On Thursday, they backed a motion asking council managers to look at using a compulsory purchase order to buy it.
To sign up for a class in Rathmines’ Swan Leisure Centre, get up early.
To reserve a spot in one of the Fit4Life classes, you need to grab a place within five minutes of when the bookings open, says Ciaran McGahon. “It opens at eight in the morning.”
Pilates is even more intense, he says. “You’ve gotta be booking within 30 seconds of 7am or you don’t get in.”
The level of demand for the centre is enormous, he says. “Practically 24-7, it’s working at capacity.”
McGahon and the Rathmines Initiative, a community improvement group of which he is a member, are trying to figure out how to alleviate that pressure – and they see a possible solution in some land just next door.
The centre’s neighbour to the south is Herman White, the estate agents, which occupies a pair of white two-storey houses.
Behind those houses is Herman’s Auction Place and its carpark. A sign at the driveway tells passers-by that its weekly auctions are on Thursday mornings, with viewings held on the day before.
That site to the rear of the houses is underused, says McGahon. “It’s a very valuable site, and Rathmines is very much underprovided when it comes to public amenities.”
McGahon, the Rathmines Initiative, and local councillors have been floating an idea for a few years, for the council to buy the land, and the two houses, and expand the Swan centre and its plaza.
Extending the local facilities would be welcomed, said Clodagh Kilmurray, the CEO of Swan Leisure, on Tuesday. “We have waiting lists for swimming lessons, sporthall hire and group fitness classes which are restricted due to the space available.”
A spokesperson for Herman White didn’t respond to queries about the idea.
Dublin City Council built the Swan Leisure Centre in 2010.
Although it owns the building, it is operated for the council by Dublin City Sports and Leisure Services CLG.
Back when the council was developing the centre, it negotiated with Herman White about that site but they never reached an agreement, says McGahon. “So they went ahead without it.”
A spokesperson for Dublin City Council did not comment when asked why they couldn’t come to an agreement with Herman White.
David Herman, who established Herman White, has been looking to develop apartments on the site – 159 to 161 Lower Rathmines Road – since 1995, suggest planning records.
In October 2007, Herman applied to the council to demolish the two-storey terraced houses where the estate agent’s offices are, and an auction hall, with a view to building 38 flats across three blocks – and a civic plaza.
The council granted permission on 16 November 2007, with a condition that the plaza be ceded to the council before any of the buildings were occupied.
That plaza was to connect to the council’s own plaza outside the leisure centre, according to a site map submitted with the application.
But that plan was never built.
Neither the council or Herman White responded to queries as to why.
The council needs to engage with the owner more, said Labour Councillor Fiona Connelly at a meeting of the council’s South East Area Committee on 14 November.
“It’s a really exciting proposal to be able to extend the public realm space for the Swan Leisure, and possibly extend the usage of that space and site,” she said.
Connelly had put forward a motion saying the Herman White-owned site was badly needed to expand Rathmines’ municipal facilities. They could not only build out the plaza, but also some public housing, she said.
The council should launch compulsory purchase order (CPO) proceedings, said the motion.
Margaret Mooney, a council administrative officer said they would need to assess the site to see if it is appropriate for a CPO.
Because the plan is for a mixed-use development, it would need to involve the council’s Housing and Culture, Recreation and Economic Services department, as well as Swan Leisure, she said. “And then the normal protocols for CPOs would apply.”
They would need to look at cost estimates, mapping and title references, before engaging with Herman White, she said. “So there would be a volume of work to do.”
The council would certainly look into it, she said, but the CPO process tends to be a last resort. “We usually try to go by acquisition, by agreement first.”
Labour Councillor and committee chairperson Dermot Lacey said most councillors would probably think that developing this overall site was a good idea.
The motion was agreed. Council managers were asked by Lacey to provide a report on the matter for January.
It’s worthwhile to revisit the redevelopment of the Herman White site, Connelly said, on Thursday after the council meeting.
“The gym could be extended in the centre, and the civic plaza could be a really nice front,” she said.
Kilmurray, Swan Leisure’s CEO, welcomed Connelly’s motion, saying the community not-for-profit centre – which gets between 8,000 and 10,000 visits a week – has long wait lists.
Across all the activities, from basketball to swimming, they have attracted more than 458,000 visits a year, she said.
Not only that, but Lower Rathmines Road is in need of more civic space, says Connelly.
“There aren’t public spaces in the way that Terenure has the Evergreen Hall, and anything we can do in the council to future-proof Rathmines should be looked at,” she said.
The council has already proposed refurbishments to the town hall across the street, and the auditorium there, says McGahon. This would build on that, he said.
Local councillors, in February 2023, were looking to revive the former theatre within the town hall, but that would require a reshuffle of what service would be housed where.
There is a lot of potential in the area, particularly so on the Herman White site, says McGahon.
The existing driveway into the auction house’s car park could potentially become a new street, he says.
“If you’re providing a new street, you provide high quality access to commercial space at the ground level and social and affordable housing above,” he said.
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