COUNCILLORS IN south Dublin have blocked the rezoning of just under 100 acres of land on the banks of the River Liffey near Lucan which would have provided more than 1,100 affordable homes and 184 acres of free land for the council.
Councillors are opposing the construction of housing in the Liffey Valley, which they say should be preserved for a national park.
The management of South Dublin County Council had proposed that 99 acres of land at St Edmundsbury and Woodville near Lucan should be rezoned from "high amenity" to residential. The land would have been developed by the Affordable Homes Partnership, which proposed to build 1,600 houses, 70 per cent of which would be affordable houses.
In exchange for the rezoning, the owners of the land, Ballymore Properties, proposed handing over 184 acres of land to the council.
"The councillors have given a very clear indication that it is wholly undesirable to have housing development on these lands and it sends a message to all concerned that these lands will be protected and preserved for the Liffey Valley Park," Independent councillor and deputy mayor Derek Keating said.
The Office of Public Works (OPW) has recommended the development of a national park along the Liffey.
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