DART, school needed for Shankill 'new town'

Residents in Shankill, Co Dublin, say that it is essential that a new DART station and a primary school be built at the same …

Residents in Shankill, Co Dublin, say that it is essential that a new DART station and a primary school be built at the same time as a major new development on 52 acres between Shankill and Bray.

A planning application for the first phase of what amounts to a new town at Woodbrook - on land near Shankill that includes the former juvenile detention centre at Shanganagh - was lodged with Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council shortly before Christmas.

Sheila Thompson of Shankill Community Association says that it is essential that a DART station and school be built concurrently with the development. The Association also says that major new roads in the area will also be needed. Over 500 homes are provided for in the plans, lodged by Aeval, a company associated with Joe O'Reilly of Castlethorn Construction, and this will generate even more traffic in an area already suffering congestion. A Luas link to Bray will not be completed before 2016. The deadline for submissions on the plans is January 28th.