Public meeting called to discuss older persons scheme in park
By Aideen O'Flaherty
LOCAL environmental community group Tallaght Litter Mugs carried out what could be their last clean-up of Sean Walsh Park on Sunday, if plans for older persons’ housing in the park goes ahead, while Tallaght Community Council will be holding a public meeting about the planned development on Monday.
As previously reported in The Echo, Tallaght Litter Mugs have said that they will disband if the plans for an 81-unit older persons’ housing scheme, to be located in the section of Sean Walsh Park that is beside Tallaght Stadium, on the current site of the urban farm and council depot, go ahead.
An artist impression of the 81-unit older person housing scheme in Sean Walsh Park
If the plans go ahead then the council depot, the urban farm and two small community gardens on site will be levelled, and council workers from the depot will be redeployed to the Tymon Park council depot.
The planned development, which will be voted on by councillors at the next meeting of South Dublin County Council on December 10, has caused consternation in the community, as the park is the only Green Flag park in Tallaght and there are concerns this high standard will not be maintained if the depot is no longer in the park and if the Litter Mugs disband.
Speaking at the Litter Mugs clean-up on Sunday, new Tallaght Person of the Year, Gar Tyrell, said: “I’m here to celebrate the community and this beautiful outdoor space, and to let our councillors know that we want to leave this park as it is.”
Well-known entertainer and Tallaght native June Rodgers was also at the clean-up, and told Tallaght Community Council: “It’s nothing against building houses for people – we have to build houses for people, but we also need greenspace.”
Tallaght Community Council are calling on local councillors to vote against the planned housing development, and are inviting councillors to arrange a site visit with them, and the community group will also be holding a public meeting in the Plaza Hotel on Monday, November 26 at 8pm.
Gerry Stockil, the voluntary chairperson of Tallaght Community Council, said: “I accept the bone fides of all councillors in trying to solve the housing crisis, but we feel that correct, comprehensive and balanced information must be laid before the councillors on a case-by-case basis before they make a decision.
“A site visit is one way of finding out about this – the location of the development is wrong.”
The public consultation window for making submissions on the housing development plans closed on November 9,
The council selected the Sean Walsh Park site for the proposed development of a housing scheme for older people as it is “in close proximity” to medical services in the Tallaght area.
A spokesperson for South Dublin County Council previously told The Echo that the proposed housing scheme has been planned with the aim of alleviating some of the pressure on the housing list, as it will allow older people to downsize by moving into smaller residential units, thereby vacating houses that can be used to house families on the council’s housing list.
