Marina's consultation period extended

The developers of the proposed €300 million marina development for Greystones harbour in Co Wicklow have agreed to an extended period of public consultation on the project.

The closing date for objections to the controversial harbour refurbishment proposed by Wicklow County Council and its private sector partner, Sispar consortium, has now been set for February 15th.

In return for the refurbishment of the granite pier harbour, which dates from the late 1800s, and provision of new facilities for existing harbour users, the Sispar consortium is to be allowed to build 375 apartments.

Plans including an environmental impact statement are on view in Greystones library and county council offices.

A spokesman for the project said the decision to extend the public consultation by two weeks was because of the Christmas-New Year holiday. An advertising campaign is also being mounted locally.

The development includes provision for a new Coast Guard station, a new beach area, a public boardwalk and a 230-berth marina with a public slipway.

An Bord Pleanála is expected to hold an oral hearing on the scheme this March. Subject to approval from the board and confirmation of compulsory purchase orders for land adjacent to the foreshore, work could get under way as early as this summer.

Opposition to the project centres on the 375 apartments which the consortium is to be allowed to build in return for the public facilities and refurbishment of the harbour.

Although Sispar has described the apartments as "a maximum height of three storeys over ground floor wharf type retail facilities", a public meeting in Greystones late last year became heated when drawings indicated four storeys above water level with the fourth storey being double height.

Locals claimed the development was effectively five storeys over water level and would obscure existing views of the small Sugarloaf. More than 1,000 people visited the exhibition and almost 250 comment cards were submitted.

Opponents also claim that the three-year construction period would be massively disruptive, with construction vehicles having constricted access to the site under a railway bridge at the harbour, or over a bridge at Trafalgar Road.

However, the project has received support from the Harbour Users' Group and members of the town and county councils, who point out that the current harbour is deteriorating rapidly and attempts to enlist other developers over the past two decades were unsuccessful.

Sispar is a joint venture partnership of John Sisk & Sons, which would undertake the major engineering work, Park Developments, which would build the apartments, and Wicklow County Council, which would provide the land and harbour. As the council is a partner in the venture the planning process is to be adjudicated by An Bord Pleanála.

In addition to the public displays, the environmental impact statement can be viewed on the Wicklow County Council website at www.wicklow.ie/special projects/.

A copy of the complete document can be bought for €50 (or €5 for the CD), or the non-technical summary for €15.