Reply To: Senator McSharry – defender of democratic purity
Lads,
All this sounds very interesting, but to be honest I’m having to imagine the scenario…any chance of before/after drawings being posted…for both schemes? Or is there somewhere I can look at them?
ALAN_D…what was the architectural quality of the first scheme like?…the actual quality…you mention that this area is pretty much
The idea of the second scheme requiring a pedestrian link from the first makes me imagine that the first was on a main street, whereas the second was in backlands. This suggests two things…
1. The urban affect of the first scheme would probably have a large impact on the overall quality/impression of the second (if it is its main access)
2. Quite possibly the first scheme is more important than your scheme from Sligo’s POV as it would be seen/used by more people if it is on a more main street.
3. Therefore your scheme being great simply isn’t good enough reason for the go-ahead for the first scheme…I mean, for all the Planners know, your scheme might never happen for financial reasons or whatever and Sligo would be stuck with the first scheme.
If a building was protechted mid-design, that’s particulary bad luck…I’m a bit rusty here, who lists/delists buildings? Do the councillors have a say??
ALAN_D…if I read correctly, you are working in Scotland, and aren’t Irish? Perhaps just to explain the attitude of some of the others…Ireland has a pretty dreadful attitude to conservation/heritage/environment…refer to the recent posting by DC3…he gets it right…heritage in Rep Ireland just isn’t held in a high place. YOU’RE coming from Scotland/UK where all those things are held in FAR HIGHER esteem than here. Personally I would probably rather see no development happen, than see development happen PURELY BECAUSE THE AREA IS RUNDOWN…ie a ‘something is better than nothing’ attitude. This is just simply incorrect most of the time.
Take for example the Dublin quays…the planners in their wisdom in the 80s/90s granted various ZOE developments that are simply dreadful (some have more-than-Venetian design of windows about 1m away from a wall!). This was done because it was felt that that would ‘bring the area up’. So now, 10/20 years later, we are left with shitty quays that will probably be there for another few hundred years. IF or some of the original buildings had been left, interspersed with good quality architecture, obviously that would have been so much better (the ZOE schemes take up entire city blocks)…or if a whole block of a city, onto its most important aspect (the river) is to taken over by a scheme, the very least that should happen is that scheme should be top class…and that would have happened sooner or later…I would far rather the planners had simply bid their time until a sufficiently decent (i’m not talking world-class or anything here) scheme came along, even if the existing buildings had to deteriorate for another 10/20 years…because it’s going to be around for a LONG LONG time.
Perhaps the same with this case…in 2 years time, another scheme will be submitted, will be far superior, Alan_d’s scheme will go ahead and the citizens of Sligo town will experience quality architecture for the next several generations…for the sake of 2 years or whatever.
The adjoining developer has written in the local press that he is so annoyed at the way he has been treated that he’s finished with the whole thing and is walking away.
Of course he’s going to say that…that’s how things work…getting the people, gets the councillors, gets the pressure on the planners…
As Diaspora says…An Bord Pleanála are grown up boys now…they can make up their own minds…An Taisce simply used their expertise and submitted a report…in a court case, would you expect one side not to have their barrister plead their side of the case? It’s for the judge/jury then to decide. The barrister isn’t the one you should be blaming for a bad decision (as you see it)…that’s the judge. The people to blame are ABP, and whoever decided to suddenly protect the Teeling House…not An Taisce.
