An aerial view of St Patrick’s Athletic home grounds, Richmond Park with the houses highlighted in yellow acquired by Dublin City Council for €3 million
Council acquire five houses as part of €3m redevelopment of St Patrick’s Athletic ground
Dublin City Council have acquired five properties in Inchicore for €3million as part of a major redevelopment of St Patrick’s Athletic FC’s home ground.
The upgrades to Richmond Park would see capacity at the stadium increase to 8,000.
In an update provided at the DCC monthly meeting on Monday, September 1, the council’s chief executive Richard Shakespeare confirmed that five properties on Emmet Road, Inchicore had been “acquired by agreement”.
The total cost of acquiring 119/119A, 129, 131 and 133 Emmet Road was €3,003,000, he said.
The update was in reply to a question from Cllr Darragh Moriarty (Lab), who criticised the council for allowing “the project to stall”.
“Generally this process has not progressed with the speed it was originally intended,” he said.
“DCC initially said it planned to complete and publish the compulsory purchase order map by end of 2023, then it in 2024, then by the end of 2024 and now we are three-quarters of the way through 2025.”
According to a statement from League of Ireland, the council still needs to acquire a number of other properties on the Emmet Road which back onto Richmond Park, including 121, 123 and 127, “whilst St Pat’s currently use 125”.
As the north of the grounds is bordered by the Camac River, the planned extension will move the south terrace back onto Emmet Road.
Discussions are also taking place around the impact of the development on the Camac, League of Ireland said.
Cllr Moriarty also requested an update on “information from St Pat’s Athletic in relation to redevelopment of the stadium and grounds”.
“DCC and St Patrick’s Athletic have been in discussions around Draft Heads of Terms outlining the relationship between the parties moving forward and continue to work through the detail,” the chief executive’s reply continued.
He confirmed that discussions were taking place between St Pats and the council’s Flood Projects Office and Drainage division regarding the impact on the Camac, but a formal planning process, “including any relevant Section 247 pre-application consultations, has not yet commenced”.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
