Dublin CC Vs Residental Gated Park

Firstly, is this a private park or a public park you are talking about?

And, does Dublin City Council own it or does somebody else own it?

@jinx9000 wrote:

Hello,

I’m looking for advice on the best way to handle a situation which my neighbourhood finds itself in!

I live in Smithfield on a quiet street with a small gated park running the lenght of two streaches of terrace houses. Money from HARP became avaiable for renovation work on the park and it’s hundread year old cherry blossom trees were felled in order to make way for ugly paving stones. The remaining park itself was never landscaped (as per the original drawings) and the grass and weeds currently grow as nature intended.

I eventually found out that the CC had the money to complete the heavy landscappping but did not do it, as they felt they would not have the resources to maintain it. The area around the park and the park itself is now a total mess and Dublinn CC have totally washed there hands of it!

I have conveyed this to a local politican but I fell the current work to rule by strongly unionised parts of the CC will refuse to eneteratin any more work on the area.

Any advice on this would be great. Do they break there own planning permission by drawing up and distributing plans to the neighbours about the project and then not adhereing to them ?

Thanks,

Robert!

I’m surprised either Parks Department or the Conservation Officer supported a design that uprooted 100 year old Cherry blossom trees.

The justification in part for the current rash of densification of residential use in new or redeveloped areas was the provision of high quality Public Open Space.

Its important that you hold the Council to account in this matter.

Don’t just write to one politician – that’s not how the systems works, especially if he’s a marginal seat, an independent or a minority party.

You have to moither all of them, particularly the ones in government.

I was up there in Smithfield in the Light House Cinema last evening at the AAI Awards, nearly all of which were for houses, extensions to house, social and affordable housing, etc.

There is a huge pool of talent out there ate the moment.
We are getting screwed by the government and councils who aren’t proceeding with approved schemes like this one.
Then we’re being gutted by the banks, for not being able to repay loans, and by clients – including the said government- who won’t pay us for work done.

Phone or write or e-mail every local T.D.
Complain, complain, complain until you get your way.

Here is a link to my recent post about contacting them via e-mail
https://archiseek.com/content/showpost.php?p=106288&postcount=5.

Here is the List of Email addresses for TD’s of the 30th Dáil as a group:

taoiseach@taoiseach.gov.ie, bertie.ahern@oireachtas.ie, michael.ahern@oireachtas.ie, noel.ahern@oireachtas.ie, bernard.allen@oireachtas.ie, chris.andrews@oireachtas.ie, barry.andrews@oireachtas.ie, sean.ardagh@oireachtas.ie, bobby.aylward@oireachtas.ie, james.bannon@oireachtas.ie, sean.barrett@oireachtas.ie, joe.behan@oireachtas.ie, john.browne@oireachtas.ie, aine.brady@oireachtas.ie, cyprian.brady@oireachtas.ie, johnny.brady@oireachtas.ie, pat.breen@oireachtas.ie, thomas.p.broughan@oireachtas.ie, niall.blaney@oireachtas.ie, richard.bruton@oireachtas.ie, ulick.burke@oireachtas.ie, joan.burton@oireachtas.ie, catherine.byrne@oireachtas.ie, thomas.byrne@oireachtas.ie, niall.collins@oireachtas.ie, pat.carey@oireachtas.ie, joe.carey@oireachtas.ie, deirdre.clune@oireachtas.ie, dara.calleary@oireachtas.ie, margaret.conlon@oireachtas.ie, paul.connaughton@oireachtas.ie, sean.connick@oireachtas.ie, mary.coughlan@oireachtas.ie, michael.creed@oireachtas.ie, joe.costello@oireachtas.ie, simon.coveney@oireachtas.ie, brian.lenihan@oireachtas.ie, seymour.crawford@oireachtas.ie, noel.coonan@oireachtas.ie, john.cregan@oireachtas.ie, lucinda.creighton@oireachtas.ie, jimmy.devins@oireachtas.ie, mary.hanafin@oireachtas.ie, john.curran@oireachtas.ie, michael.darcy@oireachtas.ie, john.deasy@oireachtas.ie, jimmy.deenihan@oireachtas.ie, ciaran.cuffe@oireachtas.ie, noel.dempsey@oireachtas.ie, timmy.dooley@oireachtas.ie, andrew.doyle@oireachtas.ie, bernard.durkan@oireachtas.ie, damien.english@oireachtas.ie, michael.fitzpatrick@oireachtas.ie, frank.fahey@oireachtas.ie, frank.feighan@oireachtas.ie, martin.ferris@oireachtas.ie, michael.finneran@oireachtas.ie, olwyn.enright@oireachtas.ie, charles.flanagan@oireachtas.ie, terence.flanagan@oireachtas.ie, sean.fleming@oireachtas.ie, beverley.flynn@oireachtas.ie, paul.gogarty@oireachtas.ie, john.gormley@oireachtas.ie, martin.cullen@oireachtas.ie, micheal.martin@oireachtas.ie, noel.grealish@oireachtas.ie, eamon.gilmore@oireachtas.ie, mary.harney@oireachtas.ie, brendan.howlin@oireachtas.ie, brian.hayes@oireachtas.ie, tom.hayes@oireachtas.ie, Jackie.Healy.Rae@oireachtas.ie, michael.higgins@oireachtas.ie, maire.hoctor@oireachtas.ie, philip.hogan@oireachtas.ie, sean.haughey@oireachtas.ie, paul.kehoe@oireachtas.ie, billy.kelleher@oireachtas.ie, peter.kelly@oireachtas.ie, brendan.kenneally@oireachtas.ie, michael.kennedy@oireachtas.ie, enda.kenny@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie, tom.kitt@oireachtas.ie, michael.kitt@oireachtas.ie, conor.lenihan@oireachtas.ie, michael.lowry@oireachtas.ie, kathleen.lynch@oireachtas.ie, tom.mcellistrim@oireachtas.ie, martin.mansergh@oireachtas.ie, minister@dfa.ie, padraic.mccormack@oireachtas.ie, jim.mcdaid@oireachtas.ie, ciaran.lynch@oireachtas.ie, shane.mcentee@oireachtas.ie, dinny.mcginley@oireachtas.ie, mattie.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie, michael.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie, finian.mcgrath@oireachtas.ie, brendan.smith@oireachtas.ie, john.moloney@oireachtas.ie, joe.mchugh@oireachtas.ie, liz.mcmanus@oireachtas.ie, olivia.mitchell@oireachtas.ie, john.mcguinness@oireachtas.ie, arthur.morgan@oireachtas.ie, michael.moynihan@oireachtas.ie, michael.mulcahy@oireachtas.ie, denis.naughten@oireachtas.ie, sean.ofearghail@oireachtas.ie, mj.nolan@oireachtas.ie, michael.noonan@oireachtas.ie, caoimhghin.ocaolain@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ocuiv@oireachtas.ie, batt.okeeffe@oireachtas.ie, daniel.neville@oireachtas.ie, aengus.osnodaigh@oireachtas.ie, darragh.obrien@oireachtas.ie, charlie.oconnor@oireachtas.ie, kieran.odonnell@oireachtas.ie, john.odonoghue@oireachtas.ie, fergus.odowd@oireachtas.ie, noel.oflynn@oireachtas.ie, rory.ohanlon@oireachtas.ie, willie.odea@oireachtas.ie, jim.okeeffe@oireachtas.ie, ned.okeeffe@oireachtas.ie, john.omahony@oireachtas.ie, maureen.osullivan@oireachtas.ie, sean.power@oireachtas.ie, brian.oshea@oireachtas.ie, christy.osullivan@oireachtas.ie, jan.osullivan@oireachtas.ie, willie.penrose@oireachtas.ie, john.perry@oireachtas.ie, mary.orourke@Oireachtas.ie, peter.power@oireachtas.ie, ruairi.quinn@oireachtas.ie, pat.rabbitte@oireachtas.ie, james.reilly@oireachtas.ie, alan.shatter@oireachtas.ie, dick.roche@oireachtas.ie, eamon.ryan@oireachtas.ie, trevor.sargent@oireachtas.ie, eamon.scanlon@oireachtas.ie, michael.ring@oireachtas.ie, pj.sheehan@oireachtas.ie, sean.sherlock@oireachtas.ie, tom.sheahan@oireachtas.ie, roisin.shortall@oireachtas.ie, emmet.stagg@oireachtas.ie, david.stanton@oireachtas.ie, billy.timmins@oireachtas.ie, joanna.tuffy@oireachtas.ie, noel.treacy@oireachtas.ie, mary.upton@oireachtas.ie, michael.woods@oireachtas.ie, jack.wall@oireachtas.ie, mary.wallace@oireachtas.ie, marya.white@oireachtas.ie, leo.varadkar@oireachtas.ie,

Hand deliver your messages to government or e-mail all of them at once using this list.

thanks for the replies!

i’m sure DCC own it! but only people along the park have keys to open the locked gates!

after i complained to the lord mayor(ess), the CC came down and cleaned up the rubbish and gave the grass a cut. It has gone form 1/10 to 5/10, but still no landscaping.

i plan to email the mayor again and get some update. then to send some more emails off to local counsellors. I am also thing of making a complaint to the ombudsman in relation to mis-appropriation of the funds which were ear marrked for the park (is this a wise decision?)

http://www.ombudsman.gov.ie/en/

with an election coming up, i will be giving any poor soul both barrells when they call at my door! i realise in the whole scale of things (swimming pools being closed etc) this is small, but it’s bugging me becasue they had the money but refused to spend it for the sake of 2/3 hours a month looking after costs (they pulled a total scam essentially).

i shall keep you updated! my hope is to tag the work onto the smithfield sqaure enhancement!

Re: the trees!

when trees need to get cut down, the council get some guy to say there unhealthy and thats it, they go! it’s another pure made up scam of getting what they want to happen!

40 years is generally a maximum for cherry trees in Ireland. Any which live longer than this are as rare as a hens tooth. They suffer from internal rot, canker and about the widest viariety of aboreal diseases of any tree (most of which may be internal) which is why the Council is often forced to cut them down, even when they look sound from the outside. In my experience Parks Departments generally dont cut down trees without there being a reason.

I would think that pressure on the Parks Department via elected members is the way to go regarding the re-landscaping of your local space.

Or alternatively you could explore doing what Kaethe Burt-O’Dea did with the Sitric Compost Community Garden in Stoneybatter, and take it over as a community space. The Council might even encourage this.

If you could get around the public liability insurance issue then I think this would be a really positive way forward; this is far from the only plot in the City having this issue. Money will be tight going forward but if a critical mass of locals were prepared to get involved it would give Councillors great photo opps at a very modest cost.

thanks for balancing out my rant about the cherry blossoms! And TBH the light I get in my front room is way better (but i would still like that old tree back)

my main angst is that the money was there for the job to be fully completed, but as with so many government decision these days, the politics of the machine throws the spanner!

DCC curently spend 3 hr’s every 2 months looking after the Park. With it landscaped it would take (or only be expected) to be 6 hours per 2 months!

It’s not a whole lot, but nobody wants more work to do with the ‘work to rule’ and employment embargo’s currently awash in the public sector!

Taking private ownership is not an option. This is inner city dublin where people are either on pensions or just keeping their heads above water. I’ve said to the Mayor that i’ll have no problem stumping up some cash to see this happen but I don’t really want to look after it, I just want what was promised.

I’m thinking about the Ombadsman route, there just around the corner from where I work, so I may nip in next week for a chat (and run that concurrently with the local politicains angle also)!

I know deep down that the DCC guy is just stonewalling hoping the hassle witll go away………..unfortunalty for him, it ain’t 😉

Just looking at this:

http://www.dublin.ie/uploadedFiles/City_Development_Board/RHS_Panel/FINAL%20City%20Guide%20to%20Community%20Gardening.pdf

Update! Ended up contacting 3 local councillors and they got onto the DCC and they begrudingly agreed to put some plants in! They did a 3/10 job just to keep me happy, which I suppose it did!

I’m now going to try and put the rest in myself with clones I’m growing from other DCC gardens and plants which i’ve bought!