Green Party calls for new Dún Laoghaire Baths

Press Release: Dún Laoghaire 22 February 2008

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22 February 2008

Green Party calls for new Dún Laoghaire Baths

–As County Council’s Consultants publish over-ambitious Dún Laoghaire Seafront Plan for East Pier to Sandycove

The Green Party has repeated its call for a modest public swimming pool on the site of the former Dún Laoghaire Baths as Consultants publish a costly plan for the Dún Laoghaire coastline between Dún Laoghaire and Sandycove.

The Report was commissioned by Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council and produced by Dutch consultants Royal Haskoning. The Plans include land reclamation, a lagoon beach, gardens, an underground car park with 500 spaces and the possibility of commercial development on the former Baths site.

Reacting to the Report, Local Green Party Councillor Gene Feighery stated:
“The consultants have produced an expensive response to the Brief. However the public have made their feelings clear. We want a swimming pool rather than over-ambitious development on the waterfront. Two options for development were presented to us with price tags ranging from €129 million to €87 million. Neither option includes a public swimming pool.

Green Party TD for Dún Laoghaire Ciarán Cuffe stated:
“We want a well-designed modest swimming pool rather that extravagant development. Any proposal should respect the marine environment of Scotsmans’ Bay, currently a breeding ground for shellfish and a sensitive habitat.

“We were afraid that this would happen. Once you bring in consultants without a clear brief they tend to produce over-the-top proposals. It is eight years since I first called for a modest development on the site with a heated swimming pool, a toddlers’ pool and a café. Perhaps the pool could use solar power for heating the water. Such a proposal need not be more than two or three storeys high and would be a fantastic amenity for the people of Dún Laoghaire and beyond.

“The Consultants and the Council need to be reminded that Sandycove is not Barcelona, and that modest development is more appropriate on this crucial site.

Ciarán Cuffe is a TD for the Dún Laoghaire Dáil Constituency. Ciarán can be contacted at Dáil Éireann, Kildare Street, Dublin 2 or 96 Patrick Street, Dún Laoghaire Tel. 284 6060 or 618 3082, Fax 618 4341, Email Ciaran CiaranCuffe.com, or Text Ciaran on 087 265 2075.