In Clontarf, someone cut down trees on council land without consulting the council

Green Party Councillor Donna Cooney says a local resident called her on Saturday 8 March to tell her someone was cutting down trees with a chainsaw, on land beside a car park in Clontarf.

“Without checking for wildlife, without Dublin City Council permission or parks permission, or anything,” she says. “It’s in the nesting season now.”

A council spokesperson says the council owns the land and “did not give any permission for the felling of trees at Car Park 2, Clontarf, nor was consent sought by the leaseholder”.

Trees should be inspected for live birds nests, bats, badgers and other wildlife, before being cut down, says a council spokesperson.

Cooney says council officials instructed the contractor to stop cutting down the trees.

Dublin City Council leases the land to Templeville Developments Ltd, says the spokesperson. “As the land is owned by Dublin City Council, permission should have been sought as set out in the terms of the lease,” she says.

“They are not their trees to cut down,” says Cooney, the Green Party councillor.

According to a 2023 lease with the council, Templeville Developments Ltd trades as the Westwood Club, a nearby sports centre which uses Car Park 2 for parking.

It was to pay Dublin City Council €40,000 per year, the lease says. Included in the lease is the stipulation that the Lessee “shall not carry out any development of the leased area or erect any signage, structure or mast without prior consent of Dublin City Council”.

West Wood Club Clontarf didn’t respond to queries sent by email Thursday evening and followed up on Tuesday, including why they cut down the trees, and what the land was going to be used for. No one answered the phone number on the club’s website Tuesday.

Losing trees

Car Park 2 is next to the Clontarf Dart Station and beside it was a small patch of overgrown land with trees on it.

Those trees were green and bushy, and foliage covered most of the site, last October, according to an image on Google Street View.

On 15 March, there were fewer trees and several stumps where trees had been cut down.

The council spokesperson couldn’t confirm the exact number of trees that were lost.

Cooney took a video of the work that was going on when she arrived. It appears from that video that thick branches of a large tree are being cut off.

A council spokesperson said: “The Council will deal directly with the lessee in relation to breaches of the lease.”

At a meeting of councillors for the North Central Area on 10 March, Cooney thanked Dublin City Council parks staff for reacting and stopping the unauthorised felling of the trees.

“Those trees are owned by Dublin City Council, mature trees, in the nesting season,” she said. “No biodiversity officer or ecologist checked to see if there was wildlife in those trees.”

Section 40 of the Wildlife Act 1976 prohibits the cutting, grubbing, burning or other destruction of vegetation growing on “any land not then cultivated” between 1 March and 31 August every year, according to the National Parks and Wildlife Service.

“This is to protect bird life during the nesting season, to help prevent forest fires, and to protect vegetation and wildlife habitats during the months of growth and reproduction,” it says.

There are exceptions, such as clearing vegetation for road works or construction, or to prepare a site for building.

Certain cutting of hedges, trees and shrubs is also allowed under the Roads Act 1993.

Managers of West Wood Club, Clontarf haven’t responded to queries as to why they cut down the trees, whether an ecological survey was undertaken and whether this is allowed during nesting season.