Ranelagh residents oppose council playground plan

A group of Ranelagh residents are objecting to Dublin City Council's plans to built a €70,000 children's playground in a historic park in the village.

Contractors are due to start work this week on the playground for two-to-seven-year-olds at Ranelagh Gardens Park in Dublin 6.

However, a group of local residents say the playground, which is to be located in the centre of the park, is in the wrong place, will cause disturbance to elderly people in a nearby senior citizens’ complex and could pose a danger to young children.

The council originally proposed the playground in the park, which dates from 1775 and was the location of the first hot air balloon flight in Ireland, three years ago. At that time the facility was to be built in the far north corner of the park abutting the Luas bridge.

Further discussion

However, in the plans approved by the council in July 2015 the playground had moved closer to the centre of the park between a large pond and the Ranelagh Close senior citizens’ complex.

“A large number of people in the community are strongly opposed to this location change. We have asked the council to defer the work to allow further discussion but they are intransigent and won’t defer,” Lee Dillon, spokeswoman for the group opposing the council’s plan said.

“We have been given no explanation for why the original proposed location was changed. Putting the playground right in the centre of a historic park will change negatively and permanently the nature of the park, and putting a playground for small children right beside a pond is a strange decision,” she said.

Noise concerns

Sinn Féin councillor Chris Andrews said the senior citizens were concerned about the noise that would be created by the playground.

“The local people here are having this playground almost pressed on them, when there are lots of other places crying out for a playground,” he said.

Fianna Fáil councillor Claire O’Connor said a three-month deferral of the work would allow all sides to achieve a reasonable resolution.

A spokesman for the council said consultation had gone on for a considerable length of time and contracts had been signed for the work to start. “To change the plan now would mean you are back to square one.”