New agreement reached in relation to existing 25-year lease

A NEW lease has been agreed between South Dublin Football League Limited and Dublin and District Schoolboys/Girls League Limited (DDSL) regarding the Ballyowen Park Clubhouse and All-Weather Pitch.

An agreement was reached in relation to the existing 25-year lease on the all-weather pitch by the South Dublin Football League Limited and the granting of a new 25-year lease to the DDSL.

This now means that there is a change of name from the South Dublin Football League to the DDSL for the 99-year lease associated with the clubhouse and the 25-year lease associated with the all-weather pitch.

The commencement date shall be agreed between the parties as soon as practicable during 2026.

The changeover of leases was made following a Sports Capital Grant Funding request that was made by DDSL, which was then rejected due to the absence of a minimum 15-year lease on the site.

An online booking system will be introduced by SDCC to ensure “consistency of approach across this facility, with our facilities within the county itself.”

It was clarified that booking charges should align with SDCC prevailing standard pitch hire charges, which are listed as €95 per hour at peak times and €75 at off-peak times.

Part of the agreement includes the tenant’s requirement to prepare and publish a written community use policy governing access to and use of facilities for local sports groups.

This will ensure that groups from the community will secure access to the all-weather pitch and sports facilities that will be provided.

It was recommended that the tenant should also provide a report to the council on a twice-yearly basis detailing booking volume, utilisation rates and categories of the different types of users.

This will allow SDCC to monitor the booking system and keep track of local club use. If they do not access it as much as other users, SDCC can tackle the issue directly.

This decision was welcomed by councillors at this month’s meeting, with Cllr Daniel Loftus highlighting the cheaper hire rate compared to other facilities in the area,

“I think this is going to be great for the area. It’s been harder to secure access to the all-weather pitch over the last few years so hopefully these terms and conditions will mean that it is more available to the sports groups and at a cheaper price; this seems to be nearly 40 per cent cheaper than likes of Collinstown Park, for example, to have a game on the weekend.”

The new tenant will also be required to provide a series of policies to ensure the correct use of facilities, including a Pitch Allocation policy, Community Use Policy, Booking and Cancellation Policy, Charging Policy, Complaints and Appeals Safeguarding Policy, Health and Safety Policy and Data Protection Policy.

Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme