Support to rebuild Silver Bridge but no plans for land acquisition

DESPITE agreeing to support rebuilding the Silver Bridge in Palmerstown, South Dublin County Council has “no plans” to obtain the land adjacent to the structure, reports Eoghan Gardiner.

This comes after the councillors agreed to include the bridge in the Draft County Development Plan 2022-2028, which sets the agenda for the council for the next six years.

Although the bridge is owned by Fingal County Council, which is ultimately responsible for any works on the structure, the land on the southside of the bridge should be bought by the council to ensure accessibility, according to local councillors and public representatives.

Supporters of rebuilding the bridge say that, if rebuilt, it could effectively connect the areas of South Dublin County Council, Fingal County Council and Dublin City Council, as well as potentially linking south Dublin directly to the Phoenix Park.

As per the Draft County Development Plan, councillors also support the inclusion of the bridge as part of an “inter-county greenway”.

The council, however, views any land acquisition as “premature at this time”, as made clear to councillors at a number of Local Area Committee meetings in recent months. Most recently, in reply to a motion from Cllr Guss O’Connell, the council said outright that there “are no plans at present to procure lands”.

The reply also stated that “conservation works are the priority for 2021 and 2022,” and that these works “will not address future connectivity or land ownership issues”.

Fingal County Council committed €1.4 million towards the conservation works last year, which was further boosted by an additional €140k earlier this year from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage as part of their Historic Structures Fund.

The land surrounding the bridge is directly adjacent to Waterstown Park, currently owned and maintained by South Dublin County Council.

It is also accessible from the old churchyard in Mill Lane.