we are deeply disappointment that on the 9/9/13 so many Counsellors voted for the St Marks Green Infill Housing plan despite massive objection from local residents.  We the St Marks action group are very pro the building of social Housing but we objected strongly to any Housing being built on St Marks Green due to a number of reasons. These included Open Space, Play area, Mental Health and other reasons as stated in the objections.

The response posted from SDCC on line to our concerns and objections, we find most unsatisfactory.  Many of the response focus on alleged anti-social behaviour as justification for this plan however the group feels that the plan in no way will alleviate the problems and may actually aggravate them.

Another response stated the design of the plan ‘’will not impinge negatively on the physical or social environment for existing residents’’, However this is demonstrably not the case as there is such a high level of opposition from the local residents. Local residents that bought there houses on the understanding they would be facing a green feel very aggrieved.

There has been no direct communication or consultation between the council and the residents of St Marks. St Mark’s action group invited the Housing department officials and the 26 local Counsellors and 4 TD’s to a public meeting and no elected representative arrived on the night. One counsellor and one TD replied in advance to say They Where away.  Two Local Counsellors attended previous meetings with the group. An unelected representative of a political party was present on the night.

The St Marks action group are holding a follow on public meeting on Monday the 16th @ 7.30pm September in Rowlagh community centre at 7.30pm and we have invited The Housing department, all SDCC Counsellors and the four Local TD’s to speak at the meeting and address the concerns of the local residents.

Francis Timmons
(Spokesperson)
087 286 9315

Statement from spokesperson

The St Mark’s Green action group collected 41 Objections ,340 written signatures plus 323 on line signatures also 61 on line comments. We as a group urge all counsellors on South Dublin County Council to vote against the proposal for St Marks Green. We urge everyone to Keep contacting all counsellors and ask them to vote against development on this site.
We again state this is a much used Local Amenity. We also feel this open space is less susceptible to anti social behaviour. Also there was no consultation with local residents. All this goes against Policy H6 of the South County Dublin Development plan. There are many other sites that would not have such a detrimental effect on the community and local residents.

Francis Timmons (Spokesperson)
087 286 9315

The St Mark action group meeting on 6th August in Rowlagh Community Centre which I acted as Chairperson ,Went well I am drawing up a letter for each person to lodge an objection individually I have to check is there a cost individually for this. Also we need each person to email all the 26 counsellors to get them to vote no to the location of the houses.

The “St Marks Action Group” would like to respond to a number of points raised by a council spokesperson in this week’s gazette newspaper.
Firstly the St Marks Action group is very pro social housing.  Our objection is with the unnecessary destruction of St Marks Green.  The “St Marks Action Group” objects to the proposed development of 11 units at St. Marks Green, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. (10 no.3 Bedrooms and 1 no.4 Bedrooms) resulting in the elimination of a valuable green area which plays a vital role in the surrounding community.

Secondly, the anti-social behaviour referred to by the council spokesperson does not occur on the green but in a nearby private open laneway off the green.  This problem would not be improved by the building of houses. Additionally garbage is regularly dumped in this laneway.  Again, this problem will not be improved by additional housing.  Residents of St Marks have previously tried to sort these two issues, unsuccessfully due to the laneway being privately owned, but would be very happy to work with South Dublin County Council to tackle these problems separately.  St Marks Green was the location of a recent summer project.  Also during the recent great weather the green was used extensively by local residents, none of which resulted in anti-social behaviour.

We are aware that there are: • 14 vacant properties in the Lucan/Clondalkin electoral area (only 5 of which are boarded up) • 30 vacant properties in  the Terenure/ Rathfarnham/Tallaght electoral area (only 8 of which are boarded up)

The group believes that these houses could and should be utilized before building more houses.  Also there are a number of houses for sale which could be bought for social housing.  According to a senior executive officer at South Dublin County Council, formal approval to go to tender for this project has not been granted by the Dept. of Environment and therefore no official budget has been determined.  However the preliminary estimated cost of this project is in the region of €2 million.  The group feels €2m of local taxpayer’s money could be better spent on purchasing upto 15/16 houses in the area which would help 15 or 16 families on the housing list instead of 11.

We strongly object to this site being used on the following grounds: 1. Play space – The area has a football field that is frequently utilised by the local youth as well as providing a safe, easily supervised area for younger children in the immediate area and from surrounding estates, to play away from traffic. 2. Mental Health – The rate of suicide is very high in the Clondalkin area.  Open spaces like this are vital to help people relax and escape from oppressive built-up areas. The residents feel the elimination of the green would make the area feel claustrophobic. 3. Green area – Most of the surrounding residents have lived there for over 30 years and have said the location of the green was an important factor in their decision to buy their respective properties 4. Community Inclusion – This green provides a focal point and central space for local residents to meet and interact through community activities. 5. Increased Traffic – the residents are greatly concerned about the increase in traffic in the area.  This includes both construction traffic which will cause major disruption to the local road system, and the subsequent additional residential traffic.   This increased traffic and a subsequent lack of a safe area to play constitutes a dangerous risk to public safety in relation to local children. 6. We feel that this green is a vital and valuable community resource. There are numerous other undeveloped sites which could be used for social housing which would not have such a majorly detrimental effect on the local community and residents

The St Marks action Group would like to see the green upgraded and maintained as an open space for the families in the immediate and surrounding areas to use. The group is disappointed that so far only 4 counsellors out of 26 that will be voting on the issue and one TD out of 4 have stated their position on the issue.

Great to Get the publicity for the St Marks Green action group on front of the Echo and the Gazette but we still need people to sign @ @ http://www.change.org/petitions/all-clondalkin-area-counsellors-vote-against-proposed-development-in-this-space – Please share with Family and Friends. also we need people to contact there local counsellors that are on the SDCC and get them to vote NO.

Petition

Print and pass to Friends and Family to object to the proposed development of 11 units at St. Marks Green, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. We agree and support Social Housing but we object to this site being used on several grounds. These include Mental Health, Increased Traffic, Local amenity etc.

https://www.change.org/petitions/all-clondalkin-area-counsellors-vote-against-proposed-development

We ‘’The St Marks Action Group’’ wish to object to the proposed development of 11 units at St. Marks Green, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. (These are 10 no.3 Bedrooms and 1 no.4 Bedrooms). While we agree with and fully support Social Housing, we strongly object to this site being used on the following grounds:

Play space – The area has a football field that is frequently utilised by the local youth as well as providing a safe, easily supervised area for younger children in the immediate area and from surrounding estates, to play away from traffic.

Mental Health – The rate of suicide is very high in the Clondalkin area.  Open spaces like this are vital to help people relax and escape from oppressive built-up areas. The residents feel the elimination of the green would make the area feel claustrophobic.

Green area – Most of the surrounding residents have lived there for over 30 years and have said the location of the green was an important factor in their decision to buy their respective properties

Community Inclusion – This green provides a focal point and central space for local residents to meet and interact through community activities.

Increased Traffic – the residents are greatly concerned about the increase in traffic in the area.  This includes both construction traffic which will cause major disruption to the local road system, and the subsequent additional residential traffic.   This increased traffic and a subsequent lack of a safe area to play constitutes a dangerous risk to public safety in relation to local children.

We feel that this green is a vital and valuable community resource. There are numerous other undeveloped sites which could be used for social housing which would not have such a majorly detrimental effect on the local community and residents

Yours Sincerely

Francis Timmons Spokesperson Peace Commissioner 0872869315

Madeline Byrne 0876822112

http://www.sdublincoco.ie/index.aspx?pageid=939&pid=26652