Update on Fairfield Park 250917

The Council and the Tidy Towns work hard to keep the area attractive. Currently the area has pay parking from 12 to 18.00

Procurement of Refurbished and New Diesel railcars.

 You are procuring improved carriages, I ask that you get them so that the doors in a limited number of carriages can be opened at short platform stations. These are normal in most other commuter railways but the IR carriages must open all doors on the train which means 8 carriages cannot be used on lines with short platforms (Kilcoole & Rathdrum for example). This will improve the service to Greystones and Wicklow by allowing longer 8 carriage trains in place of the 4 (sometimes 3) carriage ones used for the rush hour diesel services (6.54 & 7.51 ex Greystones).

The latter is standing room only from Wicklow and revised carriages can provide a better service to Greystones and Kilcoole. Greystones is the 5^th busiest suburban station even though there are only a third of DARTS compared to the other stations. This results in the 7.30, 8.00 and 8.30 being crowded. I believe the 8.00 is the busiest train in the country and a longer preceding diesel would relieve pressure. Hence the importance of extra carriages on the diesels.

There is also space in the timetable to run an extra DART at 7.21, by running it down early, even with the present track and signalling system. I would ask that the carriage order provides for this if extra carriages are needed.

The Council has provided the largest Park n’ Ride site (450+ spaces) and largest bike parking (90 spaces) of any DART Station. I am keen to expand these but there needs to be a commitment from IR to improve the service. The limited number of trains produces a peak load and long queues to get off the platform, out of the station and out of the Park n’ Ride which should be addressed by more trains, as mentioned, and station modifications. Cycle parking inside the station could also be accommodated.

The future ‘10 minute’ DART service is billed as an improvement. For Greystones you are planning a worse service with no extra trains and a 5.5 minute increase in journey time (12% increase). This will encourage people to use cars in conflict with sustainable development. The Development targets handed down to the Council are for an extra 4,000 houses in Greystones and many more in Newtown and Wicklow Town and a better transport offering is required for this.

The walk on the inside of the marina will be closed when this is going on and the Cliff Walk will be through the housing area. Building the apartments will start when the Boardwalk is complete but it will remain closed until the apartments are finished because of the danger when the building work is so close.

About 80 houses have now been sold and its good to see this moving towards completion.

More shingle and some rocks will be brought in over the Summer to protect the North Beach.

Cairn Homes applied for permission for 192 homes in Charlesland but originally did not commit to building the required Enterprise Units. I objected to this as jobs cannot be created in Greystones unless work units are built.

Only 16% of Greystones people work locally compared to 29% in Bray. Probably the greatest dependency on commuting of any town in Leinster and is unsustainable. Jobs are urgently required as we can’t all commute on the overcrowded N11 or DART. Yet all developers want is to build houses.

I am glad that Cairn have now changed and committed to 8,000 sq.m. of Enterprise Units in Phaze 3 before the final 200 houses are built in Phaze 4. This is to include 2,700 sq.m. of Community Units for start-ups. A decade ago I wrote a paper with the Chamber of Commerce showing the need for this and this was included in the site plan which is why it has been committed now.

A Primary School is to be built in Phaze 2 and a Secondary School, next to the sports facilities, in Phaze 5. A bus interchange is to be included in Phase 1 as required, this is needed if we are to have a good bus service. Cairn are currently selling houses on an adjacent site.

Cllr Derek Mitchell (FG) said that for Greystones this will encourage early shopping and allow short term shopping. It should encourage more turnover of the spaces and be better for the shops. It was also decided not to charge for the large Park n’ Ride in Greystones.

It will be some months before this comes into force as the Council is going out to tender for the enforcement contract, though Bray will retain Council Traffic Wardens.

10 years ago I wrote a paper with the Chamber of Commerce and on the need for a Community Enterprise Centre for start up businesses. These work well in both Arklow and Wicklow Town and were shown to the developer. The Charlesland owner committed to donating a 2,800 sq.m. Centre as well as building more Enterprise Units for sale, prior to any houses being occupied. However the present planning application is for houses only and they do not seem aware of previous commitments and I have objected to that.

At Greystones Municipal District meeting I demanded that we get the Enterprise Units first and also that the Council appoints an official to ensure they are built.

Read full objection to Lack of enterprise units

Wicklow County Council started work on flattening a site for temporary accommodation in Blackberry Lane, Delgany in complete secrecy and refuses to explain what it is doing. There was planning permission for 22 senior citizen houses but this has expired. Bord Pleanala imposed conditions that stated that before the site was developed:

An archaeologist had to be employed, the boundary treatment with a close house had to be detailed, trees had to be protected with fencing, footpath details agreed, all before development started. None of this has been done. The Council, of all people, should not be bulldozing all over the site and the Bords conditions.

I have asked that work stops until these issues are resolved and planning permission is granted.

The Council has given them a valuable site specially constructed on the new pier and built a special slipway for them. It is incredible that after 12 years of discussions, planning and building the harbour they pull out. I gather that the problem is that the building is costly because the site will be subject to storm waves, however the Sailing, Angling, Diving, Rowing and Sea Scouts buildings have been constructed with this in mind.

They should put the boat on the calm marina and build a simpler less costly building. To my mind getting the boat going is much easier and safer from the marina than slip launching from the outer basin which can be rough in Easterly winds’ commented Cllr. Derek Mitchell.

‘I have prepared a paper which has drawn together these facts which we need to lobby the Government. Initially the previous grant should be reinstated and a long term fee per cu. Meter of water. This has been proposed for the water to be drawn from the Shannon and if applied to Wicklow would generate €1.7m per year’

The Council has major costs keeping the sparsely populated mountains which collect the water which is essential for Dublin’s industry and it should be compensated as was agreed in 1861 onward.