Plans for an ice hockey stadium has led to a heated debate among councillors who have been calling for other amenities in the area
Councillors expressed concerns at a Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council (DLR) meeting over a decision to “prioritise” the rink over a pedestrian bridge, which will connect the two ends of Cherrywood, in plans for its town centre.
“Cherrywood was supposed to be a ‘15-minute town’ where you didn’t need a car [to travel around], now we don’t even have a bridge connecting the two sides of the town,” said People Before Profit (PBP) councillor Dave O’Keeffe.
“The people suffering are those who bought a house in the area and council tenants expecting these amenities to come. So if you want to get from one side of the road to the Tesco Express to the other side, it’s a 20-minute journey with the traffic.”
At the meeting, councillors voted on a number of amendments to the town centre including additional homes, shops and provisions for a primary health centre.
Councillor Frank McNamara
An amendment was also passed to “decouple” an ice hockey arena, included in the town centre plan, from Grand Parade Bridge – with 23 voting in favour and 13 voting against it – removing a requirement to build the bridge before the arena.
“The ice hockey arena seems to have got drawn into the phasing of Grand Parade Bridge – I would like to try and remove that from the phasing of the bridge,” said Fianna Fáil councillor Justin Moylan introducing the amendment.
“If the arena is delivered in advance of the bridge, people can cross to it on the Dart line. It (the arena) won’t necessarily be open before the bridge is actually built, but I want to remove it as an impediment for its future.
“There’s little point in having it under ransom of the bridge – there are major stakeholders who have an onus on them to do that.”
PBP councillor Melisa Halpin raised concerns that the project would involve public money.
“I have nothing against ice hockey, but I never met anyone in the constituency crying out for ice hockey facilities,” she said.
“The first I heard of this was when a constituent approached us with significant concerns about the amount of public money that was being requested for a private facility.”
At a Dáil debate in March, Junior Sport Minister Charlie McConalogue, said Prime Arena Holdings – the company funding the ice hockey project – are seeking “sizeable state investment” for the project.
Artist’s impression of how Ireland’s first winter sports arena would look. It’s hoped the facility could be operational by late 2028 or early 2029
Today’s news in 90 Seconds – Tuesday, March 31
A spokesperson for Prime Arena Holdings said the arena is estimated to cost €200m.
“We are currently working through the project’s overall capital stack, including equity, debt, and potential public collaboration,” the spokesperson said to the Irish Independent.
“Major arena developments internationally are typically delivered through public–private partnership models, reflecting the significant economic and social impact these facilities generate in terms of tourism, major events, sport development, and wider regional investment.”
DLR Chief Executive Anne Devine said that the council’s management supported the amendment saying that an alternate road at the back of the arena will support traffic management.
“At the time this plan was made, we didn’t have Beckett Road under construction – this road will include an underpass that skirts around the back of the arena and form a new route,” she said.
“The management supports the motion because with proper traffic management and the new road, it will keep people completely away from link road which is extremely busy and safeguard safety of pedestrians.”
Fine Gael councillor Frank McNamara said there the arena would support a growing interest for ice hockey in Dublin.
“If it is considered economic to construct this key sporting facility in advance of the bridge, then I don’t believe we should stand in the way of it,” he said.
“It won’t be disruptive to people’s lives – we’re designing the roads and around the area to make sure it’s really well integrated with all the other developments, it will be right beside the M50, N11 and the Luas.
“There is a high level of interest among Irish people for American sports – a bespoke, one-of-a-kind arena like this will be a win for Dún Laoghaire.”
However, some councillors alleged that the decision was “developer-led planning” and called for the timely building of the bridge.
“I’m fairly surprised that management has agreed to support this – it must come off the lobbying from the owner of the site for the sports arena,” said Green Party councillor Oisín O’Connor.
“The bridge provision here is absolutely critical for the wider movement of people in the area. We definitely know that it needs infrastructure to work.
“A building site where there are unfinished bridges is just bad planning, there was good reason it was linked in the first place.”
The concerns were raised after consultations for the town centre revealed that residents worried the suburb would become a “car-reliant dormitory” due to a lack of supporting infrastructure.
Designated as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ), Cherrywood was envisioned as a “10-minute-neighbourhood” back in 2014 with plans to accommodate 10,500 homes, a new town centre and five Luas stops.
“There are strong calls from the community with regard to the timely delivery of essential services and civic spaces like a GP, dentist, pharmacy, leisure and cultural spaces,” said Senior Planner for DLR, Vivienne Byrne.
“Across submissions, a consistent concern is that housing is outpacing supporting facilities, with a risk of Cherrywood functioning as a car-dependent dormitory rather than a self-sustaining town centre.”
Counlillor Halpin said it was important not to delay the bridge further to ensure pedestrian safety.
“It’s absolutely criminal that this is happening up there in what is supposed to be a 15-minute-town,” she said.
“You have to take a car from your house to even got the Tesco express that would be just few minutes away if they could cross that bridge. People and their children are now walking through a very dangerous stretch through Luas lines.”
The delay in the bridge has kept council tenants disconnected from the town centre, according to councillor O’Keeffe.
“Without the bridge, the segmentation of the community will remain and the walkable town we were promised is just a pipe dream,” he said.
“There’s been talk for over 20 years that we would have a town centre up there. There’s no doctor’s office, dentist’s office, no real supermarket or even a pub – there’s not a place to socialise or a community building for a public meeting or for children outside of school.
“The town centre was supposed to follow very quickly after people began moving in years ago – that’s not even really begun. Now these new amendments will go back to consultations and delay the town centre even further.”
At the meeting, council management said that it had run an audit to look at the infrastructure needed in the area. Residents had called for a primary health centre, a creche and a pharmacy within walking distance, and affordable retail spaces.
“We liased with the community and have added the provision of seven community facilities which will include a library, additional primary care centres and pharmacies,” said Ms Byrne.
Funded by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme