A €10 million road to relieve traffic congestion in west Dublin is to open today following the resolution of a dispute between Fingal County Council and a developer over who should pay for it.
The council says the opening of the Laraghcon distributor road this morning will alleviate traffic problems in nearby Lucan and take traffic off older roads in the area.
The road has been ready for use since last year but the developer, Shannon Homes, refused to hand it over until agreement was reached on recouping part of the construction costs.
The company is seeking €4 million from an adjoining landowner whose property, if developed, would be serviced by the new road.
Fingal's director of transportation, Mick Lorigan, said he expected to sign the formal order declaring the road public today: "It's ready to open; all we have to do is remove the barriers."
He said agreement was reached on opening the road without the council paying any of the money the developer claims to be owed.
However, the council has agreed to pay Shannon €382,000 for additional works beyond that specified in the planning permission for the Laraghcon estate.
In addition, Shannon is keeping exclusive use of the drainage and sewerage infrastructure it has installed. This could effectively prevent adjoining landowners from building houses on their land.
Local independent councillor Derek Keating welcomed the resolution but said the opening of the road "merely represents compliance with the conditions of the original planning permission".
Residents in the Laraghcon estate had expressed concerns over traffic safety, in particular the use of the new road by heavy goods vehicles, he said. These would have to be addressed.
Laraghcon, which occupies an elevated site in the Liffey Valley, has long been the focus of planning controversy.
It was rezoned in 1993 against the advice of planning officials and in the teeth of opposition from residents of the area. Shannon Homes then bought the 29-hectare (72-acre) site.
An Bord Pleanála overturned an initial planning permission in 1999 but two years later it approved plans for 282 houses.
The decision was made against the decision of its planning inspector.
One of the conditions imposed by the board was that no work should start on any of the houses until the road was constructed.
