The Airfield Trust House and Farm in south county Dublin may fall victim to the burgeoning new road network around Dundrum, it has been claimed.
Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has announced its intention to open a new road leading from the first phase of the recently opened Dundrum Town Centre, across the Luas line and into the Sandyford Industrial Estate at Blackthorn Drive. Public consultation on the scheme for the road begins next week.
The proposed new link would ensure that Dundrum Town Centre is effectively served by two junctions on the M50, at Murphystown and Ballinteer.
The proposed new road would be the latest of a number of new routes which have redrawn the map of Dundrum and its environs in recent years.
These include the opening of the Southern Cross section of the M50 and its Ballinteer junction; the realignment of the Ballinteer Road; the Dundrum bypass to the rear of the shopping centre; the opening of the Wyckham bypass; the Sandyford Industrial Estate to Ballinteer interchange link road; the Wyckham bypass extension; and the redesign of the Taney Cross.
However, local residents are to object to the new road as it takes in part of the boundary of the Airfield House and Farm as well as bringing yet more traffic noise close to local houses and apartments, including Balally.
The Airfield lands closest to the proposed road are currently zoned residential, and residents fear that, if the road goes ahead, the lands will be developed.
Airfield House and Farm was the home of the late Overend sisters who wanted their property preserved after their death for the benefit of future generations of Dubliners.
Last year, the estate was at the centre of a controversy when councillors rezoned three of its 37 acres for neighbourhood development, to accommodate a plan to help develop the city farm and estate. Following public pressure, the zoning was changed to open space and the plan to develop the Airfield Trust lands was put on hold.
Rose Mary Logue, spokeswoman for the Save Airfield Campaign, said that the new road would ruin the tranquil rural environment at the southeastern end of the farm.
Councillor Gearoid O'Keefe (Ind) said he will be calling on all parties in Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council to seek an immediate variation of the County Development Plan to undo the residential zoning at Airfield.
Eamon Ryan (Green Party) has also opposed the road, commenting that it "is the worst sort of transport planning".
In a statement to councillors, the council said that a feasibility study on the new road found that it will serve as a key link to the motorway network from Dundrum and the Sandyford Industrial Estate.
It said that the main environmental impact of the proposed road would be traffic noise but this could be mitigated by the use of low-noise resurfacing and localised noise barriers.
A spokeswoman for the council said that the public consultation process for the new road will begin next week.