DELAYS TO COLLEGE GREEN PLAZA DISAPPOINTING

Labour spokesperson for Dublin, Senator Kevin Humphreys has said that the delays to the proposals for a new civic plaza at College Green are disappointing and that the application to An Bord Pleanála means there is no certainty that the proposals will proceed.

Senator Humphreys said:

“The decision to make an application to An Bord Pleanála for the long expected plans for a civic plaza at College Green introduces huge uncertainty as to whether the plans will go ahead.

“This will also add further delays to the project, meaning it will be over two years before the work is done, should it get permission.

“Dublin City Council could have pursed a Part 8 planning application which has been used for many major projects in the past.

“Instead, the earliest likely date for a decision by An Bord Pleanála is October, with the work then expected to take 18 months to complete, bringing us to April 2019.

“The LUAS Cross City works should be completed by September, but we could now be facing a further two years of works in College Green should the project get the go ahead.

“It’s disappointing for Dublin that these works couldn’t be co-ordinated with the LUAS works to ensure that Dublin gets the civic space it needs with the minimum amount of disruption.”