Residents concerned about pavilion safety
By Aideen O'Flaherty
RESIDENTS who live near the development of the new sports pavilion in Dodder Valley Park in Old Bawn have raised concerns about the security of the site once the development is complete – including the potential issue of cars and scrambler bikes gaining access to the park.
Construction work on the pavilion, which will provide changing room facilities for local clubs and groups, began last summer and was one of three projects passed through South Dublin County Council in 2015, which also included the provision of pavilions in Griffeen Park and Corkagh Park.
Work ongoing at the site in Dodder Valley Park
However, local residents’ groups – who are largely in support of the new sports pavilion, according to Fianna Fáil councillor Charlie O’Connor – have voiced their concerns about potential security risks that the development may present.
Cllr O’Connor told The Echo: “I get queries on an ongoing basis about the pavilion, and as the development phase continues there will be other enquiries.
“It’s important that the pavilion be developed for the local community. I see it, as do many other people in the community, as a positive development.
“People are just making sure that the development of the pavilion is being carried out as was agreed, and where people might have issues it’s important that they’re addressed.”
Local residents’ associations have contacted Cllr O’Connor, expressing concerns about what, at present, appears to be an open boundary in the form of a short, paved parking facility that leads from the Old Bawn Road into the park – which is currently secured by barriers.
The new changing rooms
Residents have expressed concern about the impact this may have once the pavilion is completed, as it could become “a huge security vulnerability” that could allow the unauthorised access of cars, scramblers and motorbikes into the park.
South Dublin County Council addressed these concerns, which Cllr O’Connor raised with the local authority, by stating that the carpark “will be protected by a new 1,200mm-high galvanised steel fence”.
They added that the fence has not yet been erected as the development is still underway, and that the low kerbs at the location are in place to allow excess water during heavy rainfall to flow away into a new drainage swale at the southern end of the park.
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