Residents ‘are not going to be happy’ over axed school plans

PLANS for the construction of a school as part of the Kilcarbery development in Clondalkin have been shelved, which residents “are not going to be happy” about, according to a local councillor.

Kilcarbery is a joint venture development of 1,034 homes on 29 acres of council lands.

The venture is being carried out by Adwood Ltd, a consortium of established Dublin builders Adroit and Maplewood, and South Dublin County Council.

Adwood will pay the council €38m and deliver 310 social housing units at competitive rates over four years, according to the council.

The plans were approved by South Dublin Council councillors in December 2019, however it was revealed at Monday’s monthly meeting of South Dublin County Council that plans for a school as part of the development have been shelved.

Speaking at the meeting, Independent councillor for Clondalkin, Francis Timmons, said: “People have huge difficulty in finding primary school and secondary school places in Clondalkin.

“It was a hard sell to sell Kilcarbery to residents, and one of the selling points was the school.”

He later added that residents “are not going to be happy when they learn that the school has been cancelled”.

The chief executive of South Dublin County Council, Danny McLoughlin, said the decision to shelve the school plan was made by the Department of Education as they are planning to carry out a “substantial extension” to Deansrath Community College and told the council that they no longer required the Kilcarbery site.

Mr McLoughlin said: “On two occasions the Department of Education said they wouldn’t be needing the site as they’re proceeding with the Deansrath extension.”

Speaking after the meeting, Sinn Féin councillor for Clondalkin, William Carey, said: “This is a serious development for councillors to consider and will have repercussions in how we approach development plans as we move forward.

“The decision to include a school in the new development was seen as a positive part of building the new community adjacent to Grange Castle.

“I will be raising this at our Area Committee Meeting at the earliest opportunity.

“This will also affect the traffic flow within the area as the increase in population will be taken up with movement to schools across the new Nangor Road into the Bawnogue area.”

Cllr Carey said he is calling on the Department of Education to reconsider this decision and will be writing to the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, to seek an explanation for the cancellation of the planned school.

The Echo contacted the Department of Education and Skills for comment, but a response was not received at the time of going to print.