Analysis: An Bord Pleanála's approval for the Adamstown masterplan puts it up to the State authorities to deliver on infrastructure, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor.
It has been clear from the outset, when the ambitious masterplan for Adamstown was first announced more than two years ago, that its successful delivery is dependent on numerous pieces of a complex jigsaw falling into place.
Given that some 25,000 people will ultimately live in this part of south Lucan, the issue of how they get around is of critical importance, because if everyone was to drive cars it would create traffic congestion of nightmare proportions.
The 26 conditions laid down by An Bord Pleanála take up some of the concerns raised by objectors. Most importantly, they specify that the Dublin-Kildare line must be upgraded to provide a minimum of 3,000 peak-hour seats for those commuting from Adamstown.
Doubling the capacity of the Kildare line is provided for in the Government's Strategic Rail Review. This would essentially mean increasing it from two to four tracks between Heuston and Kildare, so as to separate mainline and Arrow commuter services.
Yet there is no indication that Iarnród Éireann or the Railway Procurement Agency has been given instructions to proceed with this plan on a priority basis. Meanwhile, developers are champing at the bit to lodge planning applications for Adamstown's first phase.
The developers will obviously be required to contribute to the capital cost of this important upgrading of the railway line, and no doubt this will be passed on to those buying new apartments or houses in Adamstown, which has now been formally designated as a Strategic Development Zone (SDZ).
Obviously, such a huge development cannot be realised all at once. How it is phased is of the utmost importance. The provision of schools and other community facilities, as well as high-quality public transport services, must proceed in tandem with the building of new homes.
In drawing up a masterplan for Adamstown, an area of 550 acres, and then designating it as an SDZ, South Dublin County Council was clearly seeking to avoid repeating the terrible mistakes of the past, when community facilities in new suburbs were provided very late, if at all.
The masterplan puts forward a radically different vision of suburban development: high-density rather than low-density, mixed-use rather than monofunctional, and public transport rather than car-based. Whether it will be realised will depend on State authorities delivering.
Most buildings in Adamstown would be at least three storeys high, rising to a minimum of four along its main boulevard. At the core of the "urban zone" adjoining a transport interchange on the Kildare railway line the minimum height is five storeys.
The objective is to provide "a lively and interconnecting network of streets, squares and public gardens with a wide range of public spaces and interesting buildings"; mixing residential, commercial, public and community uses to "encourage . . . a sense of town and village".
It is based on the notion that most of the 25,000 people living in Adamstown would be within easy walking or cycling distance of all amenities, or good public transport services, including quality bus corridors and a new station on the Kildare line, with frequent trains to Heuston.
A diverse range of housing is also planned, including larger-than-usual apartments, duplex units and town houses, laid out on squares and avenues or in courtyard or mews settings. Net density in the urban zone would be 30 housing units per acre, three times the standard suburban norm.
The aim is to avoid a pattern of development that promotes car use, even to get to the nearest shop, and militates against the provision of good public transport. But there are still fears in Lucan that 10,000 new homes will translate into at least the same number of cars.
Given that the plan would nearly double the population of Lucan, already the fastest-growing area in the State, local fears and objections can only be assuaged if the planners, developers and State authorities are seen to be working together towards achieving sustainable development.