Munster Express Online

Dear Sir,

I wish to bring to the public’s attention that Waterford City Council recently advertised a proposed Material Contravention of the Waterford City Development Plan in the Irish Independent. The Contravention, if passed by Councillors, would open the door to the Council permitting housing within part of the historical Goff’s Gardens which are located on Glanbia lands, Maypark Lane, in the Dunmore Road area of the city.

These wooded gardens contain many legally protected trees. The Waterford City Development Plan states that it is an objective of the Council to ‘seek to acquire and develop the lands adjacent to the Glanbia plant at Maypark as urban parkland’ (P.44, internet version).

The need for the Contravention has arisen because Glanbia recently lodged a planning application with Waterford City Council for the development of the site in question. They propose to build 40 houses within the residential and industrial zoned areas of the site and within a section of the gardens which is zoned for Open Space uses.

My reading of the relevant plans suggests that the application will involve the development of 11 houses, mostly, partially or fully within the Open Space/Garden area, along with access roads and a significant number of garages and gardens.

The plans also declare that 38 trees will be removed (to facilitate the development) and that 25 trees are to be removed for management reasons – all in the vicinity of the proposed development. It is proposed to redevelop the remainder of the gardens as urban parkland and to enhance the linkage along the riverside walkway through the gardens. However I would question whether the loss of part of these historical gardens, protected trees and of Open Space lands offers a good deal for the ‘public good’.

My views are best summed up by the comments of Waterford City Council’s Horticulturalist in respect of an almost identical – withdrawn – application on the site earlier this year, (Ref. 10/35). He indicated, in relation to the perceived zoning contravention and the Council’s stated intention to acquire and develop the urban parkland, that ‘accordingly, the existing woodland consisting of 5 acres and zoned open space should form part of the urban parkland’. In other words, all the Open Space lands on the site should remain as Open Space lands. I hope that this view will continue to pertain in respect of the current application and proposed Material Contravention.

Members of the public interested in ensuring that Waterford City Council abide by their Development Plan commitments to ‘protect existing public and private recreational open space’ can consult the Glanbia Material Contravention file (Ref. MC 01/10) and the planning application file (Ref. 10/160), at the Council’s planning offices. It is necessary to consult the Proposed Site Zoning Plan, Drawing PL – 106 on the planning application file to see what precisely is involved in the Material Contravention, as this information has not been made available on the Material Contravention file. The planning application file (only) can also be viewed on the online planning section of the Council’s website www.waterfordcity.ie.

Submissions on the application can be lodged, in writing at the Planning office on or before 4pm this Thursday, September 30th. They should contain details of the person’s name, address and the planning ref. no. (10/160) and should be accompanied by the statutory €20 fee.

After this date, people can still have an input to the all-important Material Contravention process by lodging a separate submission for that process at the planning office – on or before 4pm on Oct 13th 2010. These submissions should contain details of the person’s name, address and the relevant ref. no.s (MC 01/10 and planning register ref. 10/160). No fee is required on this occasion. Both submissions should be forwarded to: Ms. Colette Byrne, Director of Services, Planning and Environment, Menapia Building, The Mall, Waterford

Yours sincerely, Rita Canney,

14 Whitethorn Ave. Grantstown Village, Waterford.