Fingal County Council has agreed to consider two alternative routes for a planned sewerage pipeline through the Howth peninsula after huge public opposition.
Over 500 people from Howth and Sutton Cross communities in north Co Dublin gathered at a public meeting on Monday to voice their objection to the original route for an underground sewerage pipe planned by Fingal County Council.
The pipe was planned to go down the Main Street in Sutton Cross, with traffic reduced to one lane. At Monday's meeting a letter from Fingal county manager was submitted promising to consider alternatives.
"Fingal County Council are now prepared to look at our alternative routes according to the letter," said a spokeswoman from Sutton Cross chamber of Commerce yesterday.
"We had a record attendance of 500 people, which shows just how serious this is. We would hope their engineers would walk the area with our engineer to see for themselves."
Business communities in Howth and Sutton Cross are "up in arms" over the proposed route of the pipeline from Sutton Cross to the Ringsend sewage treatment plant across Dublin Bay.
"Our main opposition is to the route - it will cause complete havoc," said the vice-president of Sutton Cross Chamber of Commerce, Mr Philip Manuel, last week.
"In principle we're not objecting to the pipe; it's the routing that's so wrong.
"The pipeworks will have the effect of blocking off the Head of Howth for 18 weeks, and traffic will be severely restricted. There will be tunnelling and open work on the road where the pipe will be laid.
"The local business community in Sutton Cross and Howth are up in arms, but we have a lot of private support as well."
The tunnelling is due to begin in October, said Mr Manuel.
He had spoken of his concerns to Fingal County Council, but his "gut instinct was that they were listening but they weren't hearing".
He said there was already ongoing work on the DART line in the area, and that "each time a road is closed the locals are nearly locked in their homes".
Sutton Cross Chamber of Commerce has proposed the pipeline take an alternative route along the borough beach, coming down towards Sutton DART station.