COMMUNITY PETITION 

Do Not Rezone the Few Remaining Amenities in our land corridor of Ballyboden, Knocklyon, Edmondstown, Whitechurch and Cherryfield / Dodder Valley

A Community Petition to South Dublin County Council regarding the Proposed Variation No. 2 to the SDCC Development Plan 2022–2028
 

Our Community Is at Risk of Losing Some of the Few Amenities We Have 

We, the undersigned residents and members of the wider community, call upon South Dublin County Council to urgently reconsider elements of the Proposed Variation No. 2 to the SDCC Development Plan 2022–2028 that would significantly alter the land corridor of Ballyboden–Knocklyon–Edmondstown–Whitechurch–Cherryfield – Dodder Valley Park.

Residents recognise the need to increase housing supply. The existing SDCC Development Plan concluded that sufficient land was already zoned to meet these important housing targets till 2040.

The issue is not the lack of zoned land in South Dublin County Council but the activation of that land that is already zoned for housing. Rezoning more agricultural and community amenity lands without addressing the barriers to activating existing zoned lands risk undermining the plan-led approach to sustainable development.

We strongly oppose rezonings that would sacrifice high amenity green spaces, remove community infrastructure and intensify development without the infrastructure and capacity needed to support it.

The rezonings currently under consideration would fundamentally change the character of our area while placing further pressure on roads, schools, parks and community facilities that are already under strain and are at capacity.

There is no community amenity being proposed in this Variation No. 2 to the SDCC Development Plan - no school, no swimming pool, no park, no library, no theatre, no police and fire station – nothing for the community!

What Is Being Proposed

The current Variation includes proposals that would:

1. Remove a designated school site at Stocking Avenue
2. Rezone High Amenity lands at Cherryfield within the Dodder Valley Park
3. Rezone agricultural land at Edmondstown Road against the wishes of the farm owner
4. Introduce new development-enabling road infrastructure including:

• the widening of the scenic and historic Edmondstown Road would erode the Owendoher River Linear Park and Walkway
• creating a road between Whitechurch Road and Edmondstown Road to free up lands for development which will join the existing congested road network without the public bus transport capacity needed.

Taken together, these proposals represent a major shift in planning policy for this land corridor.

Why Residents Are Concerned:

Loss of Green and Amenity Spaces
Cherryfield forms part of the Dodder Valley landscape and park and the wider Dodder Greenway recreational corridor. Rezoning this land would reduce valuable green space that thousands of residents rely on for recreation, biodiversity and wellbeing and increase risk of flooding downstream.

Threat to a Historic Local Farm
The agricultural lands at Edmondstown Park include a long-standing working farm and a Georgian House c1782. It has become a valuable educational and community resource for local schools and families – think older and smaller than Airfield. The farm owner does not support this rezoning as it is a busy farm. We do not want to lose it either, as it would erase a prized part of our local heritage and an important community and school resource.

Loss of a Future School Site
The removal of the school objective at Stocking Avenue would eliminate land previously reserved in a Local Area Plan for educational infrastructure in a rapidly growing community. We have a school capacity crisis so rezoning a school site is an unwise decision. The Minister of Education needs to release the funds to build the school.

Once this land is lost, it may never be replaced.

More Traffic on Already Congested Roads
Local roads and junctions—including Ballyboden, Scholarstown and Orlagh roundabouts—already experience heavy congestion. Additional development and new road connections leading onto historic narrow rural roads will reduce road and pedestrian safety and increase traffic congestion across the entire land corridor as there is no public transport capacity to meet existing demand let alone additional demand.

Development Without Infrastructure and Amenities
Residents are deeply concerned that housing growth is being proposed without a clear plan for schools, parks, sports facilities, community centres, transport improvements or wastewater capacity.

• Residents are concerned that wastewater infrastructure serving parts of South Dublin is already constrained. In some locations, measures such as tanker-based wastewater collection (using trucks) is being used. This highlights the importance of ensuring that wastewater infrastructure is in place before further development is facilitated and that planning permission is based on capacity and reality.
• The proposed Variation 2 also includes changes to residential amenity standards, including reductions in private amenity space, separation distances between buildings and reductions in open space provision on institutional lands. Residents are concerned that such changes may reduce the quality of living environments in new developments while also affecting the residential amenity of existing communities.

Planning policies should ensure that both existing and future residents benefit from high-quality living environments. 
Communities cannot thrive if development is allowed to reduce residential amenities and outpace infrastructure and capacity.

Our Community Deserves Better Planning

Planning decisions should protect what makes this area special while ensuring that future development is sustainable and properly supported.

We believe that major planning decisions affecting this land corridor should be addressed through:

1. A coordinated Local Area Plan for Ballyboden,
2. An amenity focused Masterplan for Cherryfield 
3. A Review of the Knocklyon Planning Framework 

rather than through piecemeal changes that predetermine the future of the area.

Residents are concerned that rezoning or reducing amenity lands in the Ballyboden–Knocklyon area appears inconsistent with SDCC Development Plan objectives which recognise the need for additional recreational and community facilities for the growing population in the same area – so these proposed rezonings are in direct conflict with the Development Plan.

What We Are Asking For:

We call on South Dublin County Council and elected representatives to:

1. Retain the High Amenity zoning at Cherryfield and protect the Dodder Valley Park.
2. Protect the agricultural lands, working farm and community amenity at Edmondstown Road – Keep Edmondstown Park a Farm.
3. Retain the designated school site at Stocking Avenue
   Withdraw the proposed Edmondstown road widening and protect the Owendoher Linear Park & Walkway.
4. Reconsider the Whitechurch–Edmondstown road link until the existing Roundabouts & local roads network have capacity.
5. Ensure development is infrastructure-led, with schools, transport and community facilities delivered alongside housing.
6. Prepare the Ballyboden Local Area Plan before introducing major zoning changes.
7. Review the Knocklyon Planning Framework Scheme.
8. Prepare an Amenity Masterplan for Cherryfield.
9. Propose rezonings that protect and increase community amenities - long overdue
10. Prepare a plan of action at Council level that delivers housing on existing zoned lands.
11. Tackle derelict and vacant properties.
12. Retain existing standards for private amenity spaces and separation distances for new builds.
13. Retain existing standards for open space provision in developments on institutional lands.

Stand With Your Community

Our area is growing and changing and rezoning decisions made now will shape our community for generations.

We ask residents to stand together to protect our threatened high value green spaces and parks, safeguard community infrastructure and ensure that development in our area is properly planned, balanced and sustainable. Development should be infrastructure-led based on capacity and should not come at the expense of the few remaining amenities that support the quality of life in our community.

We need solutions not future problems!

Sign this petition to call for responsible, community-focused planning for our land corridor of Ballyboden, Knocklyon, Edmondstown, Whitechurch and Cherryfield / Dodder Valley

Thank you for signing our petition