Green Party calls for rejection of €129m Dún Laoghaire beach scheme

THE GREEN Party has called for the rejection of a €129 million scheme to provide new beach and aquatic facilities at Dún Laoghaire, south Dublin.

The scheme was put forward by consultants Royal Haskoning and Murray Associates in February and was commissioned by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. It included two concepts, which have both been put on public display.

Concept A is known as the “Dún Laoghaire lagoon” and involves a lagoon beach constructed adjacent to the East Pier, with an “aquatic play area” on the old Dún Laoghaire baths site, among other facilities.

Concept B would involve the creation of a new artificial beach at Newtownsmith beach and the construction of offshore and shore-connected breakwaters approximately 250m offshore. Both concepts incorporate parts of the Sutton to Sandycove promenade.

Following a public meeting in Dún Laoghaire last week, the Green Party called for a “modest redevelopment” of the Dún Laoghaire baths site.

Ciarán Cuffe TD said residents wanted a simple, small development and not an over-ambitious reshaping of their coastline. “The consultants and the council need to be reminded that Sandycove is not Barcelona, and that modest development is more appropriate on this crucial site,” he said.

He said a development with a heated swimming pool, a toddlers’ pool and a cafe would be sufficient for the site of the baths.

© 2008 The Irish Times

This article appears in the print edition of the Irish Times