SANDYCOVE AND GLASTHULE RESIDENTS ASSOCIATION
RESIDENTS MEETING 15TH NOVEMBER 2010
A cold November night certainly didn’t deter a sizeable gathering at our Autumn Residents Meeting on Monday 15th November at St. Joseph’s Pastoral Centre.. Also in attendance were local councilors, Stephen Fitzpatrick, John Bailey, Mary Mitchell O’Connor, and Richard Boyd Barrett. Apologies were received from Jane Dillon Byrne and Cormac Devlin.
To start the evening we had a short presentation from local student Bart O’Doherty who is doing a study on redevelopment at the seafront. He is hoping to get e-mail addresses in order to canvass people’s opinions.
Several hours were spent discussing the main issues exercising residents at the present time.
Chairperson, Kay Gleeson, read out a letter received from Imogen Stewart expressing her concern at the very poor conditions of the shrubbery at Otranto Place. What was once an asset to the area has sadly descended into a dilapidated state. Kay Gleeson has been in touch]h with Tom Byrne of the parks department and it was agreed that the Council could do some of the major clearing work if volunteers would undertake to keep the site weeded and looking neat and tidy.
Another winter is upon us and still nothing has been done about the flooding problem in Glasthule. Several Councillors pointed out that there was hope of work starting soon on a temporary solution with a more permanent one several years in the future.
Parking is becoming a major source of annoyance to residents with permits being issued to householders who already have driveways. These permits are then used to take up spaces of residents who need them. There seems no easy solution to this problem and it seems destined to stay with us and indeed may worsen in the future.
One possible solution could be if we all took up cycling and several speakers suggested that the bike rental scheme in Dublin should be extended to Dun Laoghaire. Cllr. Stephen Fitzpatrick commented that with the present economic downturn it would be hard to get advertisers to sponsor such a scheme just now. He is however to quiz the county manager on the matter.
Yet again, the age-old problem of the No. 8 bus and its unavailability was raised. There is still no direct way to get to St. Vincent’s Hospital by public transport. Cllr. Richard Boyd Barrett suggested that direct action by concerned residents seemed the only way to get Dublin Bus to take notice.
New plans for the Baths are due to be displayed shortly in the County Hall. Residents were urged to view them and give their opinions. The expectation is that they should mostly give us what was always wanted in the first place. It waits to be seen.
As in our last meeting the problem of derelict sites was raised. The sad site of the old Presentation playing fields was particularly mentioned. Due to anti social behaviour here the fire brigade was recently called to put out a fire. The padlock, put there by residents, had to be broken and ever since the gate has been lying open. Efforts to get Ben Dunne take responsibility and secure the site has been in vain. Could we exert more pressure and perhaps allow the field be used for local children?
Plans for the old fisherman’s hut at Sandycove beach were also discussed. Now that it is under the control of the Council several suggestions were made for its use. The most popular was for a W.C. which is badly needed at the beach during the summer months.
A lot of burglaries have been reported in the area over recent months. Many of them apparently committed by the same character who has been in and out of the courts. Residents are warned to be more vigilant than usual.
Having raised all these topics of concern and at Bob Waddell’s suggestion and with their consent it was decided to give Councillors individual responsibility for key issues. They could then report back to the association on any progress they would have made on them. These were:
Mary Mitchell O’Connor……Anti Social Behaviour, Children’s Facilities and ‘Pres Field.”
John Bailey…………………..Traffic and Parking
Richard Boyd Barrett……….Glasthule Flooding and Baths
Cormac Devlin………………Unfinished Sites, Planning and Rates
Stephen Fitzpatrick………….Public Transport and Bicycle Scheme
Jane Dillon Byrne……………Seafront, W.C. Facilities, Otranto Place Garden
All looked forward to our next meeting when, hopefully, we would have some feedback on these issues from Councillors.
The evening finished with a glass or two of wine and chat. Residents took this as an opportunity for a private talk with Councillors.
