Council to debate transfer of Dodder walkway

A proposal to give just under half an acre of public land to the developers of the new 50,000-seater Lansdowne Road stadium is to be put to Dublin city councillors today.

The Lansdowne Road Stadium Development Company (LRSDC) was granted planning permission for the stadium by An Bord Pleanála just over a week ago. However, it must secure a strip of land along the side of the River Dodder before the development can go ahead.

The 0.17-hectare section of the Dodder walkway is public land and can only be disposed of by the agreement of the councillors. LRSDC is anxious to secure the land as quickly as possible so it can meet construction deadlines.

The council management is recommending that the land be given to LRSDC in exchange for improvement works to the Dodder walkway, rather than selling the land to the company for cash. In his report to the southeast area councillors today, assistant city manager Michael Stubbs suggests that the improvement works would cost not less than €1.5 million.

The development company is also seeking a 40sq m plot of land, also owned by the council, to the rear of houses at 49 and 50 O'Connell Gardens. Mr Stubbs recommends this should be sold for €80,000.

The councillors are largely in favour of the new stadium, but they have said they will not dispose of the land until compensation is agreed for the O'Connell Gardens residents, who will be worst-affected. The O'Connell Gardens Boundary Group objected to the stadium on the grounds that it would completely overshadow their houses.

In a letter to councillors yesterday, LRSDC said it was willing to negotiate a settlement with the boundary group but it would be "impossible" to negotiate separate packages for each resident concerned.

"What we are happy to do is to provide a substantial fund which would be divided out, in whatever way proportions are agreed, between the 21 household that constitute the boundary group."

The letter will be considered by councillors in conjunction with representatives of the residents group, but most councillors have said they will not be in a position to grant the disposal at the South East Area Committee meeting today. They are likely to defer the matter until the next meeting in May.

LRSDC is pushing for an earlier decision to meet its construction deadlines. The construction of the stadium will require the closure of the Dart for two weekends. Iarnród Éireann has agreed to this as long as the weekend closures fall on bank holiday weekends when the Dart is less busy. LRSDC had initially targeted t-he St Patrick's Day and Easter weekends, but was not granted planning permission in time.