Highfield & Westbrook Residents' Association

Following publication of the Dundrum Central Master Plan and commencement of the latest round of public consultation, your association provided a further submission to the LDA and participated in a conference call with the LDA design team on May 4th.Submission to the LDA :In line with priorities agreed by poll at our February 25th association meeting, we continue to focus on improving mobility and safety where the development site interfaces with Dundrum Road.We believe this is the area which has the most direct impact to our community, and where we have the strongest case to bring about change and improvement.Our submission pointed strongly to the complete lack of consideration to infrastructure improvements outside the boundary line of the mental hospital site. The submission made can be found here.We submitted sketches to the design team, illustrating our point that there is opportunity to widen Dundrum Road, improving site lines at the entrance of our estate, as well as making significant safety improvements to pedestrian and cycle crossings at the site entrance.The submitted sketches are intended to provide an opening position to enable a fully integrated design from road and traffic engineers at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. i.e the final solution from the engineers may not look like this – but there needs to be a better solution than the silence proposed!We questioned the lack of transparency on traffic and environmental impact assessments carried out to date, as well as the removal of the proposed vehicular access to Larchfield Road.It appears these studies will be released at time of the planning submission to An Bord Pleanála, which may then form basis for observations at the planning consultation stage. We made the case that these should be released sooner, though there is no obligation for them to do so.Next steps in the development process for the site:Following the current round of public consultation on the Master Plan, the next steps in the development process for the site will be:LDA design team finalises its design for planning submission.In June, the LDA will engage in triparty pre-planning consultation meetings with An Bord Pleanála and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown. Various department heads at Dun Laoghaire Rathdown will be involved in those meetings (planning, roads, environment, parks etc).Following the pre-planning consultation process, the LDA will submit its application for planning permission directly to An Bord Pleanála as a Strategic Housing Development (SHD). They are targeting September / October 2021 for the submission.Legislation requires that a SHD application includes creation of a dedicated website making the planning drawings, environmental and traffic impact studies and other supporting documentation available for public review. There will be opportunity for the public to submit observations on the planning application to An Bord Pleanála at that stage.Ultimately, we are pushing for an integrated design that considers the community and site surroundings outside of the boundary wall.The masterplan is completely silent on impacts outside of the boundary wall and we hope to bring about change in this.Following the meeting with the LDA, we now intend engaging with local political…

The LDA will shortly begin the fourth phase of public consultation for the Dundrum Central project.The consultation will start with the publication of the Draft Masterplan for the project on April 26th.  Consultation will run until May 21st.The Draft Masterplan will move the project from the outline ‘Concept’ plan that was presented at the third phase of consultation, to a draft masterplan proposal which will be close to the final plan.The next stage of consultation will offer local residents a further opportunity to make observations and suggestions in advance of the final design being completed and submitted for planning permission.The LDA consultation process will include two public webinars, a series of meetings with residents’ associations and community groups and online resources on the project website dundrumcentral.ie.The Timetable for the next phase of consultation will be:April 26th: Publication of Draft Masterplan and 3D models on dundrumcentral.ieApril 28th 7pm: Public WebinarMay 5th 7pm: Public WebinarBooking for both webinars is now available on www.dundrumcentral.ieIn addition to the residents’ association engagement, we actively encourage everyone with an opinion to participate in the webinars and submit individual response via the dundrumcentral.com website.If you have additional considerations or questions, please contact a committee member or send us an email at residentsassociation@highfieldwestbrook.ie

Letter to An Taoiseach from 7 associations surrounding the Dundrum Central site Highfield & Westbrook Residents’ Association along with six other resident groups located around the Dundrum Central Hospital site, have written as a collective to An Taoiseach and to the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage. The resident association groups are: Annaville/Dundrum Road Residents' Association Roebuck Residents' Association Mulvey Park Residents' Association Frankfort Park Residents' Association Rosemount Residents' Association Highfield & Westbrook Residents' Association Taney Residents' Association Combined the associations represent c. 1,410 households (c. 3,880 residents) and border the entire Dundrum Central Hospital Site. The letter acknowledges that this significant site will be developed; the wider societal need for housing, and the attractiveness of the site as a location. The letter makes reference to emerging concerns common to all the associations and includes Height Density Access/traffic Demands on existing infrastructure The letter stresses the need for meaningful engagement as the Land Development Agency create a master plan and the project advances to planning application with An Bord Pleanála. A copy of the letter can be found here

The association held a Zoom meeting for all residents on the 25th of February.  The objective was to discuss the Dundrum Central development and better understand considerations for our community. We had a good discussion and used a Zoom polling facility to capture views on some of the priorities for our community. Traffic was ranked the highest priority, however all issues were considered important Traffic volumes and access to Dundrum Road Housing model conducive to strong community Wider public infrastructure and public transport links Public park, open space and permeability Building height Car parking provisions Community facilities Impact of construction - traffic, noise, other environmental considerations The material shared can be found here. If you have additional considerations or questions, please contact a committee member or send us an email at residentsassociation@highfieldwestbrook.ie

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has released concept plans for the proposed Dundrum Central Hospital site. On the 23rd of January a “Virtual Consultation Room” was launched on their website www.dundrumcentral.ie. A PDF is also available on the Dundrum Central website. This document is easier to navigate and can be seen here. LDA Timeline The concept proposal is open to public comment until 28th February 2021. You can register on their website to receive information and provide comment. Feedback received will be considered and the designs further developed into a draft masterplan. Another stage of consultation will be undertaken on the masterplan. Following the masterplan, a planning application will be submitted mid 2021. Subject to the An Bord Pleanála process, planning approval may be before the end of 2021. Construction could begin early in 2022 and the first units available later in 2023. Our communications with the LDA to date The committee had an initial introductory meeting with the LDA and lead architect on December 15th 2020. We subsequently held a second meeting on February 8th to share initial views of potential issues for our community. The document shared can be viewed here. Our concerns have been noted by the project team and will be taken into consideration as the design develops. It was stressed by the project team that there are many stakeholders and a final design will aim for a best overall outcome. Many local residents will have concerns with elements of the concept design proposal. We encourage all residents to view the concept proposal at dundrumcentral.com. In addition to the residents’ association engagement, we actively encourage everyone with an opinion to submit an individual response via the dundrumcentral.com website. If you have additional considerations, please contact a committee member or send us an email to residentsassociation@highfieldwestbrook.ie