“Six-Week MetroLink Hearings for Dublin”

In the drawn-out development of Dublin’s metro system, a six-week planning review might not appear to be that significant. However, this was an important opportunity for those bearing concerns about the MetroLink line, costing €9.5 billion, to voice their apprehensions to parties tasked with deciding on the project’s fate – the inspectors of An Bord Pleanála.

Creating a metro system for Dublin has been a long-standing objective of several consecutive governments, spanning 20 years, and a broader aspiration for many more years. The MetroLink’s 16-stop route, overseen by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII), has been shaped by its predecessor, the Metro North. Initially approved in 2010, this €3.5 billion line running from Swords to St Stephen’s Green was postponed in 2011, resurrected in 2015, extended to Sandyford in 2018 and ultimately re-routed to Charlemont in 2019.

The review was divided into two sections: one dealing with concerns such as environmental noise disruption and potential property damages, and the other tackling land and property acquisition. Participants were effectively steered by inspectors Niall Haverty and Barry O’Donnell who managed the discussions with great competency.

During each part of the review, contributors were arranged based on the specific part of the 18.8km line that their remark pertained to. This took them from Estuary station, north of Swords, through locations such as Dublin Airport, Ballymun, Glasnevin, and Phibsborough, passing the city centre and St Stephen’s Green, and finally concluding at Charlemont.

Interestingly, the northern part of the line saw fewer participants, though there were some local residents who sought reassurances about any nearby construction. Meanwhile, North Dublin politicians emphasised the critical role of the line for their constituents, a significant proportion who purchased properties two decades earlier with the anticipation of a forthcoming metro service.

The MetroLink: Residents relayed fears that their lives would be severely disturbed if the proposed Ballymun station implementation proceeds. A shift in sentiment was noted at the boundary of Glasnevin, south of Ballymun, with residents in proximity of the intended Collins Avenue station strongly contesting its proposed site. The selected area was adjacent to Our Lady of Victories Church, where resident groups expressed to the inspectors that the station would be more suitably positioned 500 metres further south at Albert College Park, thereby reducing the disruption during construction.

Local residents bolstered their claims of site mismatch by noting that construction was already planned for the nearby park, alongside DCU, for an emergency egress shaft for the tunnel. This was necessitated by the church sites distance from the adjacent station, Griffith Park. Residents deemed this arrangement as unreasonable and lacking logic. TII, on the other hand, defended the church site, citing superior bus service interchange and a wider coverage of population.

Moving from Griffith Park station, notable discord arose surrounding the proposed Glasnevin station. Residents in historically preserved homes close to Glasnevin Cemetery expressed concerns over tunnelling impacts on their properties. Inhabitants of surrounding modern flats voiced concerns about the proximity of construction activities to their residences.

The station is also the location of the Brian Boru pub, an establishment with a two-century heritage set for demolition due to the MetroLink project. The owners, accepting the loss, expressed hope that the pub could be memorialised through a renaming of the station.

Moving towards the Mater station via Phibsborough, both homeowners and commercial entities voiced concerns over the nearness to the construction site. Most objections were focused on the location selection at Four Masters Park. Locals feared permanent impact on the park, despite it being private property of the Mater hospital and not open to the public. One local predicted it would turn into a rigid-skinned hangout for skateboarders.

Upon reaching the heart of the city, the proposed railway line encountered scarce objections until it reached Tara Street, the sole location where residential properties are earmarked for extinction. The board received feedback from dwellers of the College Gate flats and occupants of eight Dublin City Council homes on Townsend Street, all destined for demolition to make way for the new Tara station.

A pair of long-term tenants at the College Gate complex, who had just achieved homeownership, disclosed to the board the unfortunate timing of the MetroLink path revelation, which coincided with the day they finalised their property paperwork. A visually-challenged woman, residing in one of the council residences, narrated her self-funded home adjustments, utilising her mother’s entire legacy. Proprietors at College Gate will be remunerated for their flats, while council house residents will be relocated, but there was a shared anxiety about potentially downgrading their living standards.

Numerous Transports Infrastructure Ireland (TII) agents voiced deep sorrow for the future loss of these homes.

It would be natural to presume that this would be the most challenging encounter for the state’s transportation entity during the proceeding, yet, this didn’t turn out to be the case. It collided with another state department, the Office of Public Works (OPW), at St Stephen’s Green.

The OPW voiced grave concerns over the projected tree clearance which it interpreted as partial destruction of St Stephen’s Green. Whilst TII voiced its commitment to minimising the upheaval at the park, no consensus had been achieved up until the conclusion of the hearings.

Drawing towards the proposed final station at Charlemont, TII faced its greatest resistance yet. The local populace, residing around Dartmouth Square, voiced significant concerns regarding potential implications for their predominantly heritage-protected residences. There was also an opposing consensus that Charlemont was ill-suited as the metro’s endpoint due to inadequate parking and road network in the area.

TII clarified that Charlemont was not a final destination but an “interchange”, which instigated prolonged debates over the term ‘terminus’. Despite the discussions extending over two days, they seemed to make no headway. After reaching the project’s end, the board received submissions from various parties interested in the overall plan.

Business organisations like DublinTown and Dublin Chamber, which back MetroLink, made their viewpoints clear, along with cycle and commuter advocates. The latter endorsed the line but requested improved bicycle storage, toilet facilities, and round-the-clock metro service.

The board also welcomed proposals from those offering alternative rail plans. These varied from some suggesting an underground with altered or reduced routes compared to MetroLink, to others advocating for overground rail. Celebrity environmentalist Duncan Stewart, favouring an overground approach, was amongst the surprise attendees. TII asserted that to truncate MetroLink would be virtually similar to rejecting it, despite proposing an alternate scheme.

Multiple parties sent written submissions to the board, some in contentious terms, but did not show up at the hearing. These were primarily firms or institutions, and TII would inform the inspectors regularly that settlements had been established with these parties. One unique exception was in connection to a site, owned by Lidl, at the proposed Northwood station north of Ballymun.

Lidl stated its desire for the station to be restructured to withstand a 15-storey apartment building it was planning to construct, albeit without an applied or approved planning permission. TII was taken aback by this proposition, as it informed the hearing that it believed it had an agreement with Lidl on the proposed development. The news about the 15-storey building was a surprise to them.

The hearing concluded as planned last Thursday, but that does not seal the project’s fate. TII presented a significant amount of additional documentation during the session, and An Bord Pleanála has demanded that these materials be presented for public scrutiny. Following this, the board will determine whether to reconvene the hearings or review new suggestions in written form exclusively.

The assessors will devote substantial time to peruse all the paperwork and applications related to MetroLink, prior to proposing a recommendation to the board. Should the board resolve to issue a railway command for the outline, TII would then pursue bids for the erection, before devising a conclusive business proposal for the government’s confirmation. Providing the government nods its approval, it’s likely that MetroLink could commence operations around the mid-2030s.

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