Council agrees to reduce by 300mm parts of Clontarf sea wall

Dublin City Council has agreed to reduce two parts of the controversial Clontarf sea wall by 300mm.

Clontarf residents last October objected to the construction of the wall, opposite Bull Island nature sanctuary, as part of a €5 million, 2km cycle path from the Wooden Bridge to Causeway Road.

They were concerned about the height of the wall, which they said was considerably greater than they had expected, and its bare concrete appearance.

In February, an independent expert commissioned by Dublin City Council to review the height of the sea wall recommended a height reduction.

In a draft report seen by The Irish Times, Dr Jimmy Murphy of University College Cork, who was engaged by the council following objections from residents to the height of the wall, suggested it be reduced by 10cm-20cm.

Dr Murphy said alternatives to the concrete wall such as demountable barriers were viable, if costly, solutions.

Such a reduction is still below the 450mm requested by locals at the outset, and negotiations are considered to be ongoing.

A spokeswoman for the council said it has agreed to cut two short sections of flood wall by 300mm along a 20 metre stretch to show residents visually what this combined reduction proposal would mean.

A further meeting between the council, residents, businesses and other interest groups is scheduled for next week, the spokeswoman said.