Deputy Joan Burton and Cllr. Peggy Hamill, hosted a public information meeting last Thursday (26th June) for local residents in Myo’s, Castleknock, to outline plans for the development of Castleknock Village. They presented a draft version of the Castleknock Village Strategy report, prepared by Fingal County Council and details of the proposed Quality Bus Corridor for Castleknock. There were over 70 people in attendance.
Cllr. Peggy Hamill commented “There seems to have been a lot of mis-information out there regarding the proposed QBC for Castleknock and I think people were happy to finally have the facts at their fingertips. People were prepared for a worst case scenario, thinking for instance that dozens of mature trees could be lost at Auburn Avenue. There was relief that this did not form part of the proposal. Overall, I would say that reactions to the QBC proposal were mixed.”
“As it stands, the proposal involves an upgrade to the existing bus lane and the creation of a new intermittent bus lane along the route from Carpenterstown through Castleknock village to Auburn Avenue. People are understandably quite anxious as to the impact this may have on their community. There is particular anxiety around the possibility of mature trees being removed along Auburn Avenue. The proposal does involve the loss of three mature trees in this area, but this is far less than people had been led to believe. There were also concerns raised that the new bus lane could negatively impact on the traffic situation.
“Fingal County Council is to put the proposal for the QBC on public display in the Blanchardstown library and Council offices in the Blanchardstown Town Centre in the very near future. Because of the time of year, the Council have agreed with our suggestion to extend the public display and consultation period to mid September. This will allow people to examine the proposals at their leisure and weigh up the potential benefits and any negative impact which the proposal might have on the community. People will then be able to make submissions supporting or objecting to the proposal. I intend to monitor this process very closely and keep local residents updated on developments.”
“In the past, Castleknock village has tended to develop on an ad hoc basis without any real planning going into the creation of a sustainable village environment. This has meant that the village has developed without any real civic space as a focal point. This is one thing that I would like to see incorporated into the Castleknock Village Strategy. Another element of the plan which will require careful consideration is a proposal for the development of 3 acres of ‘backlands’ behind the old post office.”