RPA close to deal on Luas extension

The Railway Procurement Agency and a private company, Rathdown Light Rail, are close to an agreement on building the Luas extension to Cherrywood, the agency confirmed yesterday.

Following talks between the bodies last week documents were exchanged and the board of Rathdown Light Rail, a consortium of builders and property developers, met yesterday to discuss a deal.

The Railway Procurement Agency has substantially completed its application for a Light Rail Order and the agency is in a position to finalise it within weeks. The public inquiry, consultation process, inspector's report and ministerial approval would typically take up to nine months.

The developers behind Rathdown Light Rail include Dunloe Ewart, Carrickmines Properties, Park Developments, Treasury Holdings and William Neville and Sons. Dr Peter Bacon is the company's chairman.

In recent weeks a new impetus for the line has emerged with the decision by Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown councillors to strengthen conditions balancing the building of a new district centre at Cherrywood with the provision of public transport. In effect, the conditions mean that Cherrywood can not be fully developed without the Luas extension. However a special development contribution scheme imposed on new commercial and housing developments - of almost €50,000 per house in one case - to help fund the route has run into criticism.

Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council has so far levied more than €9million in special contributions to support the Luas extension to Cherrywood. But there is growing anger among the business community at the extent and nature of the levies which are imposed over an area of one kilometre either side of the line.

The levy area was extended to include parts of Cabinteely and Cornelscourt as far east as the N11, and it also takes in parts of Stillorgan, Kilmacud, the Sandyford Industrial Estate, Stepaside, Carrickmines, Shankill and Loughlinstown.

The development contribution, which is in addition to development levies on roads water and sewerage, is based on a charge of €250,000 per hectare. However a householder in Bride's Glen who had applied for planning permission to demolish an old cottage and replace it with one house, successfully appealed the suggested contribution of €47,500 to An Bord Pleanála.

A list of development levies reveals the council also imposed or sought to impose levies of €27,500 for a dormer bungalow at Gordon Avenue, Foxrock; €20,000 for a bungalow at Kilgobbin and €19,625 for a cottage on Mullinastill Road. Commercial developments were levied at various sums up to €1.5million.

Levies for "change of use" have also provoked the ire of local TD Ms Olivia Mitchell who described them as "a bit rich when they relate to a change of use for a shop to offices in Stillorgan". Ms Mitchell pointed out one local was charged more then €5,000 to change a premises from a hairdressing salon to a creche, while a change from office to restaurant was charged €12,000 and the change of use from storage areas and showrooms to car showrooms and workshop was charged a levy of €40,000.