Kingswood resident appeals the council’s go-ahead for mast

A KINGSWOOD Heights resident has lodged an appeal against South Dublin County Council’s decision to grant permission for a mast adjacent to the Kingswood Luas stop.

Bridget Smyth said the 18-metre multi-operator streetpole and ground equipment would be “totally disruptive” to all users of the junction at Sylvan Drive and Katharine Tynan Road.

The application for a licence for the structure was submitted by Cignal Infrastructure Ltd last June, and the council granted the licence on October 21. Ms Smyth lodged her appeal last month.

In her appeal, Ms Smyth said the subject site was under the ownership of Transport Infrastructure Ireland and doesn’t fulfil the requirement for the licence for the mast to be on a public footpath.

She added that, even if the location were a public footpath, it would still be an unsuitable location as it would be “impossible to carry out works at a very busy junction”.

Ms Smyth also criticised the inability of members of the public to lodge observations on the initial licence application as the council deemed it “not appropriate” for them to do so.

The appellant suggested that public footpaths in industrial estates in Cookstown and Belgard would be better suited for the erection of the mast.

A decision on the appeal, which was lodged by Ms Smyth on November 21, has not yet been made by An Bord Pleanála.

In an unrelated issue, Cignal is currently embroiled in a High Court action that was brought against them by residents of nearby Sylvan Drive in relation to a mast on their road.

The contentious mast that was erected in Sylvan Drive in November 2020 was put in place by Cignal after they were granted a licence for the structure by South Dublin County Council. An appeal was then lodged by residents, but An Bord Pleanála upheld the council’s decision.

In November 2021, the Kingswood Heights Mast Objection Committee brought a High Court action in the form of a judicial review against An Bord Pleanála’s decision to grant permission for the mast.

Last October, the High Court action was adjourned for a period of six weeks.