Cllr Daithi Doolan and Aengus Ó Snodaigh, TD outside the pitch being tarmacked
‘Totally unacceptable’ that council remove astro pitch
“This is totally unacceptable.”
The only astro turf pitch in Cherry Orchard was tarmacked over by council contractors just days before Christmas.
Dublin City Council contractors removed the astro pitch in the Dublin suburb due to the health and safety reasons, according to a response received by Councillor Daithí Doolan.
The pitch was located behind St Ultan’s National School and no replacement pitch is expected to be immediately provided.
Cllr Doolan has called on the local authority to repair or replace the tarmacked astro pitch as soon as possible.
Cllr Doolan said: “Dublin City Council has removed the only astro pitch from Cherry Orchard. This is totally unacceptable.
“I have contacted Dublin City Council senior management urging them to reinstate an astro as soon as possible.
“The council claim they are removing the astro on health and safety grounds and will not be putting in a new pitch until the Cherry Orchard park is redeveloped.
“But this does not stop them from either repairing or replacing this important facility. The development will not be finished until at least 2027 or even 2028.
“The council cannot expect this whole community to go without their only astro for this length of time.”
Local clubs that availed of the facility when it was available will now have to look elsewhere to meet their needs.
Cllr Doolan slammed the possibility of teams travelling elsewhere and paying to use facilities in other parts of Dublin as “expensive and impractical.”
Concerns have been raised on several occasions about the lack of resources available in the Cherry Orchard area, with Cherry Orchard Park and other developments like Cherry Orchard Point designed to tackle that issue.
The councillor took issue with the action carried out by DCC contractors without any immediate replacement in mind and stated that it stripped the area of an amenity for at least two years without offering an alternative.
“Cherry Orchard has very little resources and sports facilities. The council should be improving the facilities not removing them.
“I will be actively working to ensure the astro is replaced as soon as possible.”
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme.
