Howth and Sutton residents oppose large-scale cemetery plan

Residents in Howth and Sutton are opposing plans by the owners of the Citywest hotel to develop a large-scale cemetery in Howth in north Dublin.

Last month, Tetrarch subsidiary WSHI Unlimited Co lodged plans with Fingal County Council for a cemetery in Howth that would include 5,806 traditional burial plots.

The cemetery is to be developed on a 21.7 acre site at the Deer Park Hotel and Golf property at Deer Park within the Howth Estate in the seaside suburb. Tetrarch also wants to build a new 142-bedroom hotel on the property.

If the Tetrarch company prices the burial plots at the level charged by the council for its own graveyards, where plot prices cost up €2,280, then the developer would stand to generate €13.23 million from the sale of the 5,806 traditional burial plots over the lifetime of the cemetery.

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However, a number of residents’ groups, including the Howth Sutton Community Council, the Old Castle Avenue Residents’ Association and the Smith/Offington Residents Association, have lodged objections against the scheme.

In a 16-page objection, planning consultant Andrew Hersey, on behalf of the Howth Sutton Community Council, contended that “such a facility is not needed in the Howth peninsula and certainly is not needed at such a scenic location on lands zoned for High Amenity purposes”.

Mr Hersey stated: “There are already sufficient cemeteries within a 10km radius of the proposed development site which could serve the population of Howth and the surrounding hinterland ... there is no requirement for a cemetery at this location.”

Mr Hersey also argued that due to the cumulative impact of other permitted developments, with planning granted for more than 869 residential units for the Howth area in recent years, “the additional proposed development will no doubt result in serious and unmanageable traffic congestion and hazard in Howth”.

[ Tetrarch seeks permission for 142-bedroom hotel at Howth Castle estate ]

The chair of the Old Castle Avenue Residents’ Association, Norma O’Mahony, told the council that the Howth Special Amenity Area is extremely valuable both as a public amenity and economic endowment for the residents of Fingal. She said the proposed cemetery, if it were ever to be approved, would bring development “to the area’s doorstep, and could act as a precedent for development at all of the area’s boundaries”.

The planning consultant for the applicants, Aoife McCarthy of Tom Phillips, told the council that the construction and operational phases of the proposed cemetery had the potential to generate significant direct and indirect employment and economic activity in Howth. The submission added: “Moreover, the development of a cemetery at this location is considered to represent an efficient use of lands at this location, providing green infrastructure and supporting ecological biodiversity.”