ABTA 

The NTA’s publication, Area Based Transport Assessment Advice Note -December 2018, describes an area-based transport assessment as:  

‘...one of a number of complementary assessment processes, used in the preparation of local area plans, planning schemes (such as SDZs) and Masterplans (hereafter referred to as the Plan). The intended effect of ABTA is to ensure that the assessment of transport demand and its associated impact plays a central role in informing the development proposals. This should include consideration of the overall scale of the development as well as the mix of land uses, location, density, phasing and design / delivery of supporting transport infrastructure and services (across all modes of transport)’.

It is considered that any future studies in the area, including those related to transport, will be robust and respond to the needs and contextual development patterns in the area at the time. In this regard the ABTA process will review existing and planned transport for the area as the emerging preferred land uses emerge from the preparatory work and associated studies. 

Notwithstanding, further wording could be included as part of the Amendment to address the motion’s concerns. 

However, having regard to the fact that CS3 Objective 4 is an objective which relates to all of the identified SDAs, it would not be appropriate to amend the objective to make it specific to the Adamstown South and West (Outer) SDA. The mechanism for this would be a new SLO for the lands. 

Conclusion 

Notwithstanding that the issues raised in the motion would be considered as part of the standard ABTA process, it is recommended that the proposed additional wording is included in a new SLO for the lands, CS3 SLOX.

CE Recommendation 

Agree motion with minor amendment and insert a new Specific Local Objective CS3 SLOX to include wording (in bold) as follows: 

The Area-Based Transport Assessment for these lands shall include an assessment of DART+ Southwest, Luas to Lucan, road infrastructure and existing bus services serving Adamstown and Clonburris at the early stages of the ABTA process for the purpose of identifying transport options for assessment at the later stages of the ABTA regarding sufficiency to serve existing and future transport demand scenarios.