Dún Laoghaire council to vote on baths plan

Councillors in Dún Laoghaire are tonight due to discuss the controversial plan to develop the local derelict baths site.

They will consider a plan drawn up by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council architects to develop the old Victorian baths on Queen's Road. The eight-storey proposal includes 180 apartments with coffee bars, restaurants, a waterworld and indoor leisure complex, a 25-metre pool, seaweed baths and other leisure and sports facilities.

A 10-storey glass tower "lighthouse" with a viewing platform and the reclamation of 5.5 acres of foreshore for a maritime park is also proposed.

There has been considerable opposition to the development, with two public demonstrations drawing large crowds.

Some local people have complained that the structure would destroy the view and "privatise" what should be strictly a public amenity. The council, however, has argued that the site must be developed and they do not have the funds to develop it themselves.

The issue was to have been considered at last month's council meeting but was postponed pending responses to questions put by councillors to county manager Derek Brady. If the plan does go to a vote this evening it is likely to be very close.

The six Dún Laoghaire ward councillors, reflecting the wishes of their constituents, will probably vote against the plan. The Green Party members have also pledged to oppose it and some Fine Gael councillors have expressed concerns. However, it could be passed by a combination of other councillors.

In 2003 a 19-storey public-private partnership plan for the baths was rejected by councillors. If they accept the current plan this evening, there will be a public consultation process and possibly an oral hearing, with An Bord Pleanála having the final say. There was speculation last night that the county manager may bring forward a modified plan with possible reduction in height which could be more acceptable to councillors.

Meanwhile, a motion to begin procedures to rezone land at Airfield Estate in Dundrum may also be considered at the meeting.

Fianna Fáil councillors Trevor Matthews, Tony Fox, Maria Corrigan, Gerry Horkan, Larry Butler, Cormac Devlin and Barry Conway have proposed that part of the lands at the house and farm be rezoned from residential to open space.

Local residents had feared that a proposed new road, the Sandyford Industrial Estate Link Road, would make this area of the estate vulnerable to development.

If the motion is accepted under current legislation, councillors will be obliged to earmark an alternative site to rezone for residential development in the county. It is understood that they may consider rezoning the former Irish Glass Bottle Company sports grounds on Goatstown Road.