New £10m Dun Laoghaire marina proposed

A planning application for a £10 million, 680-berth marina to be built in Dun Laoghaire Harbour has been lodged with Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council. The plan is due to be debated by the council's planning, development and tourism committee this afternoon.

The application, on behalf of the State-owned Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company, envisages an international-class marina with two breakwaters between the West Pier and the ferry terminal, marina service buildings, an amenity area, a boat hoist, car-parking facilities and improvements to the public slipway.

Preparatory work on the application was funded by a £300,000 grant from the Department of the Marine in 1996. Before leaving office earlier this year the then minister for the marine, Mr Sean Barrett, allocated £3 million for the provision of the breakwaters.

Mr Barrett, a Fine Gael TD for Dun Laoghaire, told The Irish Times yesterday that the purpose of the project was to attract "highquality international tourism". When completed, the marina would have the capacity to host international sailing competitions and would have considerable commercial spin-off in terms of boat maintenance and facilities. Mr Barrett said the challenge of the project was to establish the marina without interference to other harbour users. "The plan is to maximise the leisure activity available in the harbour. There will probably be no more commercial activity given that the ferry terminal is already in place and further container traffic is unlikely. Future development will place emphasis on leisure, and this marina will be on a par with anything in these islands."

Funding for the development is expected to come from a mixture of grants and contributions from boat-owners who may be asked to lease a berth for a period of up to five years. The five existing yacht clubs in Dun Laoghaire, along with other interested groups, have been consulted by the Harbour Board and, since its establishment, the Dun Laoghaire Harbour Company. An initial exhibition of the likely application was displayed earlier this year.

However, a note of caution has been sounded by Mr John O'Sullivan, of An Taisce, who said the project "seems very large in relation to the 500 berths mentioned in the original scheme".

Mr O'Sullivan said there already was a car-parking and traffic problem in the area and such a project would "suck in more people and the question is where to put their cars".

He also said the potential for conflict with other harbour users was enormous and "one would have to question why the harbour should be turned into one big boat park". The cathaoirleach of Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Mr Donal Marren, said the plans seemed to indicate that St Michael's Rowing Club, located in the Coal Harbour, was likely to be inconvenienced by the marina and would have its practice area severely restricted. "But they will be accommodated and given new space, possibly in the area of the East Pier. Anybody who would be inconvenienced would be catered for and I feel that there would be general acceptance of the project," he said.

However, while the expanded slipway and the provision of a boat hoist are likely to be given a broad welcome, the issue of traffic and parking will probably pose most difficulty.

A local group using the slogan "Dun Lorry No Thanks" has already successfully opposed the unloading of all of Stena Line's ro-ro freight. Despite this, considerable traffic now builds up at Crofton Road when vehicles unload from the ferry.

To cope with this, the plan identifies a possible new access to the harbour adjacent to the Salthill apartments complex, with a bridge across the DART line, connecting with existing harbour roads in the vicinity of the West Pier. Improvements to the existing bridge over the DART line opposite Crawfords Garage are also indicated, while sites in Dun Laoghaire town have been identified for possible car-parking.