Things are going strong as the consultation deadline approaches so firstly, if not already done so, please:

1. Lodge your personal submission with DLRCOCO by 5pm this Tuesday, 01 February, via:  https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/parks/pc-pks-03-2021-proposed-development-at-shanganagh/consultation/intro/

2. Sign and share the petition at www.change.org/SaveShanganaghPark

Now, given we're Saturday, here's something a bit more in the style of a weekend paper columnist/editorial piece…

Three full days to go and memories of last minute school projects come flooding back - where did all the time go? We had weeks to prepare for this and knew the Masterplan would come back to haunt us one day but nobody was expecting this disasterpiece...

That the "PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT AT SHANGANAGH PARK (PHASE 1) PC/PKS/03/21", beast was coincidentally unleashed with no fanfare other than a few site notices with some yellow-highlighted information on them appearing the week before Christmas, in poor weather, and at the height of Omicron restrictions, might just have had something to do with time slipping away as the public was naturally occupied with other more trivial matters like Christmas and a rampant Covid variant so not really the best time to focus on sports facilities as a yuletide priority.

The Ghost of Masterplans Past...

And why no fanfare, given the initial Masterplan came with not one, but two heated public meetings? Ah yes - because they were heated and as the attitude of the presenters showed during the Public Q&A session at Woodbrook College, sure what do the people who live here, grew up here, work, live and play sport here, and use the park daily know about planning and grand designs, wudya ever cop on t'yerself!? #Notions...

But turns out collectively we knew quite a lot actually and resourceful too (as close-knit communities tend to be when threatened). And we'd heard of BusConnects, something that seemed to escape the attention of some planners during the discussions.

The public meeting at the St Anne's Parish Resource Centre descended into farce - many attendees could not even get into the room. Stalling tactics to run down the clock gave us a long lesson in the history of the park which was nice but which certainly was not what a frustrated and increasingly angry audience came to hear and this was not advertised as a local historical society event (but good thing flaming torches and pitchforks were left at the door, not least given it was a parish centre!).

When the presenter finally got to the actual plans, they showed the wrong draft. When asked to zoom in and share important detail, they couldn’t!. DLRCOCO committed to follow-up on unanswered questions but never did. The chairman ran out of time for many outstanding questions and then the room had to be given back early as the resource centre was closing.

Seems a shame given all this could have been avoided considering the DLRCOCO 2008 Shanganagh Park Masterplan recognised the importance of the central meadow area and preserved it as an unspoiled amenity for all (though they also forgot to finish (or start) the planned playground adjacent to the tennis club despite advising residents it would be included).

So perhaps it's not really surprising the lack of face-to-face public engagement this time around - Covid makes for a convenient scapegoat - but surely plans could have been printed and posted for public viewing in the park itself on one of the four notice boards. Or maybe they just didn't want anyone to discuss it given the changes demanded but largely ignored in the public consultation report. In some cases, less has actually become more e.g. 2x GAA pitches have become 2x GAA pitches with markings for 2x (potentially 4x) soccer half-pitches, permanent seating and high heavy-duty chain-link fences will create that prison recreation yard look the park has aspired to for years, while an uncovered 4-lane 60m sprint track parallel to the trainline is now a 6-lane 100m covered and floodlit professional standard sprint track with jumping facilities facing on to a quiet residential cul-de-sac).

The Ghost of Masterplans Present...

On the plus side, "On-going consultation and workshops with sports clubs & Councillors has helped to refine the plan." says the DLRCOCO website.

Job done then - at least that's the message filtering through from Councillors, planners and interested club members, with phrases like "no going back", "going ahead at any cost", "it's a done deal", and "only minor adjustments at this stage" being bandied about. Talk of infighting and communication blackouts on social media is surfacing, of club members instructed not to upset the apple cart, or discuss on chat groups any internal opposition to pushing ahead with park development plans, despite growing opposition and support for an alternative solution that doesn't require moving heaven and earth.

But here's the catch - it isn't a done deal lest we forget there is still a "Public Consultation" phase ongoing, a process to stir up a sense of civic duty, participation and pride.

Not tokenism or empty gestures here please!

But with all these "on-going consultation and workshops with sports clubs & Councillors" being held behind closed doors, no minutes of these discussions or agreements appear to be in the public domain and there is neither transparency nor accountability - the cornerstones of good governance.

To add insult to injury, with seemingly neither resident association representatives nor female participants from clubs and/or the planning team present, the latest iteration of the plans certainly show that it's a sports facilities plan for the big boys, by the big boys, and no-one else gets a look-in (see foreign sports like cricket, baseball and softball all get lumped together out of the way). Despite the ridiculously large pylons stretching almost 8-storys into the open sky above, the net result of all this will have hugely negative consequences for neighbouring residents and the wider community on one hand with the marked absence in Phase One of toilets, dressing rooms, showers, lockers etc., all the while expecting players to walk through wooded and secluded areas, something at odds surely with player welfare, anti-harassment and safeguarding policies for vulnerable persons.

Whatever happened to the "nothing about us without us" mantra?

The Ghost of Masterplans Future

It is worth DLRCOCO looking again at its own Draft County Development Plan and Policy Objective OSR9 ("to ensure that the particular needs of different groups are incorporated into the planning and design of new facilities") and OSR10 ("That existing sports facilities and grounds within the established urban area are protected, retained, and enhanced; To maximise the use of playing pitches in the County and for playing pitches to be utilised seven days a week, subject to protecting adjoining residential amenity").

And while chasing that particular unicorn, for any of the positive elements and goodwill this plan might have hoped to bring in subsequent Phases Two, Three, Four etc., these remain unbudgeted for and with no indication of any commencement period, so there is little positivity to be found when you scratch beneath the surface of the consultation and decision-making processes and reveal the motivations behind these.

This could just be jaded cynicism trying to escape but for the fact we have heard it from many others familiar with the situation. 

It is time to call out the fact that the public can see through a thinly-veiled spiel from various corners about the golden opportunities to upgrade and improve park and sport facilities for a growing membership and community at large.

These would appear to be little more than a by-product as it is very difficult now to see it through any lens other than being fuelled by the pursuit of money, status, and a feigned interest in genuine respect for the community.

During a climate emergency which DLRCOCO itself acknowledges, this unsustainable exploitation of our precious natural resources to tick certain boxes that secures more funding as a regional park (inappropriate given the park's size), continues the "pitch-ification" of unspoiled, versatile, and unstructured green open public spaces and sadly amounts to nothing more than an economically foolish, environmentally reckless and socially irresponsible vanity project.

It's time to stop the madness of "park development at any cost" and call an immediate halt to Phase One, spend the money on upgrades and enhancements where needed most across existing pitches, and perhaps more importantly, help stakeholders take a reality check, suck it up and realise that this is the price of pushing ahead without involving the community at large and not just cherry picking sectoral interests that suit them or their arguments.

In life, like in sport, you learn nothing from winning all the time.

Defeat hurts, ambitions and expectations may have to reviewed, scaled back or at least managed better until such a time that more appropriate facilities and solutions can be found to help all involved achieve respective and shared objectives.

Solutions that don't prevent the park from being just that - a park, a place to relax, unwind and clear the head, especially when you can leave the boots behind, put the hurl down or take the gloves off.

It's not some imaginary "intense active recreation zone" that only exists in a planner’s mind or a crossfit gym - have a proper look, listen to the birds, feel the sunshine on your face, grab a hang and cheese sambo and kickback in what is, in actual fact, a beautiful open meadow, there for all to enjoy and appreciate, and right on our doorsteps.

Get up, get active, and defend our park because when it's gone, we won't get it back.

1. Lodge your personal submission with DLRCOCO by 5pm this Tuesday, 01 February, via:  https://dlrcoco.citizenspace.com/parks/pc-pks-03-2021-proposed-development-at-shanganagh/consultation/intro/

2. Sign and share the petition at www.change.org/SaveShanganaghPark

#SaveShanganaghPark