Only a concerted effort by all sides involved will put Airfield Estate in Dundrum on a sound footing, writes John Edmondson
Airfield Estate, an urban farm in the heart of built-up suburbia in Dundrum, south Dublin, is a unique recreational and educational resource not only for the people of Dublin, but for the whole country. The trustees of this wonderful bequest by the Overend sisters are fully committed to protecting and enhancing it.
Today Airfield's facilities are enjoyed by about 25,000 general visitors to the estate and gardens, 7,500 participants in educational programmes, and a similar number again attending cultural activities.
Recent initiatives by the trust include:
A range of educational programmes mainly based on nature, farm and environmental studies which constantly get excellent feedback;
Seasonal programmes of other wide-ranging activities, generally recreational and cultural;
The development of a long-term vision for Airfield's future including concepts from an environmental consultants' (Solearth Ecological Architecture) study;
the initiating of first steps towards this (a new farm centre and habitats);
the introduction of more professional management with commercial and fund-raising experience.
The programmes already available are just a foretaste of the future potential of Airfield and are a valuable counterweight to modern urban life.
However, despite these improvements in the past couple of years, and an expectation of continued progress, the trust has not yet achieved long-term viability for Airfield.
What is not obvious to our critics is the relatively high cost base for offering a wide range of services, combined with the limited income from the current level of paying visitors.
For example, claims that the farm breaks even are incorrect. In fact, the farm will cost the trust about €65,000 this year.
Similarly the house, gardens, walk and other premises cost money to maintain and keep open to the public, to say nothing of the educational programmes.
But that is what the trust is for: to use its assets to provide services.
We are confident that sustained effort (especially increasing visitor numbers) will reduce the annual operating deficit, running at €400,000 last year, over time and we are in contact with the Office of Public Works and the Department of Education about what assistance they may be able to give.
To deal with any possible misconceptions of our financial position, including those raised by Rose Mary Logue (Irish Times, June 6th), we have offered a local councillor, who is an accountant by profession, full access to our books and told him he can discuss anything he wants directly with our auditors.
There are other widely disseminated misunderstandings, including claims that the trust has run the estate down from 50 acres to 38.
This is totally misleading, as 16 acres of land were only held on leasehold and would have been entirely lost over a period of 25 to 30 years.
What happened was that the trust secured freehold on 10 acres in return for the lease on the other six so the trust had outright ownership of the 42-acre estate. More recently, land was taken for the Luas line and the Wyckham bypass extension, leaving the current 38 acres.
The real challenge now is finding the resources to enable Airfield realise the fullest potential of the Overend legacy by offering more things to more people, while retaining its unique feel. But increased visitor levels alone will not pay for the added attractions (education programmes and the restaurant already suffer from a lack of space), or ensure Airfield becomes a viable, all-year-round visitor centre.
It is vital for the trust and the local community that the future of Airfield is properly secured and not the subject of constant uncertainty. We have recently met Ministers and other Government TDs. All are enthusiastic about the fine job that Airfield is doing but it is clear that the necessary meaningful capital funding is not forthcoming.
So the trust will have to use its own resources to put Airfield on a proper and permanent viable footing. We do not want to sell any land but, if necessary, are prepared to sell part or all of the 3.5-acre Dudleys Field to underpin a long-term investment programme and the associated operating costs.
Early last year, we had a solution based on the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown county councillors' vote to allow a neighbourhood centre zoning for Dudleys Field.
The low-rise project would have provided the necessary capital to realise the full potential of Airfield. Furthermore, the trust would have considered a legal sterilisation agreement to ensure that the remainder of the estate would be zoned open space in perpetuity. However, in the run-up to the local elections in June they reversed that zoning.
But our problems have not gone away. We have now restarted meeting our county councillors and local community representatives to explore what options might meet the needs of both the trust and the community.
One possibility we have put to councillors is reverting Dudleys Field to neighbourhood centre zoning, combined with sterilising the rest of the estate.
This could be a win-win all round. It would ensure a magnificently enhanced recreational and educational urban farm at Airfield, offering year-round facilities.
The financial uncertainty of the trust would be at an end and the local community would know Airfield is there forever. It is time that all sides - the local community, the trustees and our local political representatives - worked together to achieve this very desirable outcome.
For Airfield's summer programme, telephone 01-2964301 or email info@airfield.ie.