Poolbeg plan flawed, says ESB

The ESB, the Dublin Port Company and Ibec have criticised Dublin City Council's plans for the development of the Poolbeg Peninsula in a report to be brought before southeast area councillors on Monday.

The three organisations were among 165 groups and individuals to make submissions to the council's Draft Poolbeg Framework Plan in the consultation period which ended last March.

A report on the submissions to the plan for a 10-15 year development of a €1.5 billion "town" on the peninsula - to include more than 3,000 homes, industrial/office space, and cultural and amenity lands - and the manager's response to the submissions will be put to the councillors.

However, despite claims from the ESB that the plan is flawed and misleading, and submissions from the Dublin Port Company and Ibec that it fails to recognise the importance of the port, the manager's report recommends few changes to the draft plan.

In its submission the ESB says the Poolbeg Peninsula is a vital location for power generation for the entire State. The plan is "flawed", it says, in that it fails to recognise the need to protect utilities of national importance.

The plan proposes uses for ESB-owned lands, without regard to the company's operational needs, and gives a "misleading impression of future use" by suggesting that the land could house amenity/cultural facilities.

"[ The plan] should be corrected to emphasise that future use is for electricity generation. No other land-use objectives should be shown for these areas."

The manager's response states that, while the importance of electricity utilities is recognised, a "21st-century utility plan" would accommodate future ESB development.

However, it says some ESB operations are on lands "where the long-term development will be based on a cultural theme".

The Dublin Port Company, one of the biggest landowners in the Poolbeg area, has on several occasions expressed a reluctance to release lands for uses not related to traditional port activities.

It notes that the framework plan indicates the industrial activity of the port is likely to be subject to consolidation and possible relocation. "Such a premise is without foundation, and the framework plan will cumulatively fail if they continue to treat the operational Dublin Port lands as expendable, redundant brownfield lands that are in some way footloose."

The company has a statutory obligation to provide facilities and lands for ships, goods and passengers, it says, and the framework plan is at variance with that obligation.

The manager's report states not all of the port lands are related to the statutory role and that there is an "international trend" for the development of new neighbourhoods in port areas "and Dublin is no exception".