Developer’s €250k fee is a ‘failure to protect public land’
By Maurice Garvey
THE disposal of a small strip of land on the Naas Road for a €250,000 developer fee would represent “a failure to protect public land,” according to Cllr Sophia Nicoullaud (Ind).
Dublin City Council want to dispose of its freehold interest in 0.43 acres of land at Royal Liver Retail Park, to developer Shorevale Investments Ltd, who have planning permission for 1,102 mostly build-to-rent residential units at the site.
Strip of land the city council want to dispose of for a €250k developer fee
The proposal was met with opposition from former Green Party Cllr Nicoullaud, who believes the €250,000 fee, pales into insignificance when compared to the potential benefits of widening the road for pedestrians and cyclists in a community that is set to see huge increases of residential units within the Naas Road Lands Local Area Plan.
“There is a bus stop right there on a fairly narrow footpath. It is like a video game to walk around. We want people to walk and cycle, and next to it we have a bus lane but no cycle lane,” she said.
“Why can’t the land be used for better width of footpath. Thousands of people are moving to the area, we should not be waiting on private investors to do that work.”
The city council say the 0.43 acres has no development potential due to its “aspect, size and location”, along with the presence of a gas main.
At last month’s South Central area meeting, local approval looked likely, with some members calling for the €250,000 to be diverted into Bluebell community services.
According to Dublin City Council, the fee is a “decent price”, and this would go into a central pot, however they said a small percentage might be considered for local projects.
Cllr Nicoullaud, who expressed her opposition to the disposal at the area meeting, told The Echo that the possibility of a local unknown group accessing funds is not a good enough return for the loss of a valuable piece of land on a busy main road.
She said: “I know the community needs money but we don’t know what projects could benefit, there is no specification. What we need are long-term plans and not to bribe areas.”
Shorevale, the owner of the retail park, is due to pay development fees of €7.7m in planning contributions for public infrastructure and facilities benefiting the mixed-use development.
The project planned by Shorevale, part of Allied Retail Estate Group (AREG), is expected to cost up to €500m to develop.
A vote on the disposal of the 0.43 acres goes forward to the next area meeting.
