THE original Croke Park redevelopment plan has been given the go-ahead by Dublin Corporation. This means that the Canal End reconstruction will nob proceed as phase two of the project rather than phase four.

The significance of this decision is that the Hill 16 terrace will not now be demolished within the next year as the planned sequence of development has been upheld.

That sequence was initially overturned because the planning authorities had wanted the half of the ground made up of the Cusack or New Stand and Hill 16 terrace to be completed before work started on the Canal End/Hogan Stand side. Behind the stipulation was concern over the provision of new access and egress areas on the Canal End - concern that has obviously been allayed.

Appealing against the order to vary the original plans has, however, cost the GAA a fair bit of time in their building programme. It had been envisaged that work on phase two would commence after last year's All-Ireland finals, but the appeal forced the alteration of that timetable.

Before Christmas, director general Liam Mulvihill had expressed some hope that the deadline of partial rebuilding before this year's All-Irelands would be met. This is now most unlikely as even without a third-party appeal to An Bord Pleanala, the redevelopment would constitute too tight a construction schedule.

Phase one of the redevelopment, the New Stand, cost in the region of £35 million. Phase two, it is estimated, will cost over £20 million and raise the capacity of the Canal End from 12,000 standing to 20,000 seated. The decision to require the seating of Hill 16 has not been revoked, but it will not now have to be addressed for nearly 10 years.