Fingal Briefs: Building a sea-swimming pool for Balbriggan, opening Rogerstown Park all weekend, and more

A long-awaited tidal swimming pool for Balbriggan could be five to seven years off, a council official said at the Balbriggan/Rush-Lusk/Swords Area Committee last Thursday.

Fingal County Council commissioned a feasibility study, costing €50,000, for the coastal pool in August 2022.

But, before a clear timeline for delivering the outdoor facility can be set, a second consultant’s report is needed, Declan Ryan, a senior executive officer with the Economic, Enterprise, Tourism and Cultural Development Department, told councillors.

The council is procuring a project consultant for this, Ryan said. “This stage will include environmental studies, prescreening, site investigations and the refinement of the scope and design concept, where necessary.”

Ryan provided the update in response to a motion tabled by Green Party Councillor Karen Power, who asked that the council look at suitable funding schemes to deliver on the pool.

The original feasibility study was very broad, Power said, but the council needs to provide assurance that potential funding options will be identified in this second report.

“If we leave it until that feasibility study is concluded, and we only start looking at funding streams then, we’re further delaying the delivery of this much-needed infrastructure in Balbriggan,” she said.

Council officials need to ensure that when this next study is done, it will have identified a suitable location, option and funding stream, she said.

Fine Gael Councillor Tom O’Leary told the committee that the council had already given a “guesstimated” figure of €10 million for the pool. “We need to explore substantial funding in whatever corner, government and various sections.”

Ryan said the council will explore substantial funding options as part of this next phase.

Funding is expected to come from outside the council, Ryan said. “There are periodically funding streams that become available for developing infrastructure on the coast. But they tend to be sporadic enough that it might be every two to three years.”

Independent Councillor Grainne Maguire asked if there is a timescale in relation to phase two of the project.

“When this feasibility study is complete, the phase two, what is the next step?” she said. “We have to be able to follow it on. We can’t then have a period of time waiting to do something else.”

This second study could potentially take between one and two years, Ryan said. “The overall timeframe is five to seven years.”

Ryan explained that they would need to get a foreshore licence for this project, which is needed before any structure can be erected on lands between the high water of ordinary or medium tides.

“The foreshore licence is a key piece and takes quite a while before we will even get there,” he said.

Visiting Rogerstown Park

Labour Councillor Robert O’Donoghue tabled a motion asking that the council’s chief executive consider opening Rogerstown Park between Lusk and Rush on Sundays.

Formerly the Balleally Landfill, the grounds are currently only accessible to the public on Saturdays, with O’Donoghue asking that this be expanded to the whole weekend.

In a council report, Kevin Halpenny, senior parks officer, told councillors that the council is seeking consent from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to open the park for both Saturday and Sunday this year.

The landfill is closed, and hasn’t had new waste since 2012.

But currently, the council’s environmental department is at full capacity managing it, its infrastructure, and the remaining engineering works that can bring it up to the required standards, Halpenny said in his report.

“Fingal County Council are also working on preparing a Health and Safety Manual for the site incorporating risks associated with public access,” Halpenny said.

Once the EPA has responded to those proposals, the Balleally Landfill Liaison Committee will be briefed before anything more happens, his report said.

Fingal County Council has been gradually opening up sections of the park to the public since 2019.

But, it is still technically a building site during weekdays, while it is being brought up to the appropriate standards, O’Donoghue said. But, he said, locals are inquiring why they cannot access it for the duration of the weekend.

“Why can’t we open it on Sunday as well, if there’s no works taking place, or taking place on Sunday?” he said, asking if it was a budget issue.

The Environment Department doesn’t have the staff to manage and maintain the grounds on a Sunday, Halpenny said.

“The fact that it’s a landfill, from our point of view, there are some risks there that would need full-time supervision if the public are to access it,” he said.

Halpenny said he believes, if they were also to open on a Sunday, that the EPA would need to approve this.

A vacant council patch on Balbriggan Road

In 2019, Fingal County Council purchased four acres of land by the Balbriggan Road on the outskirts of Skerries.

Three and a half of those acres are zoned for open space, Fine Gael Councillor Tom O’Leary told the area committee in a motion asking for the council to report on when it could be used for something.

The remaining half acre was zoned for housing, he said. “And nothing’s happening on it.”

The council did a feasibility study in 2020 to look at the costs and parameters of developing the open space for active recreation, said Aileen O’Connor, a senior executive parks and landscape officer, in a report.

There’s big demand in Skerries for sports pitches, she said, and that’s what they looked at in the survey. “The land was deemed unsuitable for ball sport recreation due to the requirement for ball stop netting in relation to the proximity of the adjacent roads and railway line.”

Any designs for other active recreation on the land, along with access and parking, would need Part 8 planning due to the estimated costs and change of use, she said.

Part 8 is the process through which the council applies to itself for permission to build a project.

O’Leary said he was disappointed with this report, but noted that the Balbriggan Road is going to eventually be a greenway.

People living around Barnageeragh Cove don’t have a large greenspace, he said. “So what I’m asking for is that the green space be opened up for the use of the residents.”

“We own it,” he said. “What’s the point in buying it and letting it sit there? Let’s get the use by the people in Skerries, and Barnageeragh Cove, and Kelly’s Lane.”

Green Party Councillor Karen Power said residents in Barnageeragh lack the space for gardening. “The residents association is particularly keen to look at this patch of land for any kind of community garden space or small allotments.”

O’Connor, the parks and landscape officer, said based on her assessment, it would not be suitable for active recreation unless landscaped, because it is on a slope.

The site needs car parking, a new boundary, and new footpath access, she said. “All of that, even if it was suitable for sport, is bringing us above the €127,000 for Part 8 threshold.”

It isn’t as simple as opening up the gate, she said. “It is a shame for it not to be used for recreation, and a simple path would be lovely around it to get people in, but that’s going to cost us within the Part 8 territory.”