Developers to draw up plans for Station and Docks

Date Published: 19-Jan-2010

CONCERNS have been expressed by councillors that a developer would draw up a masterplan for Ceannt Station and the Docks instead of the planners.

And they have also questioned how the planners proposed to include more retail space in the new city development plan in those areas despite the proliferation of empty shops throughout the city.

The draft city development plan includes a clause which states that a master plan will be prepared for both sites to address critical issues, including transport requirements, urban design, maximum building heights, an appropriate mix of residential, retail and public amenities on the sites and its architectural heritage.

It was clarified at Friday’s special meeting to discuss the draft plan that it was the developer rather than the council which would create the framework plan. This would then form part of the application, which would be submitted to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) rather than to the City Council under the national Strategic Infrastructure Development Legislation. ABP would consult with the council before making its final decision to grant or refuse planning permission.

However Cllr Catherine Connolly (Ind) said CIE, the owners of Ceannt Station, had shown “utter contempt” in their refusal to come before the chamber to consult over plans for the site.

“You might as well hand over the city to the developer chosen by CIE. This company will draw up a plan with no regard to the elected members,” she remarked.

She queried why it was not the council which would draw up the plan to meet the needs of the people rather than the commercial interests of a private company.

City Manager Joe MacGrath said councillors would have an opportunity to shape the plan as ABP were obliged to consult with the council. The planners had also been in talks with CIE in recent weeks about the site.

Cllr Connolly said under the plan, more retail space would be created. However the council should instead concentrate on a strategy to fill empty retail units in the city centre and building new ones in underserviced suburbs.

“We are now justifying a plan drawn up by developers for profit to provide more retail space instead of drawing up our own. We’re playing around with words. The city is losing shop after shop, yet we’re saying we need more retail space in Ceannt Station,” she stated.

Cllr Padraig Conneely (FG) said ten shops had closed between Eglinton and Francis Streets since the downturn, which did not project a good image of the city to visitors.

Cllr Colette Connolly (Lab) said the projected population of 90,000 by 2017 should be revised downwards. Planning permission for commercial and retail space should be restricted to stop the closure of established businesses.

Cllr Tom Costello (Lab) said the city centre was dying and unless the business community put forward a plan to rejuvenate the area its entire future appeared to be dependent on the success of Ceannt Station and the docks.

Cllr Niall McNelis said as a retailer himself he was certain there was enough shop units in the city.

Mayor Declan McDonnell said the developments at Ceannt Station and the harbour would bring more people to the city and create hundreds of jobs so the council should stop making negative comments about the sites.

Senior planner Caroline Phelan said unless the city responded to the demand for retail sites, businesses would leapfrog to other destinations. There was 14% retail space currently empty in the city, which was better than in Limerick and Dublin, which had 25% vacancy rates.

The plan stated there was a requirement for any redevelopment to accommodate and front-load a significantly upgraded transportation hub on the 5.8 hectare station site. This would safeguard any concerns that the transport element of the new building was not its primary purpose.