Residents in Tallaght Village are concerned over the proposed enhancement plans
Enhancement Scheme will drive people out of the village
“Grave concerns” have been raised that the proposed Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme “will drive residents and businesses out of the village”.
The scheme “aims to create a safer, more attractive, and people-friendly environment in Tallaght Village” by improving traffic flow, improving walking and cycling connections, and creating a high-quality public space.
The scheme was proposed by South Dublin County Council to be pushed through ahead of upcoming BusConnects services due to be rolled out this year, with informal workshops taking place in October and November 2025.
The Part 8 public consultation which opened on February 11 is what has emerged from those informal workshops “as the preferred option”, according to South Dublin County Council.
It proposes a new public plaza area at the junction of Main Street and Old Bawn Road, as well as no access for general traffic “to or from Main Street from The Greenhills Road/Main Street Junction” and a bus gate at the Greenhills Road junction to filter westbound traffic and improve bus reliability, according to proposal documents.
Access for residents, local businesses, deliveries, and visitors to the village and to St. Mary’s Priory will be maintained, the proposal states.
However, residents and businesses, along with groups such as Tallaght Community Council, say the plan will be “a failure”.
An artist impression for the plans for Tallaght Village
While Tallaght Community Council said that the initial announcement of a village enhancement scheme last year had been “was music to our ears” and that they “dove right in” to the informal consultations and workshops, the resulting proposal in the Part 8 consultation would amount to just “a traffic engineering project to exclusively favour the bus”.
They also noted that the “current 40+ on-street parking bays will be completely removed under this concept”, meaning all village residents and businesses would have to pay for private car parking.
“Why should residents, some third generation in Tallaght village, lose on-street parking after having it for over 60 years,” they asked, a question echoed by Tallaght resident Paul Kelly, who said the proposal would cause “untold disruption for residents”.
“The main thing for me is it
doesn’t take into consideration for access to parking beside our house,” he told The Echo.
“That’s really going to have a terrible detrimental effect and affect the value of our properties, and probably increase our current insurance premiums, because God knows where we’re going to park,” he added.
A business owner who also spoke to The Echo stated their view that the bus-only proposal would “cut the village off totally”.
“We want a community spirit, and we want a win, win situation for everybody, but if this is not handled properly and right, there will be failures, and that’s not something anybody wants,” they added.
Tallaght Community Council also highlighted that the “community awareness of the actual traffic changes in real terms is still low”, and that Tallaght needs an “increasing range of amenities to attract people into the village by all modes of transport”.
The Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme Part 8 public consultation is open until March 25, 2026, on South Dublin County Council’s consultation portal, and public submissions can be made through the portal at consult.sdublincoco.ie, in writing to the council’s planning and transport department or by email to talves@sdublincoco.ie for attention of Senior Executive Officer, Planning and Transport, South Dublin County Council.
For additional feedback members of the public can also fill out the Tallaght Village Enhancement Scheme survey, published on the consultation portal consult.sdublincoco.ie.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme
