New schools and community facilities for Clonsilla and Carpenterstown

The Department of Education and Skills have applied for planning permission for a new secondary school, a new primary school and a nine room extension to an existing primary school at Porterstown.

This is really good news for the Clonsilla and Carpenterstown area. Fine Gael got a lot of criticism from the other partys when we supported rezoning land for the school sites. As well as the badly needed schools, the community and sports facilities will be a fantastic asset for the whole area.  

It is unfortunate that the Department did not get their application in six months ago. If they had the new Luttlerstown Community College might have some chance of opening its doors for next September. As it is temporary prefabs will likely have to be aquired at some €50,000 each to accommodate the new school intake. 

The new Luttrellstown Community College will be a 2 storey school building with 20 specialist classrooms, 18 general classrooms, general purpose hall, library/resource room, offices, Staff areas and ancillary accommodation with a total floor area C. 7149 m.sq. 

The College will have 5 new ballcourts, bicycle racks and 36 new carparking spaces and will be located on the southern side of Scoil Choilm. Scoil Choilm which is currently a 16 classroom primary school, will get a new special needs unit and a 2 story 8 classroom extension. 

At the eastern side of Scoil Choilm a new 16 classroom primary school is to be constructed to include a special needs unit and ancillary accommodation as well as 34 carparking spaces. 

In keeping with the Fingal schools model a new community centre and sports hall will be constructed on the Campus. Outside there will be 4 new ballcourts and parking spaces. 

Site works will include new access roads, turning circles and set down areas off the new Porterstown Link Road which is due for completion by the end of March. 

You can view the planning files here

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Clonsilla Urban Strategy Report

Information evening Upstairs in the Clonsilla Inn on Tuesday October 21st from 7.30pm.

Fingal County Council has published their Clonsilla Urban Strategy - a blueprint for the future development of Clonsilla Village and Environs. Some 50 submissions were made by individuals and organizations including Fine Gael. The report along with associated maps and drawings can be seen at our information evening.

In general the Strategy Report has been welcomed. It requires that development is low-rise in keeping with the current village’s character. There is a link up with the canal and Kellystown via the new village centre which will ‘make the village’ if done properly. Of particular interest to residents will be the 5 major development sites the Council identifies in the village.

There are also some outstanding issues which are not addressed for example there is no mention is made of St Mochta’s school with a view to redevelop it and to provide a recreation centre alongside it.

The small school site beside St. Mary’s Church is not included but will be needed if there is to be more housing in the area.

The Lynam site at the Link Road opposite the filling station is not included. This has been the subject a number of planning applications and it's only a matter of time before an other application is submitted. It should be central to any strategy that seeks to preserve the unique character of this end of Clonsilla

The development objective (and also of Kellystown) of replacing the level crossing with a new bridge is not mentioned. Any further development in the village will have to address this issue first.

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Furious Backpeddling on Kellystown

In recent weeks a leaflet has been circulated by the Labour Party (Joan Burton TD and Cllr Michael O’Donovan, the Mayor of Fingal) regarding Kellystown. This leaflet is very misleading. In the leaflet, it is claimed that ‘in response to a question from Michael O’Donovan, the County Manager gave an explicit commitment that no houses would be built until the primary and post-primary schools were open’. In fact, a legally binding condition (Objective KN9) was written into the Kellystown Variation from day one and was at the core of the proposal, a proposal which Mayor O’Donovan ultimately voted against ! This would have been well known to Mayor O’Donovan and indeed anyone who read the documents or attended any of the local public meetings.

It is also stated that the ‘The Labour Party tabled a number of important amendments so that any Kellystown development could only go ahead when new public transport facilities were in place. These amendments were voted down by Fianna Fail and Fine Gael.’ Again this is very misleading. Indeed, two of the six Labour councillors* did not vote for the motion to which the leaflet refers. Rather, it was agreed that the Local Area Plan (LAP) would include ‘a programme for the phasing of construction of residential and commercial development in tandem with the delivery of transport, recreational, community and education infrastructure’ (Objective KN7). Moreover, Cllr Hamill (Labour) withdrew her motion calling for Metro West and Porterstown Train Station to be in place in advance of any development (Motion 16)* and a motion on bus services for the new development (Motion 19) was actually ruled out of order by the Mayor Michael O’Donovan* who also ruled out of order a motion calling for the school sites to be acquired by compulsory purchase order (Motion 2)*

Kellystown was a very divisive issue for our community. On balance, I decided that it was a good deal for the community. I fully respect that others do not share that view but do not think that any of us should respect politicians who misrepresent the facts and try to claim credit for something they actually opposed.


* Don’t know who to believe? You can watch the meeting on-line at http://www.fingalcoco.public-i.tv/site/. Of particular interest, Labour Mayor, Cllr Michael O’Donovan rules out of order a motion calling for a CPO on the school sites (1hr28), a motion on bus services for the new development (1hr29) and confirms the withdrawal of Cllr Hamill’s motion linking the development to Metro West (1hr34). Labour Councillors Kelleher and Maguire abstain on the ‘Labour transport motions’ (2hr29)

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Kellystown Variation (Rezoning)

As you may know, Fingal County Council has voted by 12 to 10 in favour of the variation to rezone the Kellystown lands. Four of the seven councillors from Dublin 15 supported the variation.

The Kellystown Variation, as adopted by the Council, provides for

• 60 acres of residential zoned land along the railway line
• 79 acres of amenity and parkland along the Luttrellstown Road
• 7 acres for a suburban centre (mixed-use development)
• Reserved sites for one secondary school, two primary schools, a community/sports centre, a graveyard and new grounds for St Mochta’s FC

It is a legally binding requirement of the variation that no residential development may take place until the secondary, first primary school, community/recreation centre, distributor road and the new canal and railing way bridge at Clonsilla are up and running (Objective KN9)

Prior to any residential development taking place, the Council must also agree and vote on a Local Area Plan (LAP) which will deal with issues such as housing design and density and public transport provision for the new development (Objective KN7)

As I am not a member of the Council, I did not have a vote on this issue. However, my local Fine Gael colleague Cllr. Eithne Loftus voted in favour for the following reasons:

1. To secure the much needed school sites, parkland and facilities for the community
2. Because 248 of the 282 submissions made by members of public supported the variation
3. The opponents of the variation were unable to come up with a viable alternative proposal to secure these amenities for the public
4. To secure, for the first time, a genuine publicly owned greenbelt which will stretch from Shackelton’s Gardens in Clonsilla to the grounds of Castleknock Hurling Football Club near the M50 providing a barrier to further development between Castleknock and Clonsilla and the Liffey Valley and Luttrellstown Demesne to the south
5. The eventual development of the lands along the railway is inevitable due to their proximity to the railway and the new powers given by the government to the Dublin Transport Authority to overrule the zoning decisions of councillors

There will be no residential development on these lands for a very long time. However, Leo Varadkar TD and I will put maximum pressure on the government to acquire the newly reserved school sites and to now proceed with their development without further delay.

If I am elected to the Council, I will use my influence and that of my party to ensure that improved train services, the long-promised train station at Porterstown, the graveyard and parkland is delivered in phases alongside the residential development when the Local Area Plan (LAP) for Kellystown comes up for discussion. This integrated planning approach was used in Adamstown and Hansfield and should be used in Kellystown as well. I will also do my best to ensure that the development that is permitted is well-designed and appropriate for a suburban area such as Dublin 15. I will be in contact with you to invite you to discuss the LAP with me as soon as a draft is prepared by the Council.

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