Sir, – Seven concerts in Croke Park in less than six months, two apparently in the “previous” planning year in April, with five over two weekends the following September.
Planning laws strictly state three per year which is less than half of what is now scheduled.
Apart from being subjected to music you can’t abide, there is the matter of anti-social behaviour and traffic (as it seems people who go to Croke Park be it for matches or concerts, could hardly be expected to use public transport and/or walk).
Two of these concerts are on school nights, three on workdays, the commute already fraught enough with post-pandemic traffic. Though the concert must be over by 11pm, residents in the area know from experience that it’s well over two hours before all the noise settles on surrounding roads, but then again if the planning to have the concerts doesn’t matter, does the curfew itself?
Why do we have planning laws in place if they are just to be disregarded either in this manner or by businesses doing as they wish and looking for retention later – ask forgiveness not permission.
Surely this sets a precedent for future years without any proper consultation to those impacted by it.
Worse still, it sets a precedent for how to do business in our city and while it may be how they do things elsewhere is this the road we want to go down?
– Yours, etc,
NIAMH BYRNE,
Fairview,
Dublin 3.