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The SaveAirfield 2005 Campaign:

 

28th February, 2005

At a meeting of the Dundrum Area Committee (of county councillors) in the County Council Offices in Dundrum, it was agreed that proposals for the Sandyford Link Road would go to Part 8 stage – public consultation.  The SaveAirfield Campaign was extremely worried about the effect this proposed road would have on the estate – land would be lost to CPO, it would ruin the quiet rural character of the south-eastern end of the estate and it could also open up the lower fields (currently zoned residential) to building development. 

 

2nd April, 2005

The SaveAirfield Campaign issued the following statement:-

We are pleased that Cllr Jim O’Leary and Cllr Gearoid O’Keeffe have offered to propose a Section 13 Variation Motion in Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and that they have managed to garner cross-party support.  If the motion succeeds, all Airfield land will be zoned “Objective F – Open Space”.  However, this motion alone may not be enough to protect Airfield in perpetuity – there will be another Development Plan in a few years’ time.  Land can be zoned back again.  We will continue to work for even more effective protection for Airfield.  We want the day to come when it would be as unthinkable to erode Airfield land as to propose building apartments in the Phoenix Park or demolishing the railings of St. Stephen’s Green to widen the road.   We will also continue to work to ensure that the proposed Sandyford Link Road does not go ahead.                     Angela Lemass         Rose Mary Logue

 

 

7th April, 2005

Around 400 people crowded into Taney Parish Hall on 7th April to attend a meeting organised in connection with the proposed Dundrum/Sandyford Link Road.  4 TDs – Eamon Ryan, Olivia Mitchell, Liz O’Donnell and Tom Kitt – attended in addition to several local councillors.  Eamon Ryan TD chaired the meeting and outlined plans for the road, which appears to be badly engineered.  He also made proposals that would alleviate the traffic congestion in Sandyford Industrial Estate without resorting to the Link Road.  Presentations were made on behalf of Balally Residents’ Association (John O’Hanlon), Holywell Residents’ Associations (Brendan Roantree) and SaveAirfield Campaign (Rose Mary Logue).*   All political representatives also spoke and expressed opinions against the road going ahead, with some reservations.  They all agreed that Airfield must be saved.   We are extremely grateful to the Green Party who kindly offered to organise this meeting and to Eamon Ryan for chairing it.

* see “The Campaign” for text of RML’s speech.

 

 The following resolution was proposed and passed (with one dissenting voice):

 

 

SaveAirfield Campaign proposal to the Meeting – 7th April, 2005:

 

This meeting calls on Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Countil to reject plans for the Sandyford Link Road, in the short or long term.  It asks that the Council ensure that the house and lands at Airfield are protected in perpetuity in line with the wishes of the late Miss Letitia and Miss Naomi Overend.

 

 

 

24th April, 2005

The following is the text of an e-mail sent to those on the Save Airfield Database and delivered to houses in the area:

 

Text Box: You are probably one of those who helped save Airfield last year by persuading Councillors to zone most of it “Open Space” in the 2004 Development Plan. We are making contact with you again in the hope that you will help save the Overends’ estate again by sending another submission to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council. You may have heard that Council officials have plans in hand for a new road – the Sandyford Link Road. It will run from the Gannon Apartments opposite Dundrum Town Centre, over the Luas, along the southern boundary of Airfield and over the Drummartin Link Road to Blackthorn Drive in Sandyford Industrial Estate. See www.dlrcoco.ie for details. The road will: · expose the southern border of the estate, removing the hedgerow which is a`n important wildlife corridor · ruin the quiet rural character of the south-eastern part of the farm · cause the loss of one of the 37 remaining acres of Airfield land · more seriously, it will open up the estate to the danger of building development. Three fields that border the area in danger of CPO retain residential zoning. The County Manager has said these fields are essential to satisfy the requirements of the housing strategy and the need to provide residential development under the 2004 Development Plan. People living in the locality are not convinced of the Council’s argument that the road is necessary to relieve traffic congestion. They are concerned that it appears Dundrum Town Centre funded the feasibility study for the road and that it is being proposed to facilitate development of apartments in Sandyford Industrial Estate. There are serious worries about the effect it will have on residents of Holywell, Balally and Lakelands but especially about the danger it poses to Airfield. We are asking you to do 2 things: 1. write a letter to Declan McCulloch, Senior Executive Officer, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, County Hall, Dun Laoghaire objecting to proposals for the road – no fee required and each individual in the household may send a separate submission. Alternatively, send your submission by e-mail to planning@dlrcoco.ie Note that closing date is Friday, 6th May. 2. Send this e-mail to those in your address book who you think may be interested and discuss its contents with those who don’t have e-mail. You saved Airfield in 2004 – you can do it again in 2005. Please do it now! Angela Lemass, Ph. 298 5129 Rose Mary Logue, Ph. 298 3881 See our website www.SaveAirfield.com May, 2005:

The SaveAirfield Campaign was very happy to announce details of submissions sent to Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council were as follows:-

 

Total:              1,203

            In Support:         202

             Against:             996 (including one petition with 960 signatures)

Unclear or making points for and against :   5

41 submissions were received after the closing date of the 6th May. All except 3 object to the road.

 

This gave the County Councillors a clear indication of the wishes of the people that they do not want the Sandyford Link Road to go ahead.