Dun Laoghaire protest at plan for old baths

More than 1,200 people turned out in Dún Laoghaire yesterday to protest at the local authority's plans to redevelop the town's old public baths building.

Organised by the Save Our Seafront (SOS) group and the Sandycove and Glasthule Residents' Association, the good-humoured protest marched from the People's Park through the town, before rallying at Scotsman's Bay.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council unveiled a plan to councillors last month to redevelop the derelict baths on Queen's Road. The baths stand at the foot of Park Road and command a view across the bay to Howth Head. They have been closed since the 1980s, and have become an eyesore.

The €140 million plan includes an eight-storey building with 180 apartments over retail units and restaurants, an indoor swimming and leisure complex, and a maritime park on five acres of infilled seashore.

The design also includes a 10-storey circular glass tower with a viewing platform, a plaza for open-air events and a promenade to link the Forty Foot and the East Pier.

A previous plan for the site with apartments and a hotel was rejected by councillors in 2003 following public demonstrations.

The protesters were addressed by Socialist Workers' Party activist and SOS organiser Richard Boyd Barrett; Green Party councillor Kealin Ireland; Bob Waddell of the Sandycove and Glasthule Residents' Association; Nicola Sarratt, secretary of SOS; and Deirdre Cronin of Splash, the campaign for a community pool.

Mr Boyd Barrett said the sea and the seafront should be for everybody.

"It should not be anyone's private property. We want a public amenity accessible for everyone and two or three storeys in height. It should not alter the coastline in any way."

Ms Ireland said she would oppose the development.

"It is an abomination and a disgrace. You can stop it; you must stop it."

Mr Waddell highlighted a recent trip by five councillors and five council officials to Bilbao, and said they were trying to turn Dún Laoghaire into Torremolinos.

He urged locals to "plague" councillors with their views on the plans.

People in the crowd expressed their concern at what they feared would be the loss of their view from the gates of the People's Park to Howth Head.

Dún Laoghaire resident Heather Goodbody said she was appalled by the plan.

"I've been a Dún Laoghaire resident all my life, 70 years," she said. "We want to keep our view and have free access to the sea. We'd accept development at the height it is now and no more."

Her niece, Wendy, said she was concerned about the traffic implications.

"If we have 180 apartments there how are people going to drive to them? This road is congested enough already."

James Ryan, also a local resident, warned against the reclamation of the foreshore.

"You don't meddle with the shoreline, it has major knock-on effects. Why destroy something that you could never build?"

It is understood that the proposals will be discussed at a private meeting of councillors early next month before being brought before a formal council meeting.