Adamstown may be viewed by some as a solution for urban sprawl but many divisive issues remain, writes Conor Lally
Some believe it will be an urban nirvana, a self-contained new town where all life will prosper. There will be 10,000 high quality homes for up to 25,000 residents. But it won't just be a sprawling estate. There will be schools, shops and offices as well as restaurants, pubs, parks, all-weather pitches, cultural centres and a swimming pool.
Located in west Dublin, Adamstown Strategic Development Zone sounds like the planner's panacea we have all be looking for.
Lucan, beside the proposed Adamstown site, is a classic case of unplanned urban sprawl. Some 800 houses on average have been built there in each of the last 12 years. The Central Statistics Office identified it as having the fastest growing population in the country. The effects have been catastrophic. Buses and cars crawl to and from Dublin city centre at peak times. Roads in Lucan are often choked, forcing residents to queue in their cars just to get out of estates. Packed schools in the area hold lotteries for places.
An Bord Pleanála held an oral hearing into Adamstown this week. South Dublin County Council's planners, consultants and legal eagles extolled the merits of the scheme. Its senior planner, Paul Hogan, described it as a "unique way forward".
Chartridge Developments Ltd, a consortium of developers, is similarly enchanted. They believe housing, and not the provision of schools and roads, should drive Adamstown; the sale of the scheme's estimated 10,000 dwellings will provide the money for everything else.
Perhaps most passionate this week was Deliver It Right, a collection of Lucan residents' groups. While not completely opposed to the development, they have serious reservations about how infrastructure is built into the phasing process.
In the first phase, when around 800 dwellings will be built, developers are required to supply the land for one school with a minimum of six classrooms and a maximum of 36. A second school is not required until after phase four, of 13, when almost 4,000 homes will have been built.
That means once 12 classrooms are provided for 4,000 homes, builders can continue building more homes and that's based on everything in the phasing going to plan.
South Dublin County Council insists the provision of land for the school will be a matter for the Department of Education and the developers to sort out amongst themselves. The developers say the department will have to be "realistic" regarding the price it must pay for school land. For its part, the department says even if the land is supplied, the provision of school buildings and staff will be dependent on funding.
The issue of roads looks like another time bomb. The council says the outer ring road, linking Adamstown Roundabout to the N4, is vital for Adamstown. Yet that road is not even included in the Adamstown draft plan.
The council estimates around 300 buses will be needed to service Adamstown. Dublin Bus puts that figure at "40 to 45" and possibly 60, if two new tracks are not added to the Dublin-Kildare rail line, as planned.
Iarnrod Éireann says the two new lines, and construction of a new Adamstown train station will depend on the availability of funding. It is all a source of worry for the people of Lucan.
The Strategic Development Zone (SDZ) concept was first unveiled by the Government in 2000. SDZ schemes are designated areas around the country which, if approved by An Bord Pleanála, bypass the normal planning process.
SDZs are split into a number of phases and a certain amount of facilities and infrastructure, from schools and shops to roads and public transport, are built into each one. A new phase cannot begin until the infrastructure and facilities are complete in the previous phase. Moreover, developers are required to make land available for facilities at competitive rates and subsidise public transport.
At today's prices the residential dwellings in Adamstown would fetch almost €3 billion. And that's excluding the value of the 125,500 square metre non-residential floor space. When development of that scale gets under way, it is difficult to see arguments over schools, buses and parks derailing it.
Sean Giblin, of Deliver It Right, says residents are concerned the phasing of infrastructure is not "tighter".
"There is a case that the economy could take a dive", he points out "and Adamstown goes ahead with no infrastructure in place."