South Dublin County Council has decided to defer rezoning the controversial Liffey Valley shopping centre at Quarryvale until after the Flood tribunal has reported.
The council's planners had proposed that Quarryvale's zoning should be upgraded to "major town centre" in line with a recently completed retail planning strategy for the greater Dublin area. But the councillors agreed yesterday not to proceed with a variation of the South Dublin County Plan which would have facilitated Quarryvale's expansion "until the findings of the Flood tribunal are available".
The motion, which was tabled by Cllr Joanna Tuffy (Labour), also specified that alternatives to Quarryvale should be fully explored before initiating "any proposed future variation in response to the retail planning strategy".
Ms Tuffy said the Liffey Valley shopping centre site could not "by any stretch of the imagination" become a town centre for Lucan-Clondalkin and, furthermore, its expansion "could undermine the civic and commercial centres" in the area.
Cllr Robert Dowds (Labour), who seconded the motion, said the area should be developed for the benefit of its people. He had no problem with the council building up its commercial rates base, but this should not be done at the community's expense.
Mr Pat Rabbitte TD (Labour) said the Quarryvale rezoning in the early 1990s was "probably the worst planning decision made in Dublin for 25 years". It was wrong for the planners to say "what's done is done, let's make the best of it". Given that the original decision, taken in 1991 and confirmed in 1993, was under investigation by the Flood tribunal, Mr Rabbitte said any move to upgrade Quarryvale's status "would be sending out the wrong signals to the public".
The cathaoirleach, Cllr Cait Keane (FF), said the fact that Liffey Valley existed had to be recognised. "We can't put a bulldozer in to remove it." The proposal to upgrade its zoning had been made by international consultants, she said.
Mr Kieran Kennedy, South Dublin's director of planning, said the 180-acre site at Quarryvale needed to be changed into a town centre with new civic spaces, recreational amenities and even a residential component.
But Cllr Don Tipping (Labour) said the zoning had been "controversial from the word go" and the council would be "piling controversy onto controversy" if this proceeded. One councillor had admitted receiving money from the developers.
Cllr Deirdre Doherty-Ryan (FF) complained that there were no safe pedestrian routes to the Liffey Valley shopping centre "from any direction - north, south, east or west" and this problem should be addressed in the first instance.
Mr Brian Hayes TD (FG) queried if the consultants' retail planning strategy had been adopted by the Dublin and mid-east regional authorities. It was clear to him Liffey Valley was a regional shopping centre, not a "town centre".
Cllr Eamon Walsh (Labour) said its location at the junction of the M50 and N4 had been chosen for commercial exploitation "to make lots of money" for the developers. Upgrading it would be seen to endorse a decision that was probably flawed.
But Cllr John Curran (FF) said up to 2,700 people were now employed in Liffey Valley, half of them with Clondalkin addresses. It was a "desirable development" and, if the council did not proceed with it, "another area will benefit".
Mr Tom Doherty, deputy county manager, favoured initiating the process of rezoning Quarryvale as a "major town centre", saying the tribunal was "examining the history of how the development came into being, not the future of planning".
However, following a 15-minute tea break, Cllr Tuffy's motion was put and carried without any vote being taken.
