Private land at Mill Centre not being considered for purchase

PRIVATE land behind the Mill Shopping Centre in Clondalkin is not being considered for purchase by South Dublin County Council.

At a recent area meeting, a motion by Cllr Linda de Courcy (Ind Ire) requested that the council purchase the land to ensure the development is “focused on the people in the village and not a for-profit contractor.”

In response, SDCC said the land is one of the larger infill sites within the boundary of the Clondalkin Local Area Plan (Lap) and privately owned. The council say it is included within the boundary of the LAP to ensure that any development on the site is in accordance with the principles of the LAP and any future proposals will have to demonstrate how the site supports the village and is in line with the proper planning and sustainable development.

However, de Courcy was “disappointed” with the response, which “guarantees nothing,” and cites recent large-scale developments in Clondalkin which have had a less-than-desirable impact.

“My concern is high-rise-density complexes. At Laurel Park on New Road, there is an apartment block of mainly HAP. There was a recent fire, an incident with a tenant kicked out. There is often a massive amount of anti-social behaviour when you have an excess of social housing.

“At the back of Cappaghmore, trees were cut down behind people’s homes for a new development which has led to loss of privacy. Why couldn’t they not push it back a bit and keep the trees, the aesthetic and the privacy?” asked de Courcy.

Public consultation work on the Clondalkin village LAP is currently taking place.

SDCC said in their response to de Courcy that the site does not represent a landholding that they are currently seeking to acquire.

Cllr de Courcy said her understanding was that the site was zoned for community but changed to residential.

“The initial plan was for build-to-let apartments, I had asked for it to be used for leisure. It is probably too big for that. Cllr Francis Timmons supported calls for an active elderly development on the site.

“It would be much better for SDCC to buy it, have control and a development for the good of Clondalkin village. People living here for 50/60 years might even have the option of moving into such a development, staying in their community and freeing up housing. If we don’t own the land it’s not going to be for the benefit of the people of Clondalkin,” said de Courcy.