Lucan, Celbridge experience the difficulties of dramatic growth

Traffic congestion and a shortage of school places are the main worries for residents in the rapidly expanding commuter belt, …

Traffic congestion and a shortage of school places are the main worries for residents in the rapidly expanding commuter belt, writes Joe Humphreys

It's lunchtime in the Republic's fastest-growing suburb - and there's little sign of life. A handful of children kick a football around a patch of grass, and some builders walk to and from a skip outside the house in which they are working: that's all the activity one can find in an estate of more than 100 homes.

"It's always like this during the day," says Ms Joan Mooney, who moved here three years ago. "Everyone disappears early morning, and comes back late in the evening. You're lucky if you see your neighbours at weekends."

The estate is Esker Woods, one of a number of new housing developments in the district of Lucan Esker, whose population - it was shown this week - has increased at a greater rate in the past six years than any other district in the State.

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Preliminary Census 2002 figures found the population of the Esker district - one of three Lucan districts in the survey - increased threefold to 21,785, putting it ahead of towns like Sligo in terms of population size.

The completed census is expected to show that those primarily responsible for the upsurge are young, working couples with children. As a result, Lucan is now, to a large degree, a dormitory town.

"There's not the same atmosphere here as where I grew up in Clontarf," says Ms Mooney, a married mother of two who works part-time in a local supermarket. "On the northside, everyone knew each other, whereas here it's just 'hello' or 'goodbye'. That's the way people want to keep it."

She lists access to schools and traffic as the two biggest problems for parents, reserving particular scorn for the neighbouring West Link toll bridge, a constant source of congestion. Speeding cars through her estate also cause her concern.

"To be honest, I think there are too many houses. It's like a concrete jungle," she says. While shopping facilities are good, attractions for youngsters are few and far between. "You can see the teenagers around here are completely lost for things to do."

The lack of sufficient school places has prompted a number of local groups to establish their own learning centres. Among them is the Griffeen Valley Educate Together project, which has received approval from the Department of Education to start teaching up to 30 junior infants in temporary accommodation next September.

Ms Elaine Harris, a mother of two and a member of the project's organising committee, says many children were stuck on waiting lists for other schools "without any chance of getting a place".

A third-generation Lucanite, who has seen the area transformed in her lifetime, Ms Harris says she has to leave for work each morning at 6.50 a.m. to beat the worst of the traffic. "If I leave any later than that it takes me an hour to an hour and 20 minutes to get to work."

If that sounds bad, however, look several miles west to Celbridge, Co Kildare, one of a growing number of traffic bottlenecks in the commuter belt. The census showed its population increased by 27.9 per cent to 14,251 over the past six years. The town is serviced by a city bus route that operates just once every half-hour at peak times.

"The service is more or less the same as it was five years ago," says Mr David Trost, of Celbridge Community Council.

As for amenities, there is no playground in the town. Nor is there a swimming pool, although one has been promised in a newly-approved development plan for Celbridge. Before it is implemented the building will continue unabated and this, more than anything, causes locals concern.

"The general feeling is that too much has happened already without proper facilities being provided, and any further growth will only make things worse," says Mr Trost.

Back in Lucan, the local Green Party TD, Mr Paul Gogarty, warns that the population of the greater Lucan area will double to 60,000 by 2006, when proposed new housing developments are completed. "Successive governments have been aware for the past 10 years that the population of Lucan would increase dramatically, and instead of planning for that they simply rezoned more land. The key thing now is to learn from experience, and ensure the mistakes don't continue."