Save our Seafront
Save our Seafront is a community organisation established in 2002 based in Dun Laoghaire.
It is committed to protecting our coastal & marine environment and also to preserving our foreshore
in public ownership for the access & enjoyment of the people of Ireland
Submission
to
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Planning Department
on
Planning Application Ref No D13A/0682 - Additional Information
“Urban Beach & Floating Pool Facility”Berth 1 East Pier Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Further to our original submission of 1 February 2014 objecting to this proposal (copied below), having perused the additional information & photomontages recently provided we wish to comment as follows:
² We note the proposal to reduce the number of structures from eight to five and their overall height by up to a metre by reducing roof pitch; also to remove two structures & some canopies/barriers in off-season.
² However, our original objections in principle to the entire structure & concept still stand. We believe that the proposal, even with these modifications:
· Is still not in keeping with the East Pier’s Protected Structure status, will still be visually ugly, intrusive, unacceptably high, totally out of keeping with the surrounding architecture & will still block the unparallelled vista from many vantage points
· Is still not a necessary or positive addition to our uniquely elegant & dignified harbour which has many safe natural beaches nearby, rendering the construction of an artificial beach superfluous as well as in questionable taste
· Does nothing to address the issue of noise which will inevitably emanate from the pool/beach & disturb the tranquility of the harbour which is so prized by walkers, birdwatchers, artists, sailors etc.
· Is quite likely to encourage an element of anti-social behaviour in our harbour unless policed by an equally undesirable high level of security
· Does nothing to address the fact that there is inadequate parking & infrastructure in the area to cope with the projected 150,000 extra visitors expected
· Does not appear to take into consideration the impact of the projected average 800 visitors per day in the season (perhaps up to 1000 daily on weekends) queuing on the pier to get into the facility, in addition to traditional pier users. Has any study been done to assess the impact of such congestion & any consequent health & safety issues ?
· Does not guarantee that the nature of the facility might not change over time, or that the facility could not be rented for private parties as is the case with other badeschiff installations elsewhere
² As you are probably aware, the public, through Save our Seafront, have been requesting for many years the restoration of a swimming facility at Dun Laoghaire Baths & we believe that this would be a much more appropriate use of public funds.
² Thank you for your attention.
Save our Seafront
9 June 2014
Attachment: SOS Original Objection 1/2/2014 Planning Ref: D13A0682 on separate pages
Fee €20 enclosed.
Save our Seafront
Chairperson: Richard Boyd Barrett saveourseafront@gmail.com
SOS Original Submission 1/2/2014
to
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Planning Department
On
Planning Application Ref No D13A/0682
Save our Seafront is a community organisation established in 2002 based in Dun Laoghaire. It is committed to protecting our coastal & marine environment and also to preserving our foreshore in public ownership for the access & enjoyment of the people of Ireland. We wish to register our objection to this application and comment as follows
· Dun Laoghaire harbour belongs to the people. It is a stunning example of our built environment, bound up with our heritage & history. We are anxious to ensure that no inappropriate development takes place within it and that public access is not further restricted by any potential privatisation of this public amenity
· We question the need for a Floating Pool/Urban Beach in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Existing FP/UBs are sited on rivers, in docks or industrial harbour areas in cities – they are in essence an attempt to provide beach amenities in cities which are not fortunate enough to have access to real seaside beaches. Dun Laoghaire however is situated on the sea with natural amenities on its doorstep & many safe natural beaches nearby. To locate an artificial pool/beach in our harbour therefore would seem to be counter intuitive.
· We believe the planned structure to be totally out of keeping with the surrounding architecture and feel it will have a negative visual impact. Furthermore the structures themselves will, from certain viewpoints, obstruct the vista of the harbour, particularly the harbour mouth with its backdrop of Dublin Bay & Howth Head.
· We are also concerned about the impact of the inevitable noise from the floating pool/urban beach, and how this would affect the tranquility of the piers & surrounding areas. Sound travels over & is magnified by water and will resonate & reverberate within the circle formed by the piers
· We feel that the accompanying buildings to the floating pool & urban beach on Berth 1 (which is in effect part of the lower deck of the East Pier itself) will negatively impact on the East Pier (& its 2 million visitors annually). We understand it is planned that these vacant buildings would remain in place throughout the winter months which would be an eyesore & certainly not in keeping with the East Pier’s Protected Structure status.
· There is no guarantee that the nature of the facilities provided might not change over time if the pool/cafe didn’t prove popular/profitable. The cost of entry to the pool, which has been suggested as ‘around the cost of a cinema ticket’, could be prohibitively expensive for many families. Consequently we worry that in order for the facility to be financially viable, there could be pressure to sell commercial advertising and we might well see banners for Coca Cola or O2 or another multinational in our beautiful harbour. Alternatively, as is already the case in other such installations in European cities, the facility might in future be used as a nightclub or rented out for private parties.
· Parking facilities & local access roads are already inadequate to cope with the extra traffic volume which the Council presumably expects to be generated when the Super Library opens, never mind the extra traffic which would be associated with the floating pool, even if only half of the projected 140,000 visitors per annum were to materialise.
· It is possible that the actual cost of building & maintaining this structure could escalate beyond the projected cost & require further funding. Presumably an engineer’s report has been completed to determine the condition of Berth 1 and if structural corrosion is evident, this has been factored into the estimated cost ? Also, if other boats moored in the harbour were to be affected by storm damage to the floating barge, this could result in insurance issues which would also impact on the estimated cost.
· It is not clear whether an Environmental Impact Survey has been completed in respect of the proposal, Save our Seafront is awaiting evidence of any EIA carried out in relation to this project as requested in our Submission to the Harbour last September.
· Berth 1 has traditionally been the mooring point for tall ships, Naval vessels and other large ships which visit the harbour periodically and are an important attraction for walkers on the pier and tourists. Having to moor these vessels at the Carlisle Pier or St Michaels Pier instead would certainly make them less visible & accessible to the public.
· Finally, Save our Seafront have long been campaigning for a permanent heated indoor pool, open all year round, to be reinstated in the old Baths building when it is renovated. This campaign has, over the years, attracted the support of thousands of people across the county. We believe this would be a more appropriate use of public funds.
Thank you for your attention.
Save our Seafront
1 February 2014
Save our Seafront is a community organisation established in 2002 based in Dun Laoghaire.
It is committed to protecting our coastal & marine environment and also to preserving our foreshore
in public ownership for the access & enjoyment of the people of Ireland
Submission
to
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Planning Department
on
Planning Application Ref No D13A/0682 - Additional Information
“Urban Beach & Floating Pool Facility”Berth 1 East Pier Dun Laoghaire Harbour
Further to our original submission of 1 February 2014 objecting to this proposal (copied below), having perused the additional information & photomontages recently provided we wish to comment as follows:
² We note the proposal to reduce the number of structures from eight to five and their overall height by up to a metre by reducing roof pitch; also to remove two structures & some canopies/barriers in off-season.
² However, our original objections in principle to the entire structure & concept still stand. We believe that the proposal, even with these modifications:
· Is still not in keeping with the East Pier’s Protected Structure status, will still be visually ugly, intrusive, unacceptably high, totally out of keeping with the surrounding architecture & will still block the unparallelled vista from many vantage points
· Is still not a necessary or positive addition to our uniquely elegant & dignified harbour which has many safe natural beaches nearby, rendering the construction of an artificial beach superfluous as well as in questionable taste
· Does nothing to address the issue of noise which will inevitably emanate from the pool/beach & disturb the tranquility of the harbour which is so prized by walkers, birdwatchers, artists, sailors etc.
· Is quite likely to encourage an element of anti-social behaviour in our harbour unless policed by an equally undesirable high level of security
· Does nothing to address the fact that there is inadequate parking & infrastructure in the area to cope with the projected 150,000 extra visitors expected
· Does not appear to take into consideration the impact of the projected average 800 visitors per day in the season (perhaps up to 1000 daily on weekends) queuing on the pier to get into the facility, in addition to traditional pier users. Has any study been done to assess the impact of such congestion & any consequent health & safety issues ?
· Does not guarantee that the nature of the facility might not change over time, or that the facility could not be rented for private parties as is the case with other badeschiff installations elsewhere
² As you are probably aware, the public, through Save our Seafront, have been requesting for many years the restoration of a swimming facility at Dun Laoghaire Baths & we believe that this would be a much more appropriate use of public funds.
² Thank you for your attention.
Save our Seafront
9 June 2014
Attachment: SOS Original Objection 1/2/2014 Planning Ref: D13A0682 on separate pages
Fee €20 enclosed.
Save our Seafront
Chairperson: Richard Boyd Barrett saveourseafront@gmail.com
SOS Original Submission 1/2/2014
to
Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council Planning Department
On
Planning Application Ref No D13A/0682
Save our Seafront is a community organisation established in 2002 based in Dun Laoghaire. It is committed to protecting our coastal & marine environment and also to preserving our foreshore in public ownership for the access & enjoyment of the people of Ireland. We wish to register our objection to this application and comment as follows
· Dun Laoghaire harbour belongs to the people. It is a stunning example of our built environment, bound up with our heritage & history. We are anxious to ensure that no inappropriate development takes place within it and that public access is not further restricted by any potential privatisation of this public amenity
· We question the need for a Floating Pool/Urban Beach in Dun Laoghaire Harbour. Existing FP/UBs are sited on rivers, in docks or industrial harbour areas in cities – they are in essence an attempt to provide beach amenities in cities which are not fortunate enough to have access to real seaside beaches. Dun Laoghaire however is situated on the sea with natural amenities on its doorstep & many safe natural beaches nearby. To locate an artificial pool/beach in our harbour therefore would seem to be counter intuitive.
· We believe the planned structure to be totally out of keeping with the surrounding architecture and feel it will have a negative visual impact. Furthermore the structures themselves will, from certain viewpoints, obstruct the vista of the harbour, particularly the harbour mouth with its backdrop of Dublin Bay & Howth Head.
· We are also concerned about the impact of the inevitable noise from the floating pool/urban beach, and how this would affect the tranquility of the piers & surrounding areas. Sound travels over & is magnified by water and will resonate & reverberate within the circle formed by the piers
· We feel that the accompanying buildings to the floating pool & urban beach on Berth 1 (which is in effect part of the lower deck of the East Pier itself) will negatively impact on the East Pier (& its 2 million visitors annually). We understand it is planned that these vacant buildings would remain in place throughout the winter months which would be an eyesore & certainly not in keeping with the East Pier’s Protected Structure status.
· There is no guarantee that the nature of the facilities provided might not change over time if the pool/cafe didn’t prove popular/profitable. The cost of entry to the pool, which has been suggested as ‘around the cost of a cinema ticket’, could be prohibitively expensive for many families. Consequently we worry that in order for the facility to be financially viable, there could be pressure to sell commercial advertising and we might well see banners for Coca Cola or O2 or another multinational in our beautiful harbour. Alternatively, as is already the case in other such installations in European cities, the facility might in future be used as a nightclub or rented out for private parties.
· Parking facilities & local access roads are already inadequate to cope with the extra traffic volume which the Council presumably expects to be generated when the Super Library opens, never mind the extra traffic which would be associated with the floating pool, even if only half of the projected 140,000 visitors per annum were to materialise.
· It is possible that the actual cost of building & maintaining this structure could escalate beyond the projected cost & require further funding. Presumably an engineer’s report has been completed to determine the condition of Berth 1 and if structural corrosion is evident, this has been factored into the estimated cost ? Also, if other boats moored in the harbour were to be affected by storm damage to the floating barge, this could result in insurance issues which would also impact on the estimated cost.
· It is not clear whether an Environmental Impact Survey has been completed in respect of the proposal, Save our Seafront is awaiting evidence of any EIA carried out in relation to this project as requested in our Submission to the Harbour last September.
· Berth 1 has traditionally been the mooring point for tall ships, Naval vessels and other large ships which visit the harbour periodically and are an important attraction for walkers on the pier and tourists. Having to moor these vessels at the Carlisle Pier or St Michaels Pier instead would certainly make them less visible & accessible to the public.
· Finally, Save our Seafront have long been campaigning for a permanent heated indoor pool, open all year round, to be reinstated in the old Baths building when it is renovated. This campaign has, over the years, attracted the support of thousands of people across the county. We believe this would be a more appropriate use of public funds.
Thank you for your attention.
Save our Seafront
1 February 2014