Residents claim explosions at Belgard quarry have worsened
By Aideen O'Flaherty
A RESIDENT who lives near Roadstone’s Belgard quarry has claimed that the level of blasting from the site has worsened in recent months – causing the mirrors and window frames in his house to shake.
Owned by CRH, the Roadstone quarry has been a feature of the local landscape for a number of decades, and residents initially were used to the disruption that the weekly blasting at the quarry caused.
Residents outside Roadstone on Tuesday (February 16)
However, Brownsbarn resident Michael Fogarty claims that the blasting at the site started occurring twice a week for several months last year, and the level of disruption to nearby residents has increased.
Mr Fogarty, who has lived in the area for 14 years, told The Echo: “When we first moved here there was always an explosion on a Friday – you got used to it.
“But a few months ago, they started doing them on Tuesdays as well.
“Having explosions once a week was horrible, but twice a week is a disaster.
“I was at home on a Tuesday before Christmas and the mirror fell off the fireplace, the windows shook and my four-year-old started bawling crying. The houses were shaking.
“Some of the explosions aren’t bad, but some of them are really, really bad.
Karolina and Marcos standing at the planning notice signs at Roadstone
“We got used to it for the first ten years, it was just a bit of a wobble when the explosions happened – but now the windows are shaking.”
Concerns about the routine blasts at the quarry, which take place during normal business hours although the timing and frequency can vary, have been an issue in the surrounding residential areas for several years.
In 2016, Belgard Green residents told The Echo that the blasts had gotten worse and that cracks had started appearing in some of their houses and on a public footpath, but it was not confirmed at the time if this was as a result of the blasts.
Mr Fogarty’s frustration with the current situation led him to block the entrance to the quarry with his Jeep last month and padlock the gates, before he was removed by gardaí.
“It wasn’t my proudest day,” he added. “I wouldn’t do it again.”
While the blasts on Tuesdays ceased in recent weeks, Mr Fogarty said he and his neighbours still have concerns about the impact of the blasts on Fridays.
“This Friday just gone there was a big blast,” he said, “so much so that even residents in the newer estate felt it.”
A spokesperson for Roadstone told The Echo: “Roadstone has a longstanding and very positive relationship with residents and the local community in the area near our quarry at Belgard.
“The blasting of rock at the quarry is conducted in line with international best practice guidelines and is subjected to rigorous regulatory monitoring requirements.”
Roadstone lodged a planning application with South Dublin County Council on January 27, seeking permission for the deeping of part of the existing and permitted quarry at Belgard to a quarry floor level of -10mOD using conventional blasting techniques.
A decision on Roadstone’s planning application is due from South Dublin County Council by March 23.
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