Foxrock facing ‘existential threat,’ residents’ group claims

Foxrock village in Dublin is facing an "existential threat" from a number of proposed high-density developments that will cause "irreversible damage" to the area, a residents' group has claimed.

Hundreds attended a meeting at the pastoral centre of Foxrock Church on Tuesday night where a presentation was made by the Foxrock and Carrickmines Residents’ Association regarding the spate of planned residential schemes which locals say will change the character of the area.

The proposals include the 143-bed Four Winds nursing home and a development of 39 apartments and six houses on a 1.8 acre site on the Glenamuck Road, which have drawn the particular ire of residents, who say Foxrock’s designation as an architectural conservation area is not being respected.

“This is the place of Samuel Beckett. We’ve got Georgian houses, we’ve got low density, one of the highest concentrations of trees in any village, we have stone walls, we have a village feel, we have a village infrastructure,” said association chairman Robin McGhee. “It is very hard to see how any of that can survive the ambitions of the developers.”

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Mr McGhee the completion of the developments could “open the floodgates”.

“We’re standing on a threshold, what happens in the next little while is going to define us forever. We have the risk to visual amenities, there is immense and shocking damage to trees,” he added.

Planning objections

Members of the public spoke from the floor about their concerns regarding traffic, access and trees, and were advised to lodge planning objections and contact their local political representatives about all “unsympathetic and unsuitable” plans.

Members of the resident’s association claimed county planners had “never really liked Foxrock” because its protected status poses certain difficulties, and Mr McGhee said a “conversation” needed to be had with central Government about its planning policy.

“You do not solve a national housing crisis by destroying a tiny, tiny geographic footprint...You do not solve a national nursing home bed crisis by building one of the biggest in the country in a tiny village, that is not good national policy,” he said.

The meeting heard calls for further dialogue with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council regarding its overall development plan and on the protection of architectural conservation areas.

Fianna Fáil councillor Dónal Smith accused the local authority of attempting to "drive a coach and four horses" through Foxrock's heritage status.

The Willis Care Group, which is behind the planned Four Winds nursing home, said the project sets out to provide an "essential service for vulnerable persons" in the locality and will be a valuable residential support.