Calls for the rezoning of woodland
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A COMMUNITY group is calling on South Dublin County Council to rezone woodland in Rathcoole, which is earmarked for the development of 250 houses, from residential zoning to instead be zoned for open space and recreational amenities, reports Aideen O’Flaherty.
The Four Districts Woodland Group has amassed more that 1,200 signatures on a petition that they will be handing in to the council on September 25 at 3pm calling for the rezoning, and they held a well-attended public meeting about the issue in late August.
The Woodland in Rathcoole
South Dublin County Council recently announced plans for the development of 250 houses, a number of GAA pitches, a primary school and a library at the woodland site in Rathcoole, behind Coolamber and Rathcoole Park.
Planners for South Dublin County Council are in the process of developing an architectural proposal for the site, before the plans are brought to the Part 8 public consultation stage and will ultimately be voted on by councillors when the public consultation period ends.
Speaking about the impact the proposed development could have, Deirdre Tierney from the Four Districts Woodland Group told The Echo: “The Rathcoole Master Plan is part of five separate master plans [for residential developments in the county], but it’s the only one that’s in a woodland.
“If they were to go and try to recreate that woodland now, it would be phenomenally expensive.
“30 or 40 years from now, we’ll be sorry if we don’t preserve a site like that.
“We have to stop and think – we can’t keep doing the same thing and then look back in 20 or 30 years wondering, ‘What did we do?’”
The plans are part of a wider scheme by the council to develop 4,500 homes in South Dublin County in response to the housing crisis, and the proposed 250 homes in Rathcoole are to consist of 100 social houses, 100 affordable houses and 50 private houses.
Other developments in the scheme include the development of 2,600 houses in Clonburris, 1,000 homes in Kilcarberry, 500 homes in Killinarden and 150 homes on the Belgard Road in Tallaght.
The Rathcoole plans are still in development, and it is not yet known when they will reach the Part 8 public consultation stage.
A council spokesperson said: “The proposals are currently in the planning and design phase and the final timetable for delivery is not yet fully established.”
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